Opinion needed for Surround Speaker Selection

[Ray Collins]

I am a new member and need input on the selection of surround speakers for a modest HT I am cobbling together in a spare bedroom. The HT components are odds and ends from other systems as well as "old friends" from the past. They are as follows:

25" Mitsubishi (purchased in 1985 and still excellent)
Yamaha RV850 5.1 receiver (10 yrs +-)
Yamaha center channel speaker
Bozak B302A Century (purchased in 1970 when I was a graduate student)
Velodyne 12" subwoofer (10 yrs. +-)
Dvd Player ( low-end Korean 5 yrs. +-)
Mitsubishi U-50 VHS (purchased 1985....Rarely used)

As you can see this is a broad Assortment.

I would prefer to build a modest transmission line enclosure along the lines of Keith Kidder's Sentinal but I am open to any suggestions anyone has.

[BobEllis]

Welcome to the forum, Ray.

For surround use, you really don't NEED the TL's. I am a TL fan, but since you can just set your surround to small in the receiver's setup and not miss the bottom end, why bother? If your Yamaha is like mine, small will roll off the surrounds at 90 Hz and send whatever bass there is in the surround signal to the sub.

If you are new to this hobby, I'd suggest a two way - maybe one of Zaph's designs or the Modula MT over at HTguide. After you get your first speakers under your belt then you might try a TL to replace the Bozaks if you are so inclined.

How much or how little were you hoping to spend? That might help tweak the suggestions a bit.

[Ray Collins]

Thanks Bob; I appreciate your input. I think I will build the sentinel that Keith Kidder designed. It is very simple and does not require a crossover. It is shown on the t-linespeakers.org web site. With dimensions of 5"X36" I can place them on each side/rear of my sofa with very little intrusion. The speaker should provide omni directional sound since one of the drivers is oriented upward and the other is 90* to the listner. The only reservation is I can not find anyone who has tried them. Oh well.

Each speaker uses two Vifa MG10MD09-08 4" drivers($43.10 from Madisound) with Fs=81 and Qts=.51. Parts Express has a Peerless 831-979 4" driver with similar specifications (Fs=79hz and Qts=.37) on sale for $9.88. Do you think that the Peerless drivers will work?

I wanted to keep the cost down--under $200--since this will be a first project as I re-enter the hobby.

Thanks again,

Ray

[BobEllis]

I don't know if the Peerless will work, but why not plug their specs into Martin King's worksheets and see? A good way to get your mind into designing speakers (for surround duty it will probably be fine with a tweak of the line)

[Ray Collins]

Thanks again Bob.

[Ray Collins]

Just received a notice from Parts Express that the Peerless 831-979 has sold out. Oh well......

[xstephanx]

i dont know if theyre suitable for Tls, but check out tangband, they have some neat 3-4.5 fullrangers. IIRC they have one with like xbl^2 or a neodymium motor or something fancy with a bunch of xmax for its size, but still gets high enough to be fullrange.

[Ray Collins]

thanks xstephanx, I will check it out.