HT vs music speakers??

[JoeDJ]

Could someone expain why some speakers are said to be better suited for HT and some are better for music?
I have aways thought that a good speaker sys is a good speaker for anything. Good sound is good sound.

Is this just a marketing gimmick? Are their specific differences in them aside from maby a smaller size for HT?

Why are some subs said to be for HT and some for music?

[Arty]

Marketing mainly.
specs should be the same, regardles of ht or music.

many ht subs tend to be boomy when listening them with music. while preforming quite well with movies. at least for some
reason: ht subs are sometimes made to have a big "bump" in responce curve.
Makes explosions louder.
For some this is cool.
I kinda.. ah, well why bother to say.
Anyways HT subs are -the less expensive ones with a lotha THX, made in china, CE, ISO and THANX (sarcasm) markings on with large optimal for HT things on the package- are "designd" for power handling, different Qtc than ones ment for proper listening.
Some quality ones will do quite well for both. But actualy it is easy to tell what not to purchase.
If its 4th or 6th order, then its not for quality music. It can still preform quite well with them explosions. Sympthones of "mono-tone" sounding and !KA-BOOM! -ing is sorthof natural for small 4th and 6th order ones.

on the otherhand, when someone says "its better for ht than for music" i would like to ask:
what about moooovies that have MUSIC??

[JoeDJ]

Thanks.
That's basicly what I suspected.

I guess it explains why I had to replace the driver in my HT sub to eliminate the "bommy" sound.
I demand a tight, balanced bass no mater what the program source.

Like you alluded to....... what movies do not contain music?

[JRace]

If I may add my thoughts....

Last year I had the fortune to test 2 completely different speakers systems.
Both systems were in the same room, used the same processor (Denon 4308), same amp (Bryston 9BSST2) and same source (PS3 - Bluray).

System 1 - MartinLogan Summit X, Stage, Vista, Descent i.
System 2 - Thiel MSC1 x 5 (5 identical speakers) and SS2 Smart sub.

Tested with Blu-ray movies, and Blu-ray concerts.

System 1 - Fantastic for music, great for Theater.
System 2 - Great for music, fantastic for Theater.

So both systems were wonderful, and one wasn't better than the other...just different. What were the differences?

System 1 had amazing imaging and soundstage reproduction, and an inherant 'warmth' to the sound. As long as you were in the sweet spot. Moving outside the narrow sweet spot caused the image to pull to one side. As well panning from mains (Summit x) to center or surounds was not as seemless as system 2.

System 2 had detail and clairity that was never shrill, but very revealing. This system also had a cohearant blend between all 5 speakers. The sweet spot was larger than with system 1. However they were too revealing with some music sources which caused this system (in comparison to System 1) to sound overly clinical.

While these were 2 different types of systems they did highlight the possible issues that can cause a speaker to be ideal with either Music or Movies.

[JoeDJ]

This raises an interesting question.

Are movies commonly mixed with a different/less than flat freq than music because the consumer is most likely is using a less than flat reponse for play back and/or thinking that is what consumers want?

[cbdb]

Other way around. Movies are mixed in large theatres for large theatres. And THX helps make all these mix and playback theatre sytems and rooms as close as possible.

Since more than half the "sound " of most movies is music this whole question is a little meaningless.

[Arty]

Originally Posted by cbdb

Other way around. Movies are mixed in large theatres for large theatres. And THX helps make all these mix and playback theatre sytems and rooms as close as possible.

Since more than half the "sound " of most movies is music this whole question is a little meaningless.

yup, hence i asked:
what about those moives that have music..


pointless.
its marketing hype.
smart product for the smart buyer, who loves them shiny stickers all over.
reminds me how a continent was purchased for a handfull of shiny glass marbles.

the verry same effect.

[JoeDJ]

LOL....... It reminds me of the marketing BS that once hyped "CD ready" amps and speakers when CDs first became mainstream.

[purplepeople]

I think the mastering for movies is far far superior to that in most recent music. In fact, I imagine that most audio engineers expect the music to be played back at 128 kilobits/sec vs movies that have had to be theater quality for a very long time.

:)ensen.

[JoeDJ]

Originally Posted by purplepeople

I think the mastering for movies is far far superior to that in most recent music. In fact, I imagine that most audio engineers expect the music to be played back at 128 kilobits/sec vs movies that have had to be theater quality for a very long time.

ensen.

Yes, but aren't we refering to just consumer movie DVDs?