Only using 2 bookshelf speakers??

Question

Hi there,

I am thinking about purchasing two infinity beta 20 bookshelf speakers and using them as the only two speakers for my apartment next year. I was just wondering

A) Will these provide a balanced sound (without a subwoofer, center speaker etc)

B) Will these provide enough sound to fill up a medium sized living room.

C) Can I set just these two speakers up to do surround sound (assuming I get the right type of receiver).

I am new to setting up speaker systems, so any advice from people with experience is greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Short answers: no, no, and no.

Long answers: A. Bookshelf speakers are incapable of providing balanced sound without a sub-woofer. Being small speakers they simply can not create the bass necessary for a balanced sound. However, a 2.1 system is fine for a start. The .1 part being the sub-woofer.

B. Bookshelf speakers simply can't go as loud as bigger speakers. It is one of the costs you pay for small size. However, good bookshelf speakers will go loud enough to if not fill the room up with sound, at least be well heard in a medium size room. I would advise you to get speakers with at least a 5 1/2" woofer since you can't do floor standers.

C. To get surround sound you need at least 5 speakers. Anything less is not surround sound. You could start out with a 2.1 system, then add a center speaker, then add surround speakers. They can all be the same speaker, and in fact it is preferred.

Since you mention a receiver you can set any modern receiver to do 2, 3, 4, 5, or 7 speakers. You don't have to get them all at once if cost is an issue. You are far better off getting 2 better speakers and a receiver, rather than 5 cheapo speakers that you won't be happy with anyway. Most people just can't afford the cost of a whole system at one time.

I started out with 2 speakers, a receiver, and my computer to watch TV on. Then I got a DVD player. Back then they were more expensive than now. After that I managed to find a nice speaker system on clearance that came with all 5 speakers. I got a sub-woofer at about the same time. Then I upgraded my receiver, got a TV set, and added an HD-DVD player.

It took me 2 years to get my system together. I now have an excellent system for my bedroom with 5 matching bookshelf speakers, a decent sub-woofer, a small TV that fits on my desk under the hutch, and I can rock pretty good. When the time comes that I move my system out into a full sized room I will have to upgrade the speakers but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. For now it gets me by in pretty good shape. I would suggest you start visiting some of the home theater forums and learn as much as you can. You can build a system for a few hundred dollars at a time. I've listed below the two forums I visit. Good luck.

Answer 2

I have a Infinity Primus theater system. hope this helps.

Using the term "surround sound" means you have 2 front, one center and minimum 2 rear ( surround speakers ). If you plan to use just two speakers as you describe, you will not have surround audio. With only 2 speakers and tied into a video source as an example, you must position the speakers as your front left & right speakers. Subwoofer only applies if your shelf speakers have a level below 50mgh. This is the sound range where "lows" through crossover circutry exists.

It's best to set a 5.1 system. 5 speakers w. subwoofer. Even in a small room, 5.1 will split audio signals so you hear sound signal splits in correct directional audio. A basic 5.1 speaker package w/ 600 watt tuner can be purchased for as little as $300.

Answer 3

I have a pair of Infinity Beta 50s and a pair of Beta 10s in my main system. They're all really good speakers, and fit in very well into a home theatre situation.

Now, if you're only going to run a pair, you will have basically stereo sound, and not any surround like 5.1. To do that, you rally need at least 5 speakers (Centre, front pair, rear pair, and a subwoofer, if necessary - In my den, I don't use one, and with the Beta 50s, I don't miss it a bit.). With a good receiver, a pair of Beta 20s should do well in a medium sized room. Especially as you don't want to play rock concert volume levels in anything less than a free standing house.

If you have/get at least a 5.1 receiver, then I would strongly suggest loading up with a pair of Beta 20s ( A pair of tower Beta 40s would be nice, but we're trying to leave your walls intact...) as your fronts, a pair of Beta 10s as your rears, and a Beta C250 as your centre speaker. You'll have to hurry a bit, as the Beta line is being discontinued, and some suppliers have already sold off all their stock.

Two good places to order them from are Vanns and BPAV. Both charge about $110 per speaker for the Beta 20s, about $90 per for the 10s, and about $120 for the C250, no tax, free US shipping. Thats $520 for a full 5.1 deal. In a medium sized apartment, I think that you can do without the subwoofer. Add those to a good 5.1 receiver, and you'll be enjoying great sounding full home theatre for quite a while.

Answer 4

It really depends on what kind of material you plan to play through them.  They'll get plenty loud at 150 watts RMS, and definitely fill a medium sized living room, but if you're going to watch a lot of action films you'll be missing the low end without a subwoofer.  You can use the virtual surround sound setting on the receiver to simulate surround sound.

Although, if you can afford it, you might want to buy another pair so you have true surround sound, or even better, 5 speakers so you have a consistent sound stage up front (left/center/right speakers should be as similar in sound as possible).  At $110 (Amazon) or cheaper, they're a good deal, as Infinity makes very good speakers.

Answer 5

Surround sound requires more than just 2 speakers.  While some receivers can do some tricks to create a fake sort of surround effect, it's not very convincing once you've listened to  a 5.1 setup.

Personally, I think bookshelf speakers are fine if you have a subwoofer.  I recently bought a 5.1 set of bookshelf speakers and a 10" subwoofer from Definitive Technology to go with our receiver from Denon.  They're plenty loud enough for our room (about 15'x30') and certainly powerful enough to make the windows rattle if we want...  The speakers are primarily used for movies and video games.

If space and all that is a real concern, Yamaha makes a "sound bar" which is a single speaker that supposedly does the job of an entire 5.1 speaker set.  It's about $700, which is what I paid for my entire speaker set.