Best center kit up to $150?

[yonyz]

Well poop, turns out the jbl is 2 cm taller than the focal. It actually won’t fit. The focal already obscures 1-2 cm from the screen.

 

[TheWarrior]

Well poop, turns out the jbl is 2 cm taller than the focal. It actually won’t fit. The focal already obscures 1-2 cm from the screen.

Well...... since this is Audioholics, do you really need the screen?

 

[yonyz]

Yeah it’s kinda useful for home theater use. I only listen to music while driving and at the gym with el cheapo earphones.


Since the Focal is a closed design, I pushed it towards the wall so that it’s further from me and I don’t know if that did anything or I just got used to it but I pretty much forget that the speaker is underneath the tv.

 

[yonyz]

It’s done, I’m returning it tomorrow. It’s no doubt inferior to the jbl 230s I have as mains.

Saw a Focal CC800V for double the price of the CC700. The tweeter is the same design as far as I can tell. Should I expect a noticeable improvement over the CC700 (before I drive 30 km)?

 

[TheWarrior]

It’s done, I’m returning it tomorrow. It’s no doubt inferior to the jbl 230s I have as mains.

Saw a Focal CC800V for double the price of the CC700. The tweeter is the same design as far as I can tell. Should I expect a noticeable improvement over the CC700 (before I drive 30 km)?

What is inferior? The Focal? Did you try the JBL or is it inferior as well?

The CC800V has better drivers than the CC700 you just tried, but it still suffers from the same crossover design. Don't waste your time going to trial it!

 

[yonyz]

What is inferior? The Focal? Did you try the JBL or is it inferior as well?

The CC800V has better drivers than the CC700 you just tried, but it still suffers from the same crossover design. Don't waste your time going to trial it!

The Focal is inferior, and the jbl did not sound great at high volume. I still haven’t returned the Focal because we have holidays this week, but I saw a 3-way Jamo D 8Cen within my budget. I’m not familiar with this brand but I will check it out once I’ve been ridden of the Focal.

 

[TheWarrior]

The Focal is inferior, and the jbl did not sound great at high volume. I still haven’t returned the Focal because we have holidays this week, but I saw a 3-way Jamo D 8Cen within my budget. I’m not familiar with this brand but I will check it out once I’ve been ridden of the Focal.

In an ideal world, that is what speaker shopping would be about. Everyone gets roughly the same clarity, but you pay more to get more if you have a larger space or just want that clarity to remain at ANY volume.

I would avoid any 2-way center channel design. Look for 2.5 and 3 way crossover designs with a soft/fabric dome tweeter. Those will sound the closest to what you have. Hopefully the Jamo will meet your approval!

 

[yonyz]

In an ideal world, that is what speaker shopping would be about. Everyone gets roughly the same clarity, but you pay more to get more if you have a larger space or just want that clarity to remain at ANY volume.

I would avoid any 2-way center channel design. Look for 2.5 and 3 way crossover designs with a soft/fabric dome tweeter. Those will sound the closest to what you have. Hopefully the Jamo will meet your approval!

You mentioned soft some tweeter. My mains have aluminum ones. Still, the JBL Arena 125C has a fabric some teeeter with the same “HDI” waveguide as my mains. It’s also very fairly priced here in Israel, just $20 more than US price, but I didn’t think much of it because it’s a series below the Studio 2 line.

 

[TheWarrior]

You mentioned soft some tweeter. My mains have aluminum ones. Still, the JBL Arena 125C has a fabric some teeeter with the same “HDI” waveguide as my mains. It’s also very fairly priced here in Israel, just $20 more than US price, but I didn’t think much of it because it’s a series below the Studio 2 line.

Aluminum is fine if you get matching speakers. But soft domes are typically easier to match varying speaker designs/brands with.

 

[yonyz]

Oh never mind, the Arena is a 2 way.

Sorry for this endless thread and thank you for the continued help. I have “discovered” that the Jamo is at least 15 years old but considered high end (at the time?). It’s 1200 Israeli shekels. And now I just saw that a Pioneer SP-EC73 can be had, new, for 1440 Israeli shekels. So the price difference is 240 shekels which are about $50. The pioneer is an Andrew Jones design with good reviews and a 3 way design that incorporates a concentric driver. The thing is that the price is for import from the US so I can’t test it and returns are not practical. Would appreciate your thoughts on this.

 

[TheWarrior]

Oh never mind, the Arena is a 2 way.

Sorry for this endless thread and thank you for the continued help. I have “discovered” that the Jamo is at least 15 years old but considered high end (at the time?). It’s 1200 Israeli shekels. And now I just saw that a Pioneer SP-EC73 can be had, new, for 1440 Israeli shekels. So the price difference is 240 shekels which are about $50. The pioneer is an Andrew Jones design with good reviews and a 3 way design that incorporates a concentric driver. The thing is that the price is for import from the US so I can’t test it and returns are not practical. Would appreciate your thoughts on this.

No worries! We've literally ALL been there!

Give the Pioneer a listen! I've only heard the entry level 'Andrew Jones' models and thought highly of them. The concentric driver might be exactly what you are looking for in your room!

 

[yonyz]

No worries! We've literally ALL been there!

Give the Pioneer a listen! I've only heard the entry level 'Andrew Jones' models and thought highly of them. The concentric driver might be exactly what you are looking for in your room!

Not sure if you misunderstood, but I cannot give the pioneer a try but only buy it from the US (self import). No returns in this case.

I can listen to the Jamo though. Maybe I’ll do that first. If you say that the entry level Andrew Jones models are good then I’ll only take the Jamo if it sounds absolutely great.

 

[yonyz]

Welp, I’ve just returned the Focal and called the Jamo seller but it’s already been sold.

Found a used Morel Signature Octave center.
Same price as new pioneer SP-EC73.

https://www.morelhifi.com/product/octave-signature-centre/

 

[TheWarrior]

Welp, I’ve just returned the Focal and called the Jamo seller but it’s already been sold.

Found a used Morel Signature Octave center.
Same price as new pioneer SP-EC73.

https://www.morelhifi.com/product/octave-signature-centre/

The Morel is an interesting design. If you go to listen, be sure to turn your head side to side, and even lean side to side (I usually get up and walk around the room) to hear what changes as I get further from the center of the speaker.

But it seems you're pretty well stuck either paying a lot more for a new JBL, or finding a deal on a used speaker that will blend with what you have. If the Pioneer is that much cheaper than a JBL, then I would say the Pioneer might be a safe bet. But I do not have your ears, so of course I cannot guarantee!

 

[yonyz]

I’m actually no longer interested in a jbl center, especially the matching one. It’s too sharp at high volumes. The Focal was smoother but didn’t have a proper waveguide for my room. I’ll check out the morel tomorrow morning. Will update with impressions. Thanks again.

 

[yonyz]

Picked up the morel, will update in a few days once the initial excitement has subsided.

 

[yonyz]

So I took the time to actually use the morel and the bottom line is that I don’t believe I could have found a better center for the price I paid. Here’s a funny story:

I went to the seller’s house and the morel was already hooked up but with LRs by Usher ($15k). We did a test of the morel alone because the Usher speakers are huge and out of its league (supposedly). He told me he was selling the morel because he just bought the matching Usher center ($3400 local price), and he bought it only for the looks.

So we listened to the morel alone, without the stereo pair, and I didn’t like it that much. I noticed that the highs were rather sharp, something I dislike about my JBLs. So I was about to go and then he suggested that we take the brand new Usher center out of the box and have a listen to it (it’s 3 times the price of the morel). We both noticed that there was more bass and the tweeter was softer (highs were not sharp). But we also noticed that the morel is much more detailed, so we did back and a few times and it made me appreciate how good the morel was in comparison. Then we lowered the treble for the morel and that solved my only gripe with it. So I grabbed it and went home.

Here are my thoughts after using it for a dozen or so tv episodes and also 3-4 movies:

1. Bass is great, punchier than my jbl mains. Midrange is a joy. Vocals sound so much fuller and with more presence. I like it so much that I even use it for music.

2. As for the highs, in my setup, in my room, I like the tweeter as it is. It is a bit smoother when I lower the treble but I’d rather hear all the small details.

3. It’s now the best speaker in my setup, and I intend to eventually get the bookshelves of the series, though that’s not really needed for movies but only for music.

4. It does sound a bit directional, as did the Usher center. I’ve accepted this small compromise. It’s really small here because the tweeter is at the very top of the speaker so it’s actually covering part of the tv. In fact it’s almost level with the tweeter height of the main speakers.

5. I wish it was black instead of white. I can clearly see it in movies when I shut all the lights off since it’s so close to the tv. Maybe I’ll put a black cloth on it or something.

So yeah, I’ve found “the one”. I’ll try to enjoy it as much as I can before the next semester starts, which is in ten days.

 

[TheWarrior]

So I took the time to actually use the morel and the bottom line is that I don’t believe I could have found a better center for the price I paid. Here’s a funny story:

I went to the seller’s house and the morel was already hooked up but with LRs by Usher ($15k). We did a test of the morel alone because the Usher speakers are huge and out of its league (supposedly). He told me he was selling the morel because he just bought the matching Usher center ($3400 local price), and he bought it only for the looks.

So we listened to the morel alone, without the stereo pair, and I didn’t like it that much. I noticed that the highs were rather sharp, something I dislike about my JBLs. So I was about to go and then he suggested that we take the brand new Usher center out of the box and have a listen to it (it’s 3 times the price of the morel). We both noticed that there was more bass and the tweeter was softer (highs were not sharp). But we also noticed that the morel is much more detailed, so we did back and a few times and it made me appreciate how good the morel was in comparison. Then we lowered the treble for the morel and that solved my only gripe with it. So I grabbed it and went home.

Here are my thoughts after using it for a dozen or so tv episodes and also 3-4 movies:

1. Bass is great, punchier than my jbl mains. Midrange is a joy. Vocals sound so much fuller and with more presence. I like it so much that I even use it for music.

2. As for the highs, in my setup, in my room, I like the tweeter as it is. It is a bit smoother when I lower the treble but I’d rather hear all the small details.

3. It’s now the best speaker in my setup, and I intend to eventually get the bookshelves of the series, though that’s not really needed for movies but only for music.

4. It does sound a bit directional, as did the Usher center. I’ve accepted this small compromise. It’s really small here because the tweeter is at the very top of the speaker so it’s actually covering part of the tv. In fact it’s almost level with the tweeter height of the main speakers.

5. I wish it was black instead of white. I can clearly see it in movies when I shut all the lights off since it’s so close to the tv. Maybe I’ll put a black cloth on it or something.

So yeah, I’ve found “the one”. I’ll try to enjoy it as much as I can before the next semester starts, which is in ten days.

Glad it worked out! Thanks for your detailed assessment!

Share your set up in pictures, some time!