Dual front left and right speaker pairs, why?

[marpow]

I have seen many pictures of personal audio systems where there are two pairs of mains in front.
As I continue on my gear studying journey I question this as it doesn't seem talked about much. I don't have it but was wondering why?
I assume it is for either stereo vs surround listening or genre listening in stereo, rock vs classical as an example.
Are they both speaker cabled at same time with a switch or same cables pulled on and off?
I would love to hear from you all as to your thoughts and knowledge.
It is fun to think and wish with our hobby and I was thinking for my self if I was to do a dual pair set up I would have the B&W 804 D3 for the surround mains and of course lots of stereo and the Kplisch Heresey III for the big stereo rock/blues sound?
How about you, thoughts? Do you have two pairs, why?

 

[GOS]

My buddy has 2 sets of front speakers. He has a dedicated theater room, with space. He has these Magneplaner speakers, and also has some vintage Pioneer floor models. He has them actually set up with different dedicated amps and depending on his mood...well....you know.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

My buddy has 2 sets of front speakers. He has a dedicated theater room, with space. He has these Magneplaner speakers, and also has some vintage Pioneer floor models. He has them actually set up with different dedicated amps and depending on his mood...well....you know.

View attachment 51368

Talk about “A wall of Sound”
Have you heard his system, and does he do multi-channel?

 

[GOS]

Talk about “A wall of Sound”
Have you heard his system, and does he do multi-channel?

haha, yes. He's my best friend and does 100% of remodel stuff in our house. Yep, I've heard all his iterations. I don't like the Magnepan sound. Yes, they totally disappear, but the lack of bass (even with sub) is noteable somehow. His Pioneer speakers flat out rock. Yes, he does multi-channel and his system is staggering. I'm always in awe...

 

[4-earredwonder]

I would think it would be an 'imaging' nightmare! Better to have a dedicated higher quality front right and front left speaker than two pairs, IMO.

If this was the case, money hungry speaker manufacturers would welcome the practice but AFAIK, no speaker manufacturer has.....and IMO, seems more than a bit SILLY!

 

[Sonik Wiz]

I have seen many pictures of personal audio systems where there are two pairs of mains in front.
As I continue on my gear studying journey I question this as it doesn't seem talked about much. I don't have it but was wondering why?
I assume it is for either stereo vs surround listening or genre listening in stereo, rock vs classical as an example.
Are they both speaker cabled at same time with a switch or same cables pulled on and off?
I would love to hear from you all as to your thoughts and knowledge.
It is fun to think and wish with our hobby and I was thinking for my self if I was to do a dual pair set up I would have the B&W 804 D3 for the surround mains and of course lots of stereo and the Kplisch Heresey III for the big stereo rock/blues sound?
How about you, thoughts? Do you have two pairs, why?
View attachment 51366View attachment 51367

I think this is a good representation of the set up you're describing:

This isn't my set up but the "inner" speakers are Infinity Kappa 8's the same as my front ch speakers, so I DL'ed it some time ago.

My considerations why someone would do this is perhaps differing tonal qualities between the speakers makes one pair more suitable for a particular type of music than the other. Maybe one pair for movies & the other pair for music? And maybe this is an attempt to widen the sound. Stereo fanatics that hate surround sound have embraced a gazillion different techniques over the years to make stereo sound more life like ( Bose speakers, OHM speakers with the Walsh driver, etc.)

I certainly agree with 4-earredwonder it would be an imaging nightmare with terrible phantom center front. Anyways everybody cool knows that extra pair of speakers is supposed to go behind you!

 

[GOS]

I would think it would be an 'imaging' nightmare! Better to have a dedicated higher quality front right and front left speaker than two pairs, IMO.

If this was the case, money hungry speaker manufacturers would welcome the practice but AFAIK, no speaker manufacturer has.....and IMO, seems more than a bit SILLY!

And, as far as my comment about my buddy's system. I mean to say, he doesn't play them at the same time. Depending on his mood, he fires up one pair or the other. Dedicated amps for each. He's an audio freak for sure. He's got speakers out in his barn that are better than my main system.

 

[4-earredwonder]

And, as far as my comment about my buddy's system. I mean to say, he doesn't play them at the same time. Depending on his mood, he fires up one pair or the other. Dedicated amps for each. He's an audio freak for sure. He's got speakers out in his barn that are better than my main system.

Well, unless your buddy's barn is dehumidified, those speakers are TOAST. Are they still in workable condition or do they contain blown elements?

Sorry, I misunderstood. Surprised he doesn't have one system SOLID STATE and the other TUBED for a very interesting comparison of tube versus solid state!

 

[GOS]

Well, unless your buddy's barn is dehumidified, those speakers are TOAST. Are they still in workable condition or do they contain blown elements?

Sorry, I misunderstood. Surprised he doesn't have one system SOLID STATE and the other TUBED for a very interesting comparison of tube versus solid state!

Barn is a relative term. He converted his barn into a listening loft. It's fully insulated, with heated floors, heaters, air conditioning. He's not only a contractor, he's a freaking electrical genius. He knows what he's doing. He also builds speakers.

 

[GOS]

Well, unless your buddy's barn is dehumidified, those speakers are TOAST. Are they still in workable condition or do they contain blown elements?

Sorry, I misunderstood. Surprised he doesn't have one system SOLID STATE and the other TUBED for a very interesting comparison of tube versus solid state!

He does.

 

[marpow]

I think this is a good representation of the set up you're describing:

View attachment 51370

This isn't my set up but the "inner" speakers are Infinity Kappa 8's the same as my front ch speakers, so I DL'ed it some time ago.

My considerations why someone would do this is perhaps differing tonal qualities between the speakers makes one pair more suitable for a particular type of music than the other. Maybe one pair for movies & the other pair for music? And maybe this is an attempt to widen the sound. Stereo fanatics that hate surround sound have embraced a gazillion different techniques over the years to make stereo sound more life like ( Bose speakers, OHM speakers with the Walsh driver, etc.)

I certainly agree with 4-earredwonder it would be an imaging nightmare with terrible phantom center front. Anyways everybody cool knows that extra pair of speakers is supposed to go behind you!

Yes, that is what I am talking about although much bigger than I could do, but it sure looks cool.
Thanks for the info so far, I am starting to get a better picture.

 

[4-earredwonder]

Barn is a relative term. He converted his barn into a listening loft. It's fully insulated, with heated floors, heaters, air conditioning. He's not only a contractor, he's a freaking electrical genius. He knows what he's doing. He also builds speakers.

But bass shy, Gene? Hmmm ... had a pair of smaller Magneplanar Speakers once and they were short lived. NO BASS whatsoever! Where's the BEEF???? I probably bought them on sale as those were the LEAN days...and they looked "COOL!"

 

[sperezmore]

Ohhhhhhh Yes!!!!!

Three pairs of mains in front plus Two powered subwoofers when I want in stereo, a monster Polk Audio sound wall for me

Regards,

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Yes, that is what I am talking about although much bigger than I could do, but it sure looks cool.
Thanks for the info so far, I am starting to get a better picture.

I just remembered a special speaker set up an old quaddie friend of mine had. He was dedicated to creating live rock concerts as good as possible in his home set up. He had 4 matching speakers up front; the inner pair was set up conventionally as one would do for stereo & the other pair was quite a bit wider left/right. He used a QSD-2 in the synth mode to drive these. Lf/Rf went to the inner speakers & Lb/Rb went to the outer side speakers. In the Sansui synth mode left (right) only sounds would come from the wide set out side speakers. Sounds panned in between would come from the inner speakers creating a seamless wide soundstage.

But he didn't stop there. He used another QSD-2 in the Hall mode using only the rear ch outputs for the rear speakers. The Hall mode works about the opposite of the Synth. There is some in-phase blending to ensure that no direct sounds came from the rear, only true ambient sounds.

I never heard his set up but I was always impressed at his ingenuity & I bet this came close to accomplishing his goal of a wide rock front stage with good rear ambience of the venue, audience, etc.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

I just remembered a special speaker set up an old quaddie friend of mine had. He was dedicated to creating live rock concerts as good as possible in his home set up. He had 4 matching speakers up front; the inner pair was set up conventionally as one would do for stereo & the other pair was quite a bit wider left/right. He used a QSD-2 in the synth mode to drive these. Lf/Rf went to the inner speakers & Lb/Rb went to the outer side speakers. In the Sansui synth mode left (right) only sounds would come from the wide set out side speakers. Sounds panned in between would come from the inner speakers creating a seamless wide soundstage.

But he didn't stop there. He used another QSD-2 in the Hall mode using only the rear ch outputs for the rear speakers. The Hall mode works about the opposite of the Synth. There is some in-phase blending to ensure that no direct sounds came from the rear, only true ambient sounds.

I never heard his set up but I was always impressed at his ingenuity & I bet this came close to accomplishing his goal of a wide rock front stage with good rear ambience of the venue, audience, etc.

You guys are making my head Spin! 🌪 🌪🌪 🌪

 

[hobie1dog]

Running two pairs of identical speakers up front is done quite often in the stereo world, and has been done for many years by people back in the early seventies who stacked two pairs of the original Advent speakers. The famous video audio critic, J. Gordon Holt used it for his reference system years ago as it creates a huge wall of sound and gives twice the driver radiating area, so you get lots more bass, more treble, and more mid-range. Everything gets a lot bigger and better. Of course there will always be the people that are too concerned about their precious palpable mid-range and the evil comb filtering which is thought to be such a huge problem, but I have never yet been able to experience comb filtering. Everyone that I have talked into doing it, love it. Audio nuts refer to it as "Large Scale Sound."
If you want to run different pairs of speakers, then a simple speaker selector switch that allows you to switch between different speakers coming off of the main amplifier is inexpensive.

 

[Soundfield]

I just remembered a special speaker set up an old quaddie friend of mine had. He was dedicated to creating live rock concerts as good as possible in his home set up. He had 4 matching speakers up front; the inner pair was set up conventionally as one would do for stereo & the other pair was quite a bit wider left/right. He used a QSD-2 in the synth mode to drive these.

Interestingly the "four up front" mode was something Sansui (amongst others) actually promoted - as shown in this brochure for their QSD-1000 processor:

I've always been intrigued by this configuration but being rather doubtful of the logic behind it and that it would sound any good, have never actually gone to the effort of trying it myself. Perhaps I should.

 

[gene_stl]

The main advantage of stacked anything is that it allows the dealer to sell two rather than one pair of speakers. Perhaps neophyte audio hobbyists couldn't afford a better pair of speakers so they bought two cheaper pairs(perhaps separated in time). The idea first was promoted by Advent which was one of the first high profit margin brands that didn't give you as much for your money as more expensive speakers. They were two ways , before two ways were made popular by subwoofers becoming common. Four sound better because two aren't that good.

 

[DuncanS]

Interestingly the "four up front" mode was something Sansui (amongst others) actually promoted - as shown in this brochure for their QSD-1000 processor:

View attachment 51377

I've always been intrigued by this configuration but being rather doubtful of the logic behind it and that it would sound any good, have never actually gone to the effort of trying it myself. Perhaps I should.

An evil thought, maybe the front-to-back separation of the unit wasn't that great

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Interestingly the "four up front" mode was something Sansui (amongst others) actually promoted - as shown in this brochure for their QSD-1000 processor:

View attachment 51377

I've always been intrigued by this configuration but being rather doubtful of the logic behind it and that it would sound any good, have never actually gone to the effort of trying it myself. Perhaps I should.

Yeah I remember seeing that from your previous post. The QSD-1000 was a class act; it wasn't like Sansui was just trying to use up old Variomatrix chips. But quad had come & gone by then & me thinks the only way they could market it is to stereo fans in a set up like that. It also shows a conventional quad speaker arrangement but the four up front could not be described Super AV Surround.