shahinian Arcs as front AV speakers

Posted by: ARC on 03 January 2004

The amount of DVDs that I'm watching is increasing and I am starting to wonder if Arcs are suitable for this type of use. Having listened to other people's AV systems I think that the Arc's steering may not be as good as I would like for this type of mmaterial. Does anyone have any opinions on using Arcs for AV. Has anyone changed from Arcs to other speakers either for Hifi or AV?

I'm perhaps considering changing to conventional stereo speakers that can be used as front AV and I prefer not to have a sub if possible.

Brendan

Posted on: 04 January 2004 by markcas

I acually really like using my Arc's for watching movies and don't feel the need for multi channel A/V. However, I called Shahinian about 6 months ago regarding available upgrades on the Arc. Richard Shahinian told me that they are working on a special omni centre sub that you put your TV on. Designed to work well with Arc's. That might be worth checking out but no sign of it yet.

Posted on: 04 January 2004 by RichardHallman

I use an old pair of Arcs in my chrome bumper era system, and also run the front channels through the main system (with some DIY power amps for rear channel duty). A PC does the decoding. In fact I have no centre channel - the decoder is set to run as "phantom centre" - the centre channel is mixed in with front left and right.
I find the Arcs fine for AV - any whizz bang surround stuff can play in the rear channels - the front offers me a nice "wall" of sound, and I'm very happy with it - maybe a bit of a "flat" POV, but there you are. Also the Arcs offer decent bass extension, so if I added a sub, it would have to do a lot to give me much more than I'm getting at the moment.

Posted on: 04 January 2004 by Mr Perceptive

Although not an AV system, I regularly use my Arcs fronted by a DVD player and Naim (62/140)Amplification.

Due to rampaging toddlers currently my Arcs are about 5ft apart, behind the TV in an alcove (around 150mm from the rear walls). Not ideal but protection is mandatory!!

Even though my DVD player is a cheapo one, I find I get a great dynamic sound with the Arcs and because of their poistioning it suits the TV picture well.

I will say that the Arcs are not shielded and in the wrong place will distort the TV picture. Howver behind and to the sides of the TV seems to cause no problem as the magetic field is inclined downwards thus missing the TV.

Also due to the room filling nature of the Aarcs it has taken away my requirement for a surround sound system (sure I'm missing some rearward effects, but it just sounds great as it is)

Mr Perceptive