Speaker Quandry

[Fife]

Maybe this is better suited for the philosophy section, I'm not sure. As I've alluded to in previous posts, I'm in the market for a center channel to match with my roughly eight year old Boston Acoustic CR8 front channel speakers. I do not care for the specs of the only CR center channel available from BA. I'm thinking of forsaking the voice matching to get a center channel with better bass response and overall sensitivity. Maybe an infinity? I don't want to spend over $250. Any input is appreciated.
Thanks

 

[hopjohn]

I don't like he idea of speakers not being timbre matched. (particularly in the high mids). If your speakers are so old that that is an impossibility, all I can suggest is to audition some and see what integrates best with your current setup. See if your local dealers will allow you to audition some in your own home. I know some Infnity centers had a timbre control setting on them a few years back. I don't know how effective it was, but you might see if that could be something that would help you.

 

[crashguy]

What receiver do you have? If it has a built in EQ like mine, the timbre matching is done by the receiver...

 

[Fife]

I have a Harman Karden AVR 235. It is only a week old so I've yet to fully exploit all of its features. Thanks for answering.

 

[Fife]

Can a built in EQ make unmatched speakers sound matched? If so, that could make things easier.

 

[crashguy]

....sort of...

I wouldn't worry a whole lot about exact timbre matching. The simple fact that a dedicated center speaker (even from the same maker, in the same line) are designed to be placed horizontally causes them to be mis-matched as compared to their floor standing siblings. Also the placement of the speaker will have an effect on it's sound. Place a speaker on top of a TV, now it has a large surface for sound wave to defract off of, and this will cause a perceptable change in timbre.

I would pick out a center speaker you like, and as long as one is not a horn vs a dome, or a dome vs an electrostatic, you won't hear a degradation in sound by using a speaker from a different manufacturer. Sticklers may disagree, but I don't think it's a big deal. When was the last time you heard someones home theater set up and said......"wow Bob, nice system....too bad your center speaker isn't an exact timbre match with your mains". Buy one you want, and don't sweat it.

 

[sjdgpt]

I just "installed" a new HT for myself. Polk LSi's, not that it makes a big difference regarding my post.

The first thing I found was that placing the tweeters as close to the same horizontal plane as possible was really important. I have a big CRT, with the center speaker mounted on top of the TV, the center speaker tweeter was well over 4 ft from the ground, with the tweeter of the bookshelf speakers less than 3 ft from the ground. All in all about 18" difference in height. When I dropped the center speaker to the shelf below the TV, the distance between the tweeters is about 13" difference.

The above TV position had some sound traveling in an arc from the right speaker UP to the center speaker and back down to the left speaker.

The below speaker position has a similar arc (reversed direction), but it is much less noticeable, and for heavy dialog movies, virtually undectable.


So position is critical.

Having said that, the speakers have about 6" of space between the walls of the TV and the exterior of the speakers. I suspect that if the speakers were placed farther apart from the TV the vertical sound displacement issue would be less audible.

 

[Rob Babcock]

....sort of...

I wouldn't worry a whole lot about exact timbre matching. The simple fact that a dedicated center speaker (even from the same maker, in the same line) are designed to be placed horizontally causes them to be mis-matched as compared to their floor standing siblings. Also the placement of the speaker will have an effect on it's sound. Place a speaker on top of a TV, now it has a large surface for sound wave to defract off of, and this will cause a perceptable change in timbre.

I would pick out a center speaker you like, and as long as one is not a horn vs a dome, or a dome vs an electrostatic, you won't hear a degradation in sound by using a speaker from a different manufacturer. Sticklers may disagree, but I don't think it's a big deal. When was the last time you heard someones home theater set up and said......"wow Bob, nice system....too bad your center speaker isn't an exact timbre match with your mains". Buy one you want, and don't sweat it.

I guess I'm one of those "sticklers." In my experience even speakers by the same brand but from different lines sometimes don't "gel" sonically. For instance, I initially tried a MA Bronze Center with my Silver mains, and they weren't voiced closely enough to satisfy me. The Bronze main/Bronze center combo was great, and the Silver main/silver center was fantastic. But mixing them with either of the other was disappointing.

One thing to note- while it's true that horizontal layouts will sound somewhat different, this can be mitigated to a great degree with proper design. MA, for instance, has a horizontal center, but the crossover is "2 & 1/2 Way"- the woofs each play different frequencies. This does a lot to eliminate "lobing." As a result, the MA centers do more closely match the mains than most brands.

One caveat- mine is not the normal layout. I have a projector, so instead of a big hulkin' box in to throw the center on, I have it sitting on a speaker stand. This makes an incredible difference in sound quality. Best thing I ever did to upgrade my sound was probably getting rid of my RPTV.

 

[Rob Babcock]

Btw, I haven't found it that critical that the rears match the front. The ear just doesn't seem to be able to discriminate between the rear sounds that much.

 

[annunaki]

I am a stickler along with Rob. I think that the center should be as close a match to the mains as possible.

 

[zumbo]

Maybe this is better suited for the philosophy section, I'm not sure. As I've alluded to in previous posts, I'm in the market for a center channel to match with my roughly eight year old Boston Acoustic CR8 front channel speakers. I do not care for the specs of the only CR center channel available from BA. I'm thinking of forsaking the voice matching to get a center channel with better bass response and overall sensitivity. Maybe an infinity? I don't want to spend over $250. Any input is appreciated.
Thanks

Match the center. Same brand. Same model line. Or, replace the mains and center.

Why do you need the center to play bass? Watching the Oakridge boys!

 

[Fife]

Thanks. I appreciate the input.