Acoustat HT system

I once owned a pair and liked them very much. I agree with the duke, however, that they are not dynamic enough for HT.

will

I own 1+1's and have used them as the main front speakers in a home theatre system. I do not recommend them for this purpose. Low efficiency, less than great dynamics, and planar dispersion patterns do not make for a convincing audio/video experience. The dispersion pattern was what I objected to the most. I obtained better results using small box speakers such as the PSB Alpha.
The 1+1's remain my standard two-channel stereo reference. Ive had them nine years and love them dearly. It's just that they don't cut it in video surround-sound applications. Hang onto them for music use! Where else can you get an almost full-range electrostatic for about $500?

Sorry, I can't remember, but didn't the 1+1's come with a sub? It's been 15 years since I've heard them, but I don't remember them as having the dynamics comapared to today's speakers. Yes, they produced a wonderful soundstage and were quite musical when properly setup, but I don't think they'd make a great HT speaker. I have a pair of Acoustat 2+2's that are boxed and garaged because they just didn't produce when in the HT evironment. They sounded great and had decent dynamics with a 100W class A amp when used for music, but not so wonderful when used for HT. Soundstaging just is not as critical because you have a center channel where most of the voices come from. Even though you have a small room, I think you'd be better suited by using your vandy's (possibly upgrading to signatures), and buying a good sub. I also agree with Sean-Acoustat's were never known for being efficient speakers and my center channel had to be turned way down and the mains way up to try and match the acoustats- but my center channel still was much too prevelent. I thought it might be because of lack of content to the mains, but when I used a more efficient speaker, it made a huge difference.

My suggestion is that you should go with speakers that are highly efficient, very dynamic and have full range capability when doing an HT system. This makes things MUCH easier when it comes time to picking out compatible amplifiers and also increases the "intensity" of effects. I learned this the hard way as i have 86 - 87 dB mains, center and surrounds and i have to have a TON of power to get them to sing. While the Acoustat's might make excellent 2 channel speakers, i don't think that they are really suited for what you want to use them for. Sean
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