Help pick an affordable centre speaker

L

Linto

Audiophyte
Hi,
I am Linto from India. My system is
Devon avr x1300w
Jamo s426 towers
Profx fusion 5 series of bipolar surrounds

I used to have a jamo s60 Centre speaker of s606 series. I did not like the centre as it was a bit boxy and I found I liked the phantom centre better with clear dialogue delivery (it's already hard as an Indian for me to listen and understand Hollywood movie dialogue without subtitle on ). Then as an experiment, I switched one of my s426 towers as a centre speaker (horizontally placed) and suddenly my dialogues sounded superb. So I realised that this particular centre speaker was the problem.
So now I want to buy a budget centre speaker. The ones in my mind are

Taga LCR 60 SL
Taga platinum C90 SL
Taga C40 PR
Taga c 100
How would you guys rank these speakers in 1,2,3,4 positions?
Also please suggest any other brands speakers in this price range.
I also want to know your opinion about taga TAV 506 V2 package in comparison to jamo s426? they are cheaply available on Amazon if I spend a bit more than the price of these taga centre speakers. My thought is that then I will have the option to use the centre of TAV 506, if I didn't like it I can try one of those towers horizontally as a center speaker and so on... Thanks in advance.. Help me out.
 
Phase 2

Phase 2

Audioholic Chief
Never heard of those, anyways welcome to AH! So your way over on the other side of the World? How goes it over there?
 
HTfreak2004

HTfreak2004

Senior Audioholic
I’ve read reviews where the LCR channels are all the same. This setup is the best for surround channels as well. Usually without a dedicated room with high enough ceilings using a upright speaker can impede onto the display. That tends to be the reason horizontal centre channels are made. It’s normally a wiser choice to use a MTM horizontal arrangement as dialogue is the main purpose for a centre channel. It can even be an advantage to have the centre channel level with the main speakers mid and tweeter for even better coherence of your soundstage. Not sure about your options your considering however.


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S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
I’ve read reviews where the LCR channels are all the same. This setup is the best for surround channels as well. Usually without a dedicated room with high enough ceilings using a upright speaker can impede onto the display. That tends to be the reason horizontal centre channels are made. It’s normally a wiser choice to use a MTM horizontal arrangement as dialogue is the main purpose for a centre channel. It can even be an advantage to have the centre channel level with the main speakers mid and tweeter for even better coherence of your soundstage. Not sure about your options your considering however.


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The idea that horizontal MTM center speakers is a wiser choice for the sake of dialogue intelligibility is debatable, to say the least. None of the Taga center speaker designs look all that appealing to me. I would look for something where the tweeter is mounted above the midrange, or mounted in the midrange like KEF, so I would be looking for a 3-way speaker. A superb center speaker is the ones from Paradigm Premier, if they are available. The SVS centers are great as well.
 
HTfreak2004

HTfreak2004

Senior Audioholic
I use the paradigm cc570 with one bass driver on the left and right and tweeter mounted above midrange in middle. Never been disappointed. The real question comes down to taste. He said his current centre sounded boxy and the stereo image phantom centre sounded better. He pointed out that his main speaker horizontally positioned sounded best for a centre channel. Why not buy another for a centre channel and bobs his uncle. As long as it outperforms his phantom centre that’s what’s important for him!


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Pandaman617

Pandaman617

Senior Audioholic
At a minimum I would search for a 3 way center channel. One of the best sounding CC’s I’ve ever used was a Mirage Omni CC. As far as placement goes I must have experimented with it below and above my display at varying distances and it always seemed to image the dialogue directly from the center of my display. I know it’s not timbre matched to your speakers but I’ve since retired it and if it fits your needs I am getting rid of it.
 

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