Upgrading Center Speaker

[Project SOG]

Hello,
I am new to the home theater realm and trying to figure a few things out. One of them is upgrading my center speaker. I have Def Tech BP9020's as fronts and I'm looking to upgrade the center to the CS9060 or Cs9080.

If I was to upgrade to the CS9080, would it be overkill for those towers? Would the CS9060 be a better match?

 

[lovinthehd]

Hard to do overkill on a center really, it should at least be the equal of the L/R (ideally just another of the same but those darn tvs get in the way, altho less of an issue if you have an acoustically transparent screen). Not much of a fan of the DT powered woofers myself vs actual subs....

 

[Project SOG]

Hard to do overkill on a center really, it should at least be the equal of the L/R (ideally just another of the same but those darn tvs get in the way, altho less of an issue if you have an acoustically transparent screen). Not much of a fan of the DT powered woofers myself vs actual subs....

Yeah I don't even consider them actual subs. I did listen to the CS9060 and really like it but I'm wondering if I should step up and go for the CS9080 but not sure if it would be overkill.

 

[TigSaysHi]

Just FYI - this is in the subwoofer thread, so you may not get the responses and assistance expected.

To address your question: I concur with lovinthehd, as it is good to remember about 90% of all important sound is coming from center stage. So the stronger and better that center channel - the more immersive the experience will be.

Like most - I have 2 towers for L & R... but the in-wall cabinet behind the screen doesn't have the height for another tower to sit in it... so currently, I have 2 decent sized bookshelf refurbished Infinity speakers as my center... I have 1 wired into the main receiver, then I have a pre-out feeding another receiver and the 2nd center speaker is wired to it so I can push them both and keep the internal receiver amps happy. I don't really have the budget, or shall I say, I don't want to allocate any more money to amplifying the current volume level - as it is a smaller dedicated HT room.

To conclude: My rule for center speakers is, the bigger the better - but budget rules all.

 

[Project SOG]

Thank you Tig! I realized I had it in the wrong thread so I moved it over to another category but haven't gotten responses.

I did call Def Tech and I asked them and they said the CS9080 would overpower the towers. Their reasoning is that the center has a 300 amp while my towers have a 150 amp. I was going with your trail of thought but then they threw that curve ball and now I'm confused and trying to get clarity.

 

[TigSaysHi]

What is your receiver setup? You can always just go into the menu and turn down the dB settings for the center if it overpowers the towers too much.

$: It seems to be $300/cheaper for the CS9060 - and that amp is a 150... so if you want an even sweep with less adjustments & testing - the CS9060 is probably the more easily integrated, but will have plenty of power (in my opinion).

 

[Project SOG]

Yeah that makes a lot of sense. I thought I can get the CS9080 and tune it down on the receiver but then if that's the case, then I thought it might be better to get the CS9060, pay less money and not pay more and have to adjust down. But then again I'm new to all this so I'm taking it all in and learning as much as I can.

 

[Pogre]

Thank you Tig! I realized I had it in the wrong thread so I moved it over to another category but haven't gotten responses.

I did call Def Tech and I asked them and they said the CS9080 would overpower the towers. Their reasoning is that the center has a 300 amp while my towers have a 150 amp. I was going with your trail of thought but then they threw that curve ball and now I'm confused and trying to get clarity.

Well... it would only overpower your mains if you set it up that way.

That said, if the only real major difference is the powered woofer and you have subs I'd prolly save a little and get the 9060.

 

[Project SOG]

Well... it would only overpower your mains if you set it up that way.

That said, if the only real major difference is the powered woofer and you have subs I'd prolly save a little and get the 9060.

I'm leaning towards going with the smaller one because I'll have dual subs and if I get the bigger one and have to make the adjustment, then I don't know what would be the point of getting the bigger. From your experience, what would be the reason to get a bigger center but have to make those adjustments?

 

[Pogre]

I'm leaning towards going with the smaller one because I'll have dual subs and if I get the bigger one and have to make the adjustment, then I don't know what would be the point of getting the bigger. From your experience, what would be the reason to get a bigger center but have to make those adjustments?

If you have bigger main speakers, or if the bigger center is a 3 way center channel with the tweeter over the mid. It's just a better design and in general will have better dispersion, which is good for a center channel. In your case it seems the 9060 is a pretty close match with your towers, likely with the same drivers. I believe it will work just as well as the 9080 above your crossover point if the main difference is in the powered sections.

 

[Cos]

If you have bigger main speakers, or if the bigger center is a 3 way center channel with the tweeter over the mid. It's just a better design and in general will have better dispersion, which is good for a center channel. In your case it seems the 9060 is a pretty close match with your towers, likely with the same drivers. I believe it will work just as well as the 9080 above your crossover point if the main difference is in the powered sections.

The main difference I can see between the two is the subs and the 1" larger mids. I look at the center speaker as the most important in your home theater setup because it does about 70% of the heavy lifting. Not sure if having the larger sub and a1" difference it mids would make a signficant impact.

 

[Project SOG]

If you have bigger main speakers, or if the bigger center is a 3 way center channel with the tweeter over the mid. It's just a better design and in general will have better dispersion, which is good for a center channel. In your case it seems the 9060 is a pretty close match with your towers, likely with the same drivers. I believe it will work just as well as the 9080 above your crossover point if the main difference is in the powered sections.

I noticed the CS9060 has a 4 1/2 Subwoofer and the CS9080 has an 8 inch. The frequency response is different as well. But I'm not sure if that different is worth an extra $300. What do you think?

 

[Pogre]

I noticed the CS9060 has a 4 1/2 Subwoofer and the CS9080 has an 8 inch. The frequency response is different as well. But I'm not sure if that different is worth an extra $300. What do you think?

That doesn't sound right. I'll bet the 9060 has 4 1/2 mids and the 9080 5 1/2 mids plus the 8" bass driver.


Hmm... does the 9060 not have a powered bass section and uses a passive radiator instead..?

Now I gotta look 'em up!

 

[Project SOG]

The main difference I can see between the two is the subs and the 1" larger mids. I look at the center speaker as the most important in your home theater setup because it does about 70% of the heavy lifting. Not sure if having the larger sub and a1" difference it mids would make a signficant impact.

So do you think the CS9060 would be the best option?

 

[Project SOG]

That doesn't sound right. I'll bet the 9060 has 4 1/2 mids and the 9080 5 1/2 mids plus the 8" bass driver.


Hmm... does the 9060 not have a powered bass section and uses a passive radiator instead..?

Now I gotta look 'em up!

I thought the CS9060 was powered as well, it's not?

 

[Pogre]

I thought the CS9060 was powered as well, it's not?

Yes, it is. 8" powered woofer, ported. The 9080 also has an 8" powered woofer but uses a passive radiator instead of ported. The 9080 does also have larger mid drivers, like you mentioned. It is, on paper the better center channel.

So do you think the CS9060 would be the best option?

Next I would look up the specs on your towers and see if the mids are 4.5" or 5.5" drivers and choose the center that matches.

 

[Pogre]

Your BP 9020s have 3.5" drivers with 8" powered woofers. I think the 9060 would work absolutely fine with your main speakers, but the 9080 is technically more powerful and able to handle some more power. That could come in handy if you're watching movies at reference levels, at a distance, but that's pretty durned loud and most of us don't listen at those levels.

I personally would be happy with the 9060 in your shoes. I think either one would be a good match, but the 9080 is more powerful and would be able to hang with bigger main speakers if you ever plan to upgrade somewhere down the road.

 

[lovinthehd]

Thank you Tig! I realized I had it in the wrong thread so I moved it over to another category but haven't gotten responses.

I did call Def Tech and I asked them and they said the CS9080 would overpower the towers. Their reasoning is that the center has a 300 amp while my towers have a 150 amp. I was going with your trail of thought but then they threw that curve ball and now I'm confused and trying to get clarity.

Makes little sense. Overpowering in what way if you don't deliberately set it up that way? The whole 3dB difference is going to be "overpowering"?

 

[Project SOG]

Makes little sense. Overpowering in what way if you don't deliberately set it up that way? The whole 3dB difference is going to be "overpowering"?

Yeah it was difficult to get clarity from them.

 

[lovinthehd]

Yeah it was difficult to get clarity from them.

Not much to be had IMO.