New center channel for a dorm room

[Thetwinmeister]

Greetings to all you wonderfully more seasoned veterans than I am

My situation is a bit unique. I wouldn't be surprised if some of you laughed at me a bit, at least to yourselves.

I am in a very small college dorm room. I started out with a set of one of those Creative 5.1 gaming kit things that has an amp in the sub and accepts analog input only. I bought them like 5 years ago when I didn't know much about speakers, and when I saw they were "THX rated" I figured they must be good... Haha...

Being a college student I don't have the raw cash to just go out and buy the kind of system I want, so when I discovered I had access to 4 left-over $100 a pop in-ceiling speakers, 2 [what seem to be] really nice tweeters, 2 3-way crossover networks, and plenty of scrap wood, I put it all together and came up with a pair of mains which, to me, sound really good. If I am an audiophile at all, I am still probably a novice in most respects... But still, way better mains than those Creative satellites.

But in short the room still had horrible acoustics. They don't make recording studios out of cinder blocks for a reason. $200 later the walls are covered in eggcrate foam I ordered online, and now the room has wonderful acoustics.
(And hopefully non-pissed off neighbors for the noise level)

But now I can hear those darn Creative satellites still covering for rear and center like its their job. The difference in quality is phenomenal. The rears I can stand for the time being, but the center channel desperately needs help. And this is where I need help-- I am uncertain about what kind of center I should get, and how much I should spend. I'm really big on quality, (Or at least, trying to be?) and I don't need loudness... I'm in a very small 11' x 14' room. My reviver is an older Onkyo TX-SR304 model. I've already tried phantomizing the center channel, but my receiver doesn't do a good job at that apparently.

Edit: Lack of good phantomizing is not the fault of the mains either. When in stereo only they sound epic and have an amazing sound stage. (Being modest: as far as I can tell from my not as vastly massive experience as I'm sure some of you guys have.)

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Being a college student

Stop right there.

College police here.

Get back to studying those books!

You shouldn't even be distracted like this unless you are at least a senior who is about to graduate!

 

[Thetwinmeister]

That's the words of the wise right there.

But I already spent $200 on fixing the acoustics... (I went 50/50 with dad, the goal was to keep outside noise out, inside noise in as much as possible, and fix the acoustics. It mostly just fixed the acoustics, but it did stop alot of audio from exiting the room. I can show pics on Monday if anyone is terribly interested.) I may not have the raw cash to purchase a center channel for myself, but my birthday was like 2 days ago... I think I can talk dad into something, ftw.

So assuming I am in fact about to graduate... What would be the best bang for the buck at ~$150-$250? Might be able to go as high as ~$300, but that would be pushing it. I am asking for a gift, after all.

Any recommendations on models/brands would be most welcome.

Here are the mains I'm using. They were left over from when we built our house. Free is the best price, no?

 

[dkane360]

Typically, you want to use a center channel that matches your left and right speakers. If you could get another one of the in-ceiling speakers and make an enclosure for it, that would be the best match sonically. Or you could just browse craigslist/ebay for a cheap center to hold you over until you get a timbre matching left right and center.

EDIT- Now that I look at the link you posted, they actually sell a center channel for the speaker series you have. It may not be a perfect fit, but it's as close to matching as you can get without buying another in ceiling and making an enclosure for it.
http://www.legrand.us/OnQ/Music/Audio-Products/Speakers/evoQ-7000-Series-Speakers/HT7157.aspx

 

[Thetwinmeister]

Ahh, thats cool. Its even in my price range. I've heard its good to stick with the same kind of speakers as much as possible, but I'm a little unclear on the boundaries for whats acceptable and what kind of mix-match you want to avoid. I'd wager there are higher quality center channels in existence for around the same price, although I don't know for sure. Would you say without a doubt it's always best to match rather than trying to go for something that would be slightly better, even for around the same price?

Thanks for pointing out the existence of that center, it looks like there's a high probability I'll get that.

 

[dkane360]

Speakers all have different sound characteristics, and you won't know how well it blends until you try it. For some speakers though you can tell off the bat, like you wouldn't want to use a Klipsch center for speakers that are slightly treble recessed, because you would definitely hear something out of place. It's significantly easier (and looks better) to just use a matching center. There probably is a better center channel out there in your price range, but chances are the difference in sound will be noticeable.

 

[Thetwinmeister]

Sweet. This has been most helpful, my thanks.

I've borrowed 2 more speakers from the house of the same series--only a 6.5" version--which I'll use for the rear channels. Took me a day to make custom enclosures for them, lol. Can't wait to go back tomorrow and test it out. :3