Video Asylum

Posted by Arnel (A) on August 26, 2001 at 06:33:49

I am new to HT, but have had 2 "evolutions" of two-channel setup in my living room. I want to step-up my current system by replacing my 2-channel integrated with a multi-channel amp -- maybe a Sony VA777ES.

I currently have a JMLab subwoofer to augment the bass of my Sonus Faber Concertino Home. But since I moved to a smaller apartment, the 10" sub just became overkill for the very small room size (12" x 10")... always bass-overloading the room wherever I put it.

So when I build my HT, I prefer to get rid of the sub to avoid the boominess and get full-range fronts like Sonus Faber Grand Piano Home. But I have the following questions about HT bass:

1. Do HT amps normally support redirection of LFE channel to the front L/R speakers? Better yet, if you can tell me if Sony VA777ES amp supports this.

2. If my center channel (I'm considering the Sonus Faber Solo Home) only goes down to 40 Hz, do they qualify for setup as "full-range" or "small"? I've heard that the center channel can contain information down to the 20-30 Hz region, so I'm afraid setting the mode to "full-range" will result in loss of some bass information with this center speaker.

3. I was also considering MartinLogan as HT speakers, but their Cinema center speaker only goes down to 80 Hz by spec. Will this be a problem? For practical purposes of putting over the TV, is it normal practice to use a bass-limited center speaker (to avoid too much rattling of wall unit, TV, etc.)?

I hope you can help me with these questions. They might be very simple questions, but I've spent all my time in this audio hobby with two-channel, and 'twas just recently that I realized that I'm ready for a multi-channel system. Consider me an HT newbie. :)