Dont look at it, just listen to it.
My ha system consists of a HK AVR635 and 5 Athena Technologies audition series 2 speakers. I was considering adding a second center channel speaker next to the one I already have, primarily for aesthetic reasons, the one just looks so small next to everything else. I like the way it sounds, but figure adding another will at the very least not make it sounds any worse, right? Will it make it sound much better? I apologise for the newb question, but would there be anything wrong with simply twisting the wires from the 2 center channel speakers together and hooking them up to my receiver's center channel inputs? Do I need a crossover considering that I'm hooking up 2 identical speakers? Is there any reason why this is a bad idea?
I was also considering trading up my souround speakers from the bookshelf to the floorstanding. Any reason this wouldn't sounds good?
thanks in advance
Never apologize for asking questions, that doesn't make you a n00b at all.
First of all, it's not a great idea. If its purely for aesthetic reasons and you don't mind spending money just for looks, buy one and don't hook it up.
As that would be a sensless waste of hard earned money, the problem is with impedance (the amount of resistance the speakers provide for the amplifier's centre channel circuit). While HK amps like to suggest they can handle low inpedance loads, the newer recivers (I mean new as in less than 25 years old) are not going to perform as well when loaded (simply put, less resistance means the amp has to create more output power).
Example, if that centre channel is designed for an 8 ohm load/resistance, and you add two 8 ohm speakers to it, it now has to deal with a 4 ohm load (speaker resistance does change constantly too). It's better to leave it as is than to over work one channel, that results in excessive heat at the receiver and ultimately distortion. So to answer your question; YES, it is very possible it will sound worse and highly likely it won't sound any better either.
You COULD use a 2 channel speaker selector, which will automatically match the impedance for that pair of speakers, but again that's really overkill for just looks.
If I were you, I'd leave it as is and just be happy that you have a nice system with good sound.
As I always ask my customers, "Do you look at your music or listen to it?"
