Is it worth upgrading Q-Acc 1010i (centre) to...

[MrTom]

Hi people,

I have an Onkyo SR507 AV receiver and a Q-Accoustics 1010i 5.1 surround speaker set.

I've just upgraded the front left / right speakers to Tannoy Mercury V4 floorstanders for improved music listening. Absolutely blown away by them and really pleased by the upgrade (at last I have mid-range again!).

Question is, what priority should I place on upgrading / replacing the rest of the speakers? I've always been told that sticking with a speaker manufacturer / model range gets, if not the best results, then at least consistent results.

On paper, the Tannoy Mercury VC and Q-Accoustics 1000Ci centre have similar specifications. Will I notice an improvement in the sound?

Or should I be looking at replacing the sub or rear speakers first? My gut tells me the rear speakers are ok being small.

Advice very welcome!

Thanks,
Tom

 

[pompeydean]

Personally I'd replace the centre straight away, you really need the front 3 to match so you don't get issues when the sound sweeps across the 3. It's to do with timbre matching - making sure that you don't hear a change in tone as a sound sweeps from left, through the centre, to right.
Matching rears are less important, mine don't currently match the fronts and I'm perfectly happy with how it sounds, although I'm sure many other members wouldn't dream of having un-matched rears!!

 

[BlueWizard]

As PompeyDean says, to keep the front tonally consistent, the front three speaker should match.

But it is up to you to decide how much of a mismatch currently exists, and to what extent that mismatch bothers you. Many people have completely mismatched equipment and are satisfied with the results.

To illustrate, how the speaker mismatch can present itself, let's assume a motorcycle moves across the screen from left to right, and the sound sweeps from the left speaker, to center, to right.

You should hear motorcycle - motorcycle - motorcycle

But with mismatched speakers you might hear motorcycle - moped - motorcycle

Or instead of Harley - Harley - Harley (Note: Harley = Harley Davidson motorcycle, for those who didn't get it.)

you might hear Harley - Triumph - Harley

Hopefully that is an understandable illustration.

Again, the extent of the mismatch and the extent to which you notice it or it bothers you, is up to you to determine.

Steve/bluewizard