Video Asylum

Posted by David Aiken (A) on October 27, 2007 at 23:33:12

In Reply to: RE: Want a top notch 2.1 system...how do I proceed posted by Pinkus on October 27, 2007 at 18:09:42

It won't be a 2.1 system unless you add a sub so you do need to take kootenay's advice and add one if you want a 2.1 system. If you don't add a sub, you can use tone controls to turn the bass down a bit to tame any excessive bass and give the monitors an easier life but, depending on your preferred movie fare, you may find that approach a little on the aenemic side. There's nothing like a good bit of bottom end in the bangs when you're watching an action movie. If you're not going to go for decent bass, you're not much better off than if you forget about the speakers and simply plug the player into the TV and use its speakers. Good sound without the bottom end is not something I find overly satisfying for movies.

For sheer ease of setup, I'd be inclined to go for a reasonable quality receiver and let it do the processing. If you get a receiver with an auto setup function, it will balance the level and arrival times of the output from both the mains and the sub, and it will also give you the option of adding some audio delay in order to achieve lip sync if you run into problems there. Those options aren't available with most pre-amps and they definitely can be very useful and I find I get much better integration with my sub in my HT system where the receiver handles the crossover, levels, and arrival time compensation than I ever did when I used it in my audio system and manually balanced it with the main speakers.


David Aiken