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I'm thinking about getting into home theater and I'm a little curious about the sound difference I will get if I use a dedicated center channel compared to using 5 identical bookshelf speakers? The bookshelf speakers each contain a single 5.25" woofer, whereas the center has two. I know most of the dialogue comes from the center so I don't want to slight that part, I'm just interested in finding out if I should abide by true Dolby Digital protocols (5 identical speakers...but ideally full-range which these are not) or get a dedicated center channel that has two woofers which I assume would make it a bit more efficient? Anyone have experience either way? Thanks in advance and sorry if my question is a bit vague at times, I'm not exactly sure how to ask this question.
-Steve
Follow Ups:
Five identical speakers is the best way to go.
Although I currently use a no-matching center, I previously had three identical FL,FR and CC speakers. Nothing great but the tale that follows may be interesting.I did some experimenting. I first noticed that when using the HT level set-up tone generated by my AVR, the center sounded very different. This seemed a little odd. A bit later I came into possession of a 1/3 octave spectrum analyzer with pink noise generator. Just by ear I noted that the pink noiuse would sound very different when run through the center channel. No subtle A/B switching needed. I got more serious and took note of the actual spectrum. R&L were pretty similar - center was very different. I swapped speakers around and took care that ever aspect of the signal path was the same. No mater what I did the center always was very different. (As an side experiment, I tried the center both above and below the screen. Bothe positions were very different from the R&L but alsdo from each other.)
Conclusion: The effect of room position (and probably reflections off the monitor cabinet) is so extreme that "matching" a center to the R&L is largely meaningless. Of course you could go to ridiculous extremes that produce wierd results (say a Magnepan center with Bose micro-cubes for L&R!), but I think any reasonable combination would be acceptable. There are other considerations for the center channel such as a smooth off-axis pattern, good sonics in the dialog part of the sound spectrum, practical physical dimensions that are more important than just matching it to the L&R.
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Theoretically the rears should match also but IMO they are less critical.However I strongly recommend you get a sub.
John
Peace at AA
John,
Thanks for the advice. All speakers would be the same, except if I get a center channel and that will be from the same brand/series. I do have a sub already so that is taken care of. I just need to get some kind of receiver so I can complete it. Thanks.
-Steve
My system is set up completely contrary to conventional wisdom, as I have B&W L/R speakers, a Kef center channel, and Definitive Technology surrounds. I have not really noticed a problem with sound panning across the front, but if you do a comparison between phantom (no center channel) and using the center channel, you can hear that the Kef is a more natural sounding, less colored speaker. Even so, my feeling is that the three front speakers are of roughly the same quality and timbre.Keep in mind that the center channel speaker is the most important one, as that's where most of the information comes out of. That said, if you get a high quality center channel speaker and have something like Bose or Cerwin Vega (both crap brands IMO) L/R speakers, I believe you may be bothered by the lack of timbre matching between the different quality speakers. Whatever you get for the center channel, be sure it is magnetically shielded so it doesn't bother your TV.
Todd
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