Anyone who posts here, a public forum, should be cool enough to take comments from others. Sreetsmart is cool, I'm cool but I'm not sure you are. If you read my posts carefully, I was not even criticizing streetsmart's setup, quite the opposite in fact. What does less than awed mean to you? To me it means short of drool worthy and that can run the gamut from good to drop dead fabulous. My basis? He uses different brands for his HT speakers. Now I don't want to prattle about tonal matching and s**t but that's a pretty sound basis for being less than awed don't you think?
Any system, even high end ones can be improved. As with most suggestions, the intent is to help. If that help isn't required, all's fine and dandy. As for you pchin, I suggest you PM me if you have a problem with the way I express myself because I sure have a problem with the way you express yours and I don't want to drag this forum on another pointless exchange.
To streetsmart, congratulations on your setup. It truly is an HT afficionado's dream. Forgive me if I sounded like I was nitpicking on your setup but I was merely expressing my opinion on how it could possibly be improved (a hard task I know). I thought all along that's what forums are for.
The theory is always that the best set-up for an HT is 5 (or 7) identical speakers + a subwoofer. Next best is 5 speakers from the same brand and the same line (an HT set).
That's why when I built my HT in 1999, I acquired the JBL XPL-200 for the main speakers, the JBL XPL-160 for the surrounds and the JBL XPL-90 for the center (two speakers to act as the center). When I tested them in my actual room, I had big problems because the 2 center speakers (90 watts x 2) were insufficient and same with the surrounds (160 watts). With some material, the speakers were cracking. Since I had a big PSB speaker, I used that as the main, I combined the XPL-90 with the XPL-160 for the surrounds in a bipole mode and the XPL-200 as the front and the extra speaker for the rear. That set-up was perfect for volume level.
It is true that there is a big difference in timbre between the main speakers and the others, but the alternative was to change all speakers (wala na kasi JBL XPL series) which would be too expensive, so I decided to live with that weakness. But when the Audyssey room correction arrived, they solved the blending of the main speakers with the rest. Right now, I feel the blending is near-perfect.
If you were to ask me what the biggest audio problem was, it was likely the 2 side tables at the front of the HT, which were in the direct path between the main speakers and the sweet spot (aside from the coffee table but that really can't be moved). Today, I moved the 2 side tables and the audio improvement has been tremendous. My basis for saying there has been an improvement is not just my ears but also the RTA of my Velodyne SMS-1, which is a moderately advanced equalizer for subwoofer. Its nothing unique, Mike C has 2 units.
I agree that all systems can be improved and mine can certainly be improved. In fact, if it can't be improved further, I would be extremely sad.