Best Center Channel Speaker under $200

[Cassius Watson]

Hey Guys,
I'm a budding enthusiast who has been following Audioholics on Youtube and just decided to join here. I'm currently running an old Sony DG500 receiver along with SONY 5-speaker set including SS MB350H as fronts, CN 550H as center and SS MB150H as rears. I'm planning firstly to upgrade the center channel and I have been considering the following: SONY SS CS8, FLUANCE XL7c, FLUANCE Signature Series, HTD Level3, Polk Audio CS10, Bic America DV-62CLR, Bic America FH6 LCR, Infinity Primus PC351, Elac Debut C5 or RBH Sound R5CiR... Please let my know which you'd go with or recommend something you think can trump these in this price range. I would truly appreciate your guidance and help. Thanks in advance guys!!

Cheers!

 

[BlwnAway]

In general I'd recommend getting something that will match what ever your plan is for your final speaker choice for the room, timbre matching is what your looking for, when it comes to your front 3 esp.
The concept is, the better the match, the less chance of noticing a difference as sounds pan across your front soundstage, the less chance of distracting you from the immersion of the experience. And since your normally more focused on the picture in front of you, a distraction in the front will be the most noticeable.

Personally, since the Center gets so much content, my choice is to have at least 5.25" drivers, to me it just helps with clarity of the spoken word.

 

[Cassius Watson]

May I ask what your current set up is and are your center speakers 2-way or 3-way?

In general I'd recommend getting something that will match what ever your plan is for your final speaker choice for the room, timbre matching is what your looking for, when it comes to your front 3 esp.
The concept is, the better the match, the less chance of noticing a difference as sounds pan across your front soundstage, the less chance of distracting you from the immersion of the experience. And since your normally more focused on the picture in front of you, a distraction in the front will be the most noticeable.

Personally, since the Center gets so much content, my choice is to have at least 5.25" drivers, to me it just helps with clarity of the spoken word.

 

[rojo]

In general I'd recommend getting something that will match what ever your plan is for your final speaker choice for the room, timbre matching is what your looking for, when it comes to your front 3 esp.
The concept is, the better the match, the less chance of noticing a difference as sounds pan across your front soundstage, the less chance of distracting you from the immersion of the experience. And since your normally more focused on the picture in front of you, a distraction in the front will be the most noticeable.

Personally, since the Center gets so much content, my choice is to have at least 5.25" drivers, to me it just helps with clarity of the spoken word.

It'll be difficult timbre matching his mains. They appear to have a 14dB slope from ~3k to ~9k. Those speakers so bright, I gotta wear shades.

I dunno, I guess for < $200 there's always the old stock Pioneer SP-C22. There's a B stock Hsu Research HC-1 MK2 center on clearance for $207, but you'll have to add $30 shipping. The Infinity Primus might also be a decent choice. The two-way Primus is pretty cheap, or there's one used 3-way for sale in your budget. The Dana 630I seems to be quite a bargain. *shrug*

 

[tyhjaarpa]

Like already stated, it is best to get center matched with your front speakers. So pick first the front speakers you want to go with and get center from same line.

 

[Alex2507]

The two-way Primus is pretty cheap

I like that center. It has their famed 4" mids IIRC. The larger 3-wau loses that for a larger less capable woofer and a chintzy little 2 or 3 inch pos mid. I haven't clicked on the link ... yet.

EDIT: Whoops, I meant the even smaller center from the HTIAB line. PS 140 series IIRC.

I like the linked center too. Anything but the 3-way PC350.

 

[Swerd]

You should avoid Fluance for the present. Their XL7 speakers have some ugly looking (and probably ugly sounding) frequency response curves, and their more recently released Signature series had some serious design flaws and quality control problems.

https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/fluance-signature-series-speakers-preview.97371/

This is a long rambling thread. Skip ahead to page 10, and start with post #185. Pay close attention to posts by Dennis Murphy, beginning at post #230, page 12.
https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/fluance-signature-series-speakers-preview.97371/page-10

And for the real short version: post #295 page 15, post #328 page 17, and post #344 page 18.

They might sort out their problems, but until that happens for certain, it's best to avoid Fluance.

 

[afterlife2]

If you can find these...grab them. Amazing center speaker and I've heard alot(JBL, Infinity, etc). I've seen some on ebay now and then for $60. I would naormally say 3 way, but standalone this center is great and crisp and clear.