So, how many speakers does one need for a proper home theater?

Hey Woot Community -

Arin with Pinnacle Speakers here, and I'm available to answer any questions you may have on our products. Ask away...

I would like a sound bar, maybe a subwoofer also. 2 questions:

1). Do I need a receiver with both of those things, I would rather not have more devices.

2). Can you also play MP3 (ipod) player through the sound bar/woofer? Or is that impossible without a receiver.

Thanks a lot!

Would I need a sub-woofer to get good bass with the SFIT TWR 1050 ? I see that even sub-woofers like the Baby Boomer 600W Dual 8" Subwoofer have a 50Hz low, same as the TWR1050.

lmaxwellb wrote:I would like a sound bar, maybe a subwoofer also. 2 questions:

1). Do I need a receiver with both of those things, I would rather not have more devices.

2). Can you also play MP3 (ipod) player through the sound bar/woofer? Or is that impossible without a receiver.

Thanks a lot!

Yes, you would need a receiver for this set up.

The QP9 Wood is a passive speaker bar, meaning that it does need a receiver. The inputs on this bar are for speaker wire, center channel, left front and right front channels.

The input to accommodate an iPod or other media device will generally be on the receiver.

Does this soundbar offer an approximation of surround sound, or is it primarily for eliminating speaker clutter?

jsyverud wrote:Does this soundbar offer an approximation of surround sound, or is it primarily for eliminating speaker clutter?

The primary purpose of this sound bar is to provide exceptional sound quality for your front left, front right and center channels. It is a high-end, premium performance piece.

It does not incorporate the illusion of surround sound. For real surround sound, we recommend picking up the pair of S-FIT LCR 250 as an ideal compliment to the front channels of the QP9 W.

The benefit of the all-in-one cabinet approach, commenly know as "speaker bar" was invented by Pinnacle in 2003. If properly designed acoustically, than an additional benefit is it reduces the need for 3 individual cabinets. This is a great space-saver and audiophile solution.

bitblender wrote:Would I need a sub-woofer to get good bass with the SFIT TWR 1050 ? I see that even sub-woofers like the Baby Boomer 600W Dual 8" Subwoofer have a 50Hz low, same as the TWR1050.

The bass on the S-FIT TWR 1050 is quite loud down to 50 hz, hence the -3 dB rating. At -6 dB its low frequency range is actually 39 Hz, but would not be as loud.

Having said that , the volume and depth of the overall bass will be significantly enhanced with the Baby Boomer as it's low end frequency is ACTUALLY 23 Hz and with high output. Additionally, the Baby Boomer uses dual active 8" subwoofers providing both more bass depth and volume. We think the combination of S-FIT TWR 1050 and Baby Boomer is an excellent choice...........Though the S-FIT TWR 1050 can stand alone as well.

So I would not need a receiver for the QP9, but if I wanted to add a sub I would? My HDTV has basic left right and spdf.

alexlvworld wrote:So I would not need a receiver for the QP9, but if I wanted to add a sub I would? My HDTV has basic left right and spdf.

You would need a receiver for the QP9. This is not a standalone unit like some soundbars out there. You would wire up your Center, Left, and Right accordingly. You would need a 5.1 Receiver minimally to do this (they don't make 3.1 receivers). From there, you would also run the LFE coax cable to the subwoofer, whatever brand/model it may be.

The advantage of this soundbar is the value and convenience of having all three front channels in the same place. I've been looking at soundbars from many different companies, and this is quite a good deal. Additionally, it looks like they publish reasonably accurate specs, no exaggeration here.

I had one of the original Pinnacle sound bars- it was awesome. The dual 8" sub is truly one of the best subs out there.

is this a QP9 or a 3509 speaker bar... the specs on this woot match the 3509...not the QP9. please clarify for us

I'm considering the S-FIT TWR 1050 tower speakers. I see that they are discontinued. I can't find much in the way of reviews. What Pinnacle speakers in the current line up do they compare with? Also if I pair them with a sub, would the single 8" be good enough?

Just pitching in 2¢ here...just got a Pinnacle SubSonic (6" version of the Baby Boomer, as far as I know) -- absolutely astonishing little thing. I imagine the Baby Boomer would be even louder and deeper (But I'm more than thrilled with the SubSonic for my application). This company isn't flashy, but their stuff is solid solid solid.

the sound bar seems to be still quite pricy, can I put the 5 element floor speaker sideways and have it perform the same purpose?

I do see it missing some of the elements of the soundbar, maybe those elements could be made up by some other speakers in the system?

pdnb wrote:is this a QP9 or a 3509 speaker bar... the specs on this woot match the 3509...not the QP9. please clarify for us

ok, so I see how Pinnacle can call this a QP9, as their latest version in black mdf has the same speaker elements as the 3509. However Pinnacle seems to have two sets of QP9s, as their original QP9s (in piano black and aluminum) seemed to have higher end elements...seems a little odd

I'm assuming that the price for the Pinnacle S FIT TWR 1050 is $149.00 each, or $300.00 per stereo pair. Is that correct?

An interesting review:

http://www.pinnaclespeakers.com/revu_bdc1200.html

I bought the 8" front fire sub last time: Pinnacle Speakers Subcompact 8" 300W Powered Subwoofer I just bought the baby duel 8.

I'm buying one of the 5.1 systems, I see the difference in specs, but can I get some help on the pragmatic justification for the $529 vs. $299 set?
thanks.

And Pinnacle,o I get a bowl of soup for buying $1000 worth of gear?

To preface, I know next to nothing about speakers...

I have been looking to upgrade my sound quality for a very long time. I cannot stand the built in speakers on my television.

I was considering going with the QP9, but in reality I have no idea what I am talking about. What is the best approach for me to go with?

Additionally, do I need anything beyond what I purchase here to operate properly?

Thanks!

Edit: Space is also somewhat an issue, hence the speaker bar...

taylorgig5 wrote:I'm considering the S-FIT TWR 1050 tower speakers. I see that they are discontinued. I can't find much in the way of reviews. What Pinnacle speakers in the current line up do they compare with? Also if I pair them with a sub, would the single 8" be good enough?

Good morning Woot Community. Arin with Pinnacle Speakers here.
Our model SSFITTWR1050 is absolutely current and NOT discontinued. The single driver 8" Subcompact 8 is an excellent match with the SFITTWR1050. It will add depth and tightenss of bass and integrate well with the size woofers in the sfitTWR.
There are some outstanding reviews and customer remarks on our site for the SFITTWR1050, which typically sells around $1,00/pair.

vanevenhoven wrote:I bought the 8" front fire sub last time: Pinnacle Speakers Subcompact 8" 300W Powered Subwoofer I just bought the baby duel 8.

I'm buying one of the 5.1 systems, I see the difference in specs, but can I get some help on the pragmatic justification for the $529 vs. $299 set?
thanks.

And Pinnacle,o I get a bowl of soup for buying $1000 worth of gear?

The difference is in the actual speakers your getting. For the $529 set, you get the LCR speakers in the front, which should make for a more full, larger soundstage than the ones in the $299 set. Also, the sub in the $529 set is larger at 12" vs 10" in the $299 set. Additionally, the sub has a more capable amp to push the 12" sub. This will result in deeper and fuller bass vs the 10" sub.

It really comes down to the size of the room you're trying to fill. In a smaller room, the $299 set should probably be sufficient, but if you're trying to fill a larger room, I'd go with the $529 set.

Both sets seem to have good features, and I'm especially impressed that they have five way binding posts on all of the satellites.

msmack123 wrote:To preface, I know next to nothing about speakers...

I have been looking to upgrade my sound quality for a very long time. I cannot stand the built in speakers on my television.

I was considering going with the QP9, but in reality I have no idea what I am talking about. What is the best approach for me to go with?

Additionally, do I need anything beyond what I purchase here to operate properly?

Thanks!

Edit: Space is also somewhat an issue, hence the speaker bar...

Today's TV sets are increasingly flatter, thinner, provide a more and more beautiful picture, YET>>lack any useful acoustic quality, in our view, and many others. You as a non-expert in this field can tell the TV speakers are not satisfactory. An old saying in our business is this: Many people may not know good sound, but they show no bad sound when they hear it" As a professional speaker company we are delighted most consumers realize that the super thin TV really needs a dedicated speaker solution. That is the exact purpose of our QP9W. In the event you do not have a stereo receiver, you would need to have a 5.1 receiver. Basically if you have not bought a receiver the past 6 years or so, it would be time for a new one. Than, to really complete the experience, we strongly recommend a powered subwoofer to go with the Speaker Bar. If you have a large room, high ceilings and want overall volume of bass, model PSSUB 225 is a great choice, if you listen to a lot of music and want accurate very deep bass consuder the Subcompact 8 or step up to our best seller, BABY BOOMER.

msmack123 wrote:To preface, I know next to nothing about speakers...

I have been looking to upgrade my sound quality for a very long time. I cannot stand the built in speakers on my television.

I was considering going with the QP9, but in reality I have no idea what I am talking about. What is the best approach for me to go with?

Additionally, do I need anything beyond what I purchase here to operate properly?

Thanks!

Edit: Space is also somewhat an issue, hence the speaker bar...

For the QP9 Soundbar, it is purely just a speaker bar that integrates the front three channels into a convenient single unit. They are unpowered, so you would need minimally a 5.1 capable receiver. I suppose you could get by with a Stereo receiver, but you would only be able to utilize the left and right channels.

There are a number of entry level receivers out there that can be had for around $200 to $300 (Onkyo, Denon, Pioneer, Yamaha, Harmon Kardon, etc). The feature set on these receivers is typically limited, but they can provide the channel outputs that you need to take advantage of this soundbar. From there, I'd look into getting some back surrounds and a sub to fill out the low end.

On top of that, you would need to get speaker wire (I'd recommend 14 to 12 gauge), and any interconnect wires you may need to connect up your receiver to any sources you may have (TV, Cable box, Blu ray player, etc).

pinnaclespeakers wrote:Today's TV sets are increasingly flatter, thinner, provide a more and more beautiful picture, YET>>lack any useful acoustic quality, in our view, and many others. You as a non-expert in this field can tell the TV speakers are not satisfactory. An old saying in our business is this: Many people may not know good sound, but they show no bad sound when they hear it" As a professional speaker company we are delighted most consumers realize that the super thin TV really needs a dedicated speaker solution. That is the exact purpose of our QP9W. In the event you do not have a stereo receiver, you would need to have a 5.1 receiver. Basically if you have not bought a receiver the past 6 years or so, it would be time for a new one. Than, to really complete the experience, we strongly recommend a powered subwoofer to go with the Speaker Bar. If you have a large room, high ceilings and want overall volume of bass, model PSSUB 225 is a great choice, if you listen to a lot of music and want accurate very deep bass consuder the Subcompact 8 or step up to our best seller, BABY BOOMER.

Sorry for the typos, here is that funny industry saying:

"Many people may not know good sound when they hear it, but they sure know BAD sound when they hear it"

Just popped on the TWR1050s. Would love to get some suggestions on what to drive these babies with from the people at Pinnacle (or anyone for that matter).

Interested in the Baby Boomer 600w. I've been looking for reviews and stuff to compare to online and can't find much. I've seen that it's discontinued on some websites. How long will support continue for this product?

kibdrv wrote:Just popped on the TWR1050s. Would love to get some suggestions on what to drive these babies with from the people at Pinnacle (or anyone for that matter).

Pretty much ANY major quality brand receiver, they are designed to sound and perform excellent with mainstream gear as opposed to only sounding good on multi-thousand dollar equipment. We recommend check THD, total harmonic distortion spec as the ture telling of a receiver's quality. The lower the THD rating the less distorted the power rating, AND< the more power you buy is always best. A Speaker rated at say 100 watts, will actually sound best on a 200 watt amp, as opposed to a 50 watt amp......Counter-intuitive, but true...........so, we say 50 Watts and up with THD spec of below .09%.............05% THD is even better...Enjoy!

joecrappa wrote:Interested in the Baby Boomer 600w. I've been looking for reviews and stuff to compare to online and can't find much. I've seen that it's discontinued on some websites. How long will support continue for this product?

The BABY BOOMER is our best seller high performance sub. We are married to it for a long time. When a web site says "Discontinued" it does not necessarily mean the manufacturer discontinued the item, it just may not be available at that web site, and sometimes it never was. Best to check the manufacturers site for most accurate information.

vanevenhoven wrote:I bought the 8" front fire sub last time: Pinnacle Speakers Subcompact 8" 300W Powered Subwoofer I just bought the baby duel 8.

Just bought both myself. Will be my first gear from Pinnacle.

I'm buying one of the 5.1 systems, I see the difference in specs, but can I get some help on the pragmatic justification for the $529 vs. $299 set?
thanks.

An observation:

The 5.1 sets don't have specific speaker models listed. However, it seems the pricier set has a less severe discount while all the components are available separately in the deal. As a consequence, for $30 cheaper and one extra $50 speaker thrown in, you could get the R12 and 3 pairs of LCRs. Warranty might be slightly different (amp on the sub) and lacking the cable ($20 on Amazon it seems).

I'm torn between 2 or 4 of the tall speakers versus the $300 5.1 set myself. I need to look into where the 5 element speakers stand in their lineup.

Hi all,

Hoping to get some input on this choice - I'm looking at the 8"/300W PS or the Baby Boomer.

I really don't know anything about this stuff, just getting into it and trying to pick out a decent system that will last a few years and not be disappointing. Plan to use it for both TV/movies and music in a small living room (~15x20).

I have an Onkyo TX-NR414 and the recent wooted speaker set, Take Classic by Energy.

I also had a passive sub laying around that I'm using now, but it sounds like crap, hence why I'm here.

Can someone make some points about each of these subs to help me decide which one of these is worth buying?

In particular, I'm trying to understand if there is really a significant difference between these subs and a cheaper one from Amazon, such as the Polk Audio PSW10 for ~$100, for my purposes.

Appreciate any honest advice/opinions, thanks.

Price on the 5.1 MB9500+ system is $50 less than it was when I bought them just a couple of months ago. Wish I would have waited. Haven't set them up yet, but the quality seems nice. Good price, at least.

I picked up the Baby Boomer last time and I think it's great. I already had good low end with my cabinets, but this adds the definition to all the deep rumblings. It seems to be more suited for a small to medium sized room and won't punch your chest, but the quality it adds makes it a great choice even for a good sized home theater room.

Now I'm thinking about the BD 300 center channel, but I can't find any real reviews for it. It looks like it's been out for a while, so why is there no professional interest?

My Pinnacle speaker experience:

My first home theater setup consisted of Pinnacle MB8000 (from Dell) which basically contained 2 S-FIT SAT 150s, 3 S-FIT LCR 250s, and a SUBCompact 8 subwoofer. The 2 things that immediately stood out were 1) the packaging was solid, so no worries on possible damage/RMA and 2) the speakers felt well-made (solid cabinetry, silk instead of cloth on the tweeter, sturdy binding posts for my banana plugs). The only thing I was skeptical of was the 8" sub (different from the one currently on woot). Needless to say, the subwoofer output was surprising and overall the system really brought my blu-ray movies to life. I was quite surprised by this little HTIB speaker set (considering all the bad things I've heard about buying a HTIB). So much so, that I ended up buying the baby boomer & the S-FIT CTR 350 from a previous woot.

Since then, I've shuffled a few things around and moved on to a 7.2 setup (Yamaha rx-a820 receiver) in the living room and 5.1 in the bedroom. If I saw the 1050s earlier, I would have been all over it. Are 2 baby boomers overkill for a 7.2 setup? I really like the deep bass it outputs.

HokiePokie757 wrote:My Pinnacle speaker experience:

My first home theater setup consisted of Pinnacle MB8000 (from Dell) which basically contained 2 S-FIT SAT 150s, 3 S-FIT LCR 250s, and a SUBCompact 8 subwoofer. The 2 things that immediately stood out were 1) the packaging was solid, so no worries on possible damage/RMA and 2) the speakers felt well-made (solid cabinetry, silk instead of cloth on the tweeter, sturdy binding posts for my banana plugs). The only thing I was skeptical of was the 8" sub (different from the one currently on woot). Needless to say, the subwoofer output was surprising and overall the system really brought my blu-ray movies to life. I was quite surprised by this little HTIB speaker set (considering all the bad things I've heard about buying a HTIB). So much so, that I ended up buying the baby boomer & the S-FIT CTR 350 from a previous woot.

Since then, I've shuffled a few things around and moved on to a 7.2 setup (Yamaha rx-a820 receiver) in the living room and 5.1 in the bedroom. If I saw the 1050s earlier, I would have been all over it. Are 2 baby boomers overkill for a 7.2 setup? I really like the deep bass it outputs.

Good morning, Pinnacle Speakers here. We appreciate the kind words. Regarding the concept of 2 Baby Boomers for a 7.2, we believe these 2 subwoofers will provide the bass experience most people would love to enjoy if space and budgets permit. 2 Baby Boomers is an excellent choice for this application because With 2 Baby Boomers you will determine, with the volume and crossover controls the best balance of bass you hear and feel. So, you may decide to have the volume on 1 subwoofer higher than on the other depending on where you are sitting. The dual Baby Boomers will allow you to experience as much bass as you want, so it is not overkill because you control the amount of bass volume and the dual subs give you a lot more potential bass output when you want it. We think the listening experience will be markedly enhanced. Enjoy your 7.2 system.

pinnaclespeakers wrote:Hey Woot Community -

Arin with Pinnacle Speakers here, and I'm available to answer any questions you may have on our products. Ask away...

What is the basic difference in your BD500 series II vs. these on sale here ?