CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[jeffslife]

and why ? please only tried and true not the center you wish you had.

[Nashou66]

I must say that the Phase technology PC series is a great center channel and even their book shelf speakers work great as centers. There was a single PC 60 for sale on ebay. It is a legendary sounding speaker. I have the PC 33.3 as a center. Very clear and crisp.

I Have also heard the BW 800 series center and that was awesome!! It goes really deep for a center, yet is very intelligible for dialog.

[RayN999]

Martin Logan Cinema is what I'm using now, complements the Aerius i front channel speakers just fine. Excellent off-axis quality due to the curved ES panel. Much better than the NHT SC-1 I had previously.

Ray

[jeffslife]

I have seen a lot of Martin Logan stuff used on ebay with major price cuts, looks interesting, a 60 pound center sounds serious.

[stridsvognen]

After many years of experimenting, i prefer no center speaker at all.

I have been around 15-20 different center configurations with different center speakers, stacked center speakers, front speaker used as center speaker, and 2 front speaker in the center, and even with different sub solutions to support the center channel.

[ecrabb]

[stridsvognen]

[nettwerkjohn]

we're using 2 janszen z-30 electrostatic hybrids. (they match the z-40 fronts, and z-30 rears...)

[zaphod]

i have used a Martin Logan Logos for years, replacing it only with a Martin Logan Stage.

the Logos driven by a Mac MC-60 tube amp was divine.

[jeffslife]

2 electrostatics now that's interesting, How and where are they positioned ?

[zaphod]

three electrostat users!

Ray is using a ML Cinema, Nettwerkjohn is using Janszen z-30 and i've got the ML stage (was using the ML Logos - does that make it 4 )

why? i find that electrostats do a gret job on voice. their midrange is (to me) in matched. My whole system is ML electorstats for tonal match.

In the system that is no more it was positioned just a bit back of the fronts. you can see it just below the Sony 27" - gives you an idea of the age of the picture - the electric screen came down jusst between the mains.

[jeffslife]

Is Nettwerkjohn using 2 electros as center ? Or did I misunderstand ?

[mr_ro_co]

My favorite would be one that either is a point source or mimics a point source. Single driver, coaxial, or symmetric array (direct radiator or horn) all effect point source radiation. Symmetric arrays (MTM/WTM) can be better in that they can have more narrow vertical dispersion coupled with a controlled horizontal dispersion angle. This limits HF ceiling and floor reflections while achieving enough horizontal dispersion to get seamless coverage and constant spectral balance across the three fronts. A key attribute of point source is either lack of vertical interdriver interference patterns ("lobing") or mitigating them by making them symmetric and ameliorating hot spot lobes with pattern overlap and by optimizing or manipulating interdriver excess phase and filter slopes.

One of the best commodity LCR speakers for home theater is the Dunlavy SC-1, or any of its big brothers. Superb dispersion characteristics and unmatched, stunningly natural speech intelligibility. It's also pulse coherent, which means harmonically accurate. Very few speakers perform even remotely as well as a center/front speaker for conventional / small format home theater than the Dunlavy designs.

True point source or symmetric arrays with flat or linear phase through the crossover region as well as through key speech intelligibility frequency regions will yield excellent dialog clarity. This is enhanced with controlled dispersion and room treatments. Ideally the three front speakers are identical, oriented uniformly. This is difficult to accomplish without an AT screen, and the usual compromise of putting a MTM speaker on its side for the front pretty much negates the benefit of identical point source LCRs.

Many hi-fi speakers valued for their two channel subjective sound appeal are poor choices for the needs of LCR speakers, let alone the specific performance needed from a center channel speaker.

Steve

[nettwerkjohn]

correct. i am using 2 z-30s, side by side. i'll get some pix done later...

whatever the "measurements" say, this configuration sounds good, and thats what really matters, ain't it?

the only other theaters that i've heard that i liked the sound of better was one with a complete set of shahinian ARCs with a triad inroom sub, and one with a complete set of triad inwalls...

[jeffslife]

Yep, Screw the measurements ! The only measurement that matters is if it sounds good to you. Since electrostatics don't actually have a speaker "layout" would it matter if they were horizontal ? Just curious.

[mr_ro_co]

The "if it sounds good, is is good" approach only works to an extent. There are specific performance attributes for LCR speakers that rule out many, if not most, hi fi speakers that otherwise sound "great" in two channel audio. Just as with using C-elements, proper pj throw / lens combos, and accurate ISF setup for correct geometry, gray scale and gamma to get a great looking image, there are specific acoustic performance requirements that require a specific type of loudspeaker performance to get the best dialog clarity, and a consistent spectral balance for the front channel mix for the overall viewing location. Using whatever exotic speakers you want in mismatched approach will not yield the best sounding result. And that is not my opinion. Things like the THX spec have been thoroughly vetted out via intensive, systematic auditioning efforts that tightly correlate measured performance with subjectively received sound quality. There is a reason the pro theaters use the approaches they do. It is no accident, and it sure as heck isn't based on "forget what it measures like, it just needs to 'sound good.'"

Steve