Audio Systems: Speakers, midrange drivers, midrange driver

Question
I am looking at purchasing a surround speaker system and would like to ask a question if you can help me out with.  The system I'm looking at is by JBL (SCS136SI).  It is a 6.1 system.  It comes with a 8" subwoofer.  The satellites are pretty small and feature a 3" midrange and 1/2" tweeter.  JBL also make a system that's a step up (SCS160SI) with a 10" subwoofer and satellites that are bigger and feature (2) 3" midranges and 1/2" tweeter.  Now I'm guessing that the system which features 2 midrange drivers per speaker will sound better and be more efficient than the other system which only has 1 midrange driver?  The specs say that the SCS160SI has 88db sensitivity compared to the other which has 86db.  Would I be correct, or is it just a marketing scheme so that people will pay more thinking that the "step-up" system would be better?  The difference in price in the two systems is about $100-150.  Also, does materials make a difference when manufacturers make speakers, or is that just all marketing hype.  For instance the specs for these speaker systems say the tweeters are titanium-laminate dome.  Sounds great.  Then I was looking at some speakers by Athena that said "tweeter- Textile Dome - Neodymium Magnet and woofer-High Performance Injection Molded Polypropylene Cone w/ rubber surrounds - 9oz magnet structure.  Sounds even greater, but what does this all mean to the average consumer.  Thanks very much for all your help.

Answer
Dear Dave,

Tweeter compositions vary with the manufacturer--sort of. You'd be surprised, or maybe not, at how many excellent speakers use off-the-shelf drivers, usually made by VIFA, a Swedish driver specialty maker. The bottom line is that tweeters have to be made of something very bad to sound bad. Even paper cones, if properly treated, will sound okay.

What does this mean to you, the average consumer? Not a whole lot, I'm afraid. I think when you buy a surround sound system, you're getting speakers with which to enjoy movies, so the speakers' composition is secondary to their performance. And I think when you audition the speakers, you should bring in a DVD with which you're familiar, and see how they sound with source material you know well. That's the acid, and frankly the only, test.

Okay, specifics. There's not a whole lot of difference between 86dB and 88dB sensitivity. And all sensitivity indicates is how easy/hard the speakers are to drive with relatively low power. The 88 will do sightly better than the 86 with, say, 35 watts per channel (wpc) RMS. If you're investing in a new home theater system, your receiver will put out 65-80 wpc at a minimum even into the surround and rear channels, more than enough power. So sensitivity shouldn't be an issue.

The differences between the 136 and 160 are (1) the second midrange driver in the 160 and (2) the 10" subwoofer in the 160 vs. the 8" subwoofer in the 136. Simply put, the 136 is smaller. Is the 160 worth the increase in price? That depends on what your requirements are. How large is your room? These are both pretty modest systems that will work well in smaller rooms, say, 10x10 to 12x12. How high do you like to crank up the bass when you're watching a movie? The 10" subwoofer will be louder than the 8" subwoofer.

If you like to listen to music through your home theater system, then neither is a very good investment. IMHO, 3" midrange drivers don't do a very good job of reproducing that critical musical band. 5" midrange drivers are my minimum.

How much of this is marketing hype? Not much in the case of the JBLs. JBL is a very solid product, which performs well.

All this having been said, be careful of salespeople who will try to steer you toward more expensive product on the theory that high price equals better sound. Listen. Make your own judgment. Get the system that sounds better to you.

Good luck. And thanks for choosing allexperts.com!

Kindest regards,

Kevin