A7's and Home Theater

[Altec19]

Okay folks, here is a hypothetical question to ponder: Let's assume that we are going to use a pair of A7-500's for the front left and right channels in a 5.1 home theater system. (If you're going to have a home theater shouldn't you use "Voice of the Theater" speakers?) The front center speaker is supposed to be "timber matched" to the front mains. It doesn't need to produce much bass since the center is primarily a dialog channel but magnetic shielding would be a concern with CRT displays. I suppose you could perhaps lay a third A7 on it's side as a TV stand and suspend the 511 horn from overhead! I would anticipate a somewhat diminished WAF with this arrangement . . .

Maybe a 604? Bet a pair of 604's would sound nice for the surround channels . . .

Suggestions?

[Altec19]

After my initial post I did a search of the forum and found this related (and very informative) thread from last year:


Vintage speakers in surround setup?

[Russellc]

Somewhere or the other I have seen someone with the same idea and theur solution was basically the top half of an A7. No bass reflex section. This would however limit low frequency to around 130 hz at best.

Russellc

[Jim Easley]

O.K. I will try to help. Yes, the A-7's were made for the cinema. For a 200 to 400 seat auditorium (with the correct horn/driver combos) they do well. Overall sound pressure level requirements in cinemas have increased over the last 25 years so, in this newer world of digital formats and runaway dynamic range was one of the factors leading to the removal of many A-7's, A-4's etc. They just ran out of steam on digital peaks and often burnt or ruptured diaphragms and cones. Power handling became a large issue. Fortunately, this is not the case in a smaller environment.

The A-7 is much more than adequate for a home theatre setup so, if you have the room and are willing to build a dedicated area for your A/V application... Generally speaker selection is determined on your acoustical space but in this case as an old friend once said, "Too much is always enough."

A few questions:

A) How much room do you have available and are you willing to go to a projection type setup with a screen? I would suggest using a DLP projector with the newest T.I. DMD's (digital mirror device} in combination with a perforated screen. The prices on these have come down quite a bit and the image is good and bright with good contrast ratios. All this depends on the distance you sit from the screen of course.

B) While not required, do you have enough room to construct a baffle wall or box in the A-7's behind the wall.

Jim