Ported Speaker for Surround

[okron]

Hello all, first time poster so go easy on me

I currently have a 5.1 setup in our living room but I'm making plans to move some/all to a dedicated media room with either 5.1 or 7.1 and a projector. My current setup includes front three Norh 9.0s and two rear Norh 4.0s which have served me well. Both are rear ported with the surrounds hanging from the ceiling about 2 feet from the side walls.

Our new room will be 14' x 17' so I won't have alot of room to hang the 4.0s out into the room (current setup) so I was wondering what kind of room/distance is recommended for rear ported speakers and in this situation a rear ported surround?

The 4.0s cast a wide soundstage so I've been happy with the them but I'm not married to them and have considered purchasing something else either in a sealed box design or a dipole which I could mount directly on the side wall.... so if a rear ported is not recommended I'm open to feedback.

Thanks
Ron

[salvasol]

First of all ... Welcome to the forum !!!

I don't see any problme using the speakers near the wall, the only thing will be that it can sound boomy sometimes; but that can also be good if you like bass sounds ...

My speakers are front ported, so I don't have that problem ... but I don't think you'll get a lot of bass on the surrounds, most bass effects are in the fronts and I'm sure you're using a sub to handle them, Right???

[brent_s]

Chances are, you're BM crossover will be above the tuning frequency of the port, greatly reducing or even eliminating the port's contribution. Even full range, 1"-2" should probably be fine for the Norh...the relative depth of the cabinet already restricts how close you can really get the drivers to the wall, which is the bigger concern if the speaker is voiced for open spaces.

My living room system has Polk R150s, which are rear ported, for surrounds (mains too). I haven't bothered to determine their tuning frequency. They're mounted using a French cleat made from a 1"x4", so the ports are less than 1" from the wall. Even when I ran them full range for a time, I didn't find them to be particularly bass heavy. The fronts 150s, on the other hand, received enough bass content to emphasize port output if I moved them too close to the wall.

Personally, I would try the 4.0s since you already have them, before making a decision to change.

-Brent

[JCD]

I thought there was some rule of thumb involved with a rear port.. twice the diameter of the port being the minimum distance is what I was thinking, but I think I'm confusing this rule with the distance of the end of a port to the inside wall of a speaker.

Since you already own the speakers, I'd go ahead and try putting them at varying distances from the walls and see if you can find a distance that sounds good and works for you.

HOWEVER, I suspect that you'll need 2'.

JCD

[okron]

Ok....I guess I was looking for an excuse to get new speakers...

I'll try out the 4.0s first but thought I would bring in a couple of speakers for a 30 day trial....any suggestions in the under $700/pair range? I'll be mating these with the new Outlaw 990 replacement pre/pro and some existing Norh amps.

[okron]

Anyone want to comment? I know they are over my budget but has anyone heard the new SVS MBS01 yet?

[mazersteven]

okron wrote:

Anyone want to comment? I know they are over my budget but has anyone heard the new SVS MBS01 yet?

Look in the Svsound section. There are a couple of members that have posted their thoughts, and pictures of them.

[okron]

mazersteven wrote:

Look in the Svsound section. There are a couple of members that have posted their thoughts, and pictures of them.

hmmm....I did a search on MBS-01 and didn't find much?

[Warpdrv]

okron wrote:

hmmm....I did a search on MBS-01 and didn't find much?

http://www.hometheatershack.com/foru...ni-review.html

I have the Full 5.0 system, MTS-01's MCS-01 and MBS-01's...

I have had some time in with the Towers and the center, but I have to mount the brackets on the wall for my bookshelf's... so I haven't hooked them up to do a listen yet... but so far I really love the sound of them..

They have made a great speaker here with the Scan Speak tweets and Peerless drivers, they are a fantastic combo... very smooth and detailed. I can't say enough about them.. Hopefully I will have everything hooked up tomorrow, and its looking like Feb 9th so far, I'm having a speaker shootout at my house that will entail a number of different manufacturers...

[okron]

Warpdrv wrote:

I'm having a speaker shootout at my house that will entail a number of different manufacturers...

Do you want to give us a hint what other speakers will be involved? Keep us posted

Ron

[Warpdrv]

Well, I haven't confirmed all the people coming yet... but I have a Full Paradigm Studio .v4 setup.. 100's, 690, 20's and ADP, as well as the new SVS MTS-01 Towers, Bookshelves, and CC. I also have a Pair of the Dana - 630's

Nuance from AVS is bringing over a set of the Rocket 850's and another guy has a set of the Ascends Sierra's.. So far thats all I know...

[mazersteven]

Warpdrv wrote:

Well, I haven't confirmed all the people coming yet... but I have a Full Paradigm Studio .v4 setup.. 100's, 690, 20's and ADP, as well as the new SVS MTS-01 Towers, Bookshelves, and CC. I also have a Pair of the Dana - 630's

Nuance from AVS is bringing over a set of the Rocket 850's and another guy has a set of the Ascends Sierra's.. So far thats all I know...

And the Dana 630's win by a nose.

[Warpdrv]

Funny buddy.... I really am looking to hear the differences with all the different brands that will be there...