I know this is DIY, but consider Behringer Monitor 1C
Passive Nearfield Monitors - Thomann UK Cyberstore
or
Tang Band W4-1320SJF 4" Bamboo Full Range Speaker 264-915
I have both, and for fullrange in small cabinet Behringer is very good. Need at bit of eq at bottom end, but not much. Compared to some much more expensive Dali Elegance or similar sized Cambridge (dont remember model but double the price), the Behringer is way better.
I also have mark audio but only listended shortly
Passive Nearfield Monitors - Thomann UK Cyberstore
or
Tang Band W4-1320SJF 4" Bamboo Full Range Speaker 264-915
I have both, and for fullrange in small cabinet Behringer is very good. Need at bit of eq at bottom end, but not much. Compared to some much more expensive Dali Elegance or similar sized Cambridge (dont remember model but double the price), the Behringer is way better.
I also have mark audio but only listended shortly
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For a 5.1 system - I'd probably look at building Fonken's in appropriate sizes. There is a lot of flexibility in driver selection (including many bargains) - and well sized cabinets that allow for flexible placement.
Link: Meet the Fonkens
Link: Meet the Fonkens
You might want to tell that to Dolby then. 
http://www.dolby.com/uploadedFiles/Assets/US/Doc/Professional/42_DDFAQ.pdf -see pg.4 Note that Dolby do not have wideband / single drivers in mind when they say 'full-range' of course. They have somewhat more demanding criteria in terms of flat frequency & dynamic ranges. Which isn't to say they can't make a respectable job of it for more casual or less critical viewers with somewhat less stringent criteria applied and / or in smaller spaces.
http://www.dolby.com/uploadedFiles/Assets/US/Doc/Professional/42_DDFAQ.pdf -see pg.4 Note that Dolby do not have wideband / single drivers in mind when they say 'full-range' of course. They have somewhat more demanding criteria in terms of flat frequency & dynamic ranges. Which isn't to say they can't make a respectable job of it for more casual or less critical viewers with somewhat less stringent criteria applied and / or in smaller spaces.
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the reasoning is this: for surround speakers you don't want the accurate localisation that high frequencies have? perhaps dolby encoded signals take care of the altered frequency content of rear speakers...
maybe i was thinking of something else or maybe i am remembering wrong?
but i do remember something like that
maybe i was thinking of something else or maybe i am remembering wrong?
but i do remember something like that
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I built a set of Fonken's for my 5.1 set up. I have to be honest, it didn't provide the dynamics and range that was needed for home theatre. I've since adopted floorstanding multi-way speakers. I was expecting the finesse of a full-range driver to be just the ticket, and the quality of voices was great, but I enjoy the movies more with the larger speakers. The dynamics are much better at the volumes movies like to play at.
You might want to tell that to Dolby then.
http://www.dolby.com/uploadedFiles/Assets/US/Doc/Professional/42_DDFAQ.pdf -see pg.4 Note that Dolby do not have wideband / single drivers in mind when they say 'full-range' of course. They have somewhat more demanding criteria in terms of flat frequency & dynamic ranges. Which isn't to say they can't make a respectable job of it for more casual or less critical viewers with somewhat less stringent criteria applied and / or in smaller spaces.
bingo - even thought the last sentence might cause the more sensitive / insecure among us to reach for the hurt feelings report
The performance I'm getting from my 5.1 systems with Alpair 7&6 is more than adequate for the room, no doubt in good part because I'm quite happy with SPLs peaking a good 15dB below the THX reference level.
FWIW, I recently attended a local showing of Prometheus in Imax 3D - "meh" to the clarity and cohesiveness of direction, and the visuals varied from sumptuous to rather pedestrian, but I found the sound levels throughout - even what should have been the more intimate scenes - to be excessive, and the preview for the latest (hopefully final) installment of the Dark Knight saga was absolutely painful listening.
So if that's what folks are trying to achieve at home, you're welcome to it.
Saw it at the local cinema on Wednesday. Loved the direction & visuals myself, but seconded about the excessive levels -no problem with the LF shaking the place to bits, but the overall levels were excessive to the extent that you could hear the drivers bottoming out.
Sadly, I bet most of the audience didn't even notice.
jeff
more sad actually is that the excessive levels and distortions of all sorts at cinema and live stage shows is what a lot of folks consider reference quality to be -
a custom fitted pair of noise blocker ear plugs can tame the SPLs a bit, but not the distortions
I've heard only one live show at the Royal Theatre here that I found comfortable throughout - Patricia Barber quintet - even the thrilling performance of Loreena McKennitt was at times a bit too loud (but then 13 full tilt on "Huron Fire Dance" is certainly more than 5)
Sadly, I bet most of the audience didn't even notice.
I wouldn't bet on it either way. I had the place to myself aside from two (late) teenage girls. They'd hear it all right; I think they were more concerned with hiding than the audio quality though (it scared them to death. So, Ridley Scott's still got it.
).
last OT from me on the subject , but "suck" might be a bit extreme - let's just say, it felt like a bad preliminary edit - pacing was a bit off for me, and a bit more sympathetic character development might have enhanced the drama of their fates (I think of as dynamic range -of which I found not much - maybe need to watch again) - in retrospect, I think that District 9 resonated with me more than this.
now for a rather egregious waste of acting talent and SFX processing power, I nominate "Super 8" - as big a fan as I am of JJ's work, this was a bust for me - glad I watched on Netflix - keep an eye on that Elle Fanning though
oops, ran astray again - back to your previously schedule program
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It's one of the main reasons I built a home theatre - I just can't stand the stupid volume levels. It takes away any enjoyment of the movie when it's so loud you wonder if you're at a disco or a movie. It's the same on jet planes, they crank it up to full volume so that the lawyers can't find an excuse to go after them for not providing clear safety instructions and then we all get to enjoy the safety briefing with maximum distortion. Don't get me started on this topic, it really irritates the hell out of me. So I listen at home at what feels like reasonable volume levels.
My full rangers were Fostex FE127, 4.5" drivers, designed to XO to the sub at 80Hz. My home theatre is in my basement and it's a fairly decent sized space. Small full range drivers like these are just not up to the job. For listening to music, near field, especially simple voices and instrumentals - sound is breathtaking. But like I said, for movies they don't have the balls. These drivers were not expected to have a lot of bass, their xmax is small and the boxes aren't huge. The sub was supposed to take care of the bottom end. Maybe if I had started off with different drivers I'd have been happy - the CSS EL-70 has a lot more oomph.
But I discovered that one sub is not enough. You can localize a sub, the XO may not be steep enough or there may be some distortion or room modes or whatever but the sub was not enough on it's own.
Now with floor standing speakers for the front mains and the surrounds it works superbly. These floor standing speakers use 6" woofers. They dig deep enough that I don't often need a sub at all (my son stole it for his wii game) and they can produce dynamics when needed.
My own journey through speaker land is not very long as yet, but my feeling is that small full range does well for near field, does well with tube amps - I am using CSS EL-70's in my living room with SET amp at present. Yet still, I think I'm going to build much bigger speakers next.
Maybe not what you want to hear, but if I wanted to DIY my home theatre speakers from scratch, I'd go build a set of 2-way speakers with 6" woofers or I'd be looking at full range drivers with more oomph (maybe the Mark Audio A12 - but haven't heard it). Check out Zaph audio.
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