I have two sets of stereo speakers I want to use at the same time in the same room.
I plan on splitting the output from my stand alone DAC which will then feed two separate identical amps which will power all 4 speakers
Looking to confirm my concept is correct or to find out what kind of problems to look for
Thanks
2 pairs together will generally hurt the sound not improve, unless it is a large room and the two pairs are in different"zones" of the room?
I have heard this from others, but I am not seeing the logic behind it.
I my case I have a pair of towers which are great and would be considered Bright Speakers.
My second pair which I also enjoy and would be considered rock & roll speakers with stronger base.
My thinking was by adding a second sound source was the equivalent of some speaker systems with multiple drivers in one box. I could see that maybe the drivers could be out of sync theoretically which could negatively affect the sound. But just the adding of more drivers playing from the same source to me should not be a negative.
The good news is the cost to try is nominal as I already have everything except the splitters
The room will be larger 15X25 so thought the added sound sources would be a benefit.
At this time I am gathering info as we will be moving to a new location in December
Thanks agin for your thoughts
maybe as a surround sound system?
I have 7.1 now ( with 2 ceiling speakers 18 inches in front of listening position ) and it is great for movies, very dynamic.
I spent over two weeks just placing my two front towers to maximize image and depth of the sound stage, I was actually amazed that as little as an inch could impact the results. Based on this I listen to all my music strictly in stereo with an old Velodyne 15 inch sub. MY 7.1 uses a separate Marantz 7011 where as my stereo goes directly from a stand alone DAC into Crown XLS amps
A pain to have two systems but it is what it took for my existing room.
In my new place the two systems will be in different rooms Den for Movies and Living Room for Stereo.
Thank God my wife is understanding and enjoys both systems.
Check out comb filtering and destructive interference.
I have multiple pairs of speakers here too, but I only use one pair at a time. I have a multi gang volume control and a switcher to switch from one pair to another.
I tend to choose one pair for the day rather than quickly switching to compare, as that tends to lead to dissatisfaction with all pairs.
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I actually have three sets of stereo speakers and do not have any issues with sound drop off. I use Blue Jeans Cables Belden 1508a Balanced (XLR) cables from preamp to multichannel power amp. YMMV.
Edit: Note all of my speakers are in the same speaker family. Two sets of Monitor Audio GR20, and one set of GR10. No timing issues I can hear.
https://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/balancedaudio/index.htm
You should also be concerned with something called coherence.
Speed-Racer looked up time coherence, bottom line a few top end speakers have time coherence as part of their sound, most speakers otherwise are not time coherent, who knew
So while it is a factor I think it is more of a sound " colorization" than an absolute
I think it will take a lot of experimentation of where the second pair of speakers are located, toed in or out and maybe even tilted up. For me it will give me a great project which will require me to listen to lots of music. Not the worst situation
Okay…
You know the pitfalls- enjoy the playing
Why not help Jim out with specific advice and information? I am certain he would appreciate the assistance.
Jim - if you do decide to use two sets of speakers, you’ll want to make sure the fronts of both speakers are lined up exactly with each other and facing the same angle. Otherwise, even just an inch off, you may get into some unwanted phase issues as the waveforms may conflict with each other. You’ll be the only one able to make the right decision in your case. If you’ve already got everything you need, then might as well give it a shot.
He better be sure the speaker drivers of similar frequency ranges are in the same phase too. But I am told coherence, which phase is part of, does not really matter…
We are concerned that this will lead you down a path to adding even more speakers, to some silly end.
But okay, we will allow you this trial. No judgement.
Hmm. If you were combining two sets of the same speakers, that might work given careful positioning. two different pairs of speakers can present many issues including crossover design and cross points. For example, if speaker pair A crosses from bass to midrange at 250Hz @ 18db/octave and speaker pair B crosses from bass to midrange at 200Hz @ 12db/octave, you’ll have a mess of phase shifts timing issues that will drive you nuts aurally – and most larger speaker systems have at least two cross points (bass to midrange, midrange to treble).
Now, if you know what the crosspoints and slopes of the crossover networks in all your speakers…
By your statement “I spent over two weeks just placing my two front towers to maximize image and depth of the sound stage, I was actually amazed that as little as an inch could impact the results.” I think you understand enough to proceed with your plan. There is usually just one or two optimal locations for a speaker in a room, so you may find that one set of speakers works against the other set when creating the stereo image, but it appears that you know what to listen for so have some fun. Kev
Often, the room configuration and use dictates where you can practically position your speakers.
Understand and agree
jhnh
I think your cross over concern may be my biggest issue. My towers are 20 year old British speakers
whereas my second set are American made, both are horn loaded but the horn tweeters are are in very different locations and heights so getting the tweeters at the same level will be the first task, then I can work on locations.
Another issue is that the British towers are designed to be plus or minus 9 inches from the back wall, whereas the American made speakers are typically further away from the back wall. This speaker design issue may be my undoing but still want to try.
Once I get to the new house I will report my fails and success
Thanks everyone for your thoughts and ideas, one thing great about forums you never feel alone and have a great group to run ideas thru