Is the RB-51 a good surround speaker?

[JTSX1]

Hey folks, someone local is selling a set of RB-51 bookshelve speaders and I thought they might make a good surround speaker. Right now I have 83's and a 64 up front and running 5.1. Do you all think these would work as surrounds or would I be better off using RS-62/52/42? What are the advantages/disadvantages to using either of these? Thanks for the advice.

[InVeNtOr]

if you get the 51's you want to use them as REARS and not surrounds (IMOP). i would go with any of the rs as surrounds (42-52-62). they all work the same. with you using the 83's you would just have to turn up the 51's a bit. i have 7's up front and am using rs-42s (becaue that is all the wall space i have for them) and rb-61's in the rear. i chose the 61's because they are front ported unlike the 51's. i was informed using the 51's as a rear channel the fact that they are rear ported wouldn't make a difference at all. i just got a really good price on the 61's so i went with them.

hope that helps. bottom line as long as you stick with reference speakers for the rear channels it really doesn't make much a difference. the only thing you should consider is using the rs types for surrounds and rb types for rears. some people though use all rb's and some others use all rs's. it's up to you and your room which will end up working the best.

[JTSX1]

When you say use them as"rears" you mean place them directly behind you and not on the sides of the wall? I don't quite have enough room for a set up like that, was looking to put some speakers to the left and right of where I'd be sitting, for now at least.

[wuzzzer]

Generally speaking, in a 5.1 system the recommendation is to use some kind of wide dispersion speaker like the RS series as your side surrounds. In a 7.1 setup the rear speakers are generally recommended to be more like the RB series.

[JTSX1]

Thanks. I'm new to this whole home theater thing, so bear with me. I guess I could pick the RB's up and hold on to them till I get a house. They are going for $150 which seems cheap. The RS are pretty pricey in comparison and may have to wait on those.