adding center speaker to existing stereo system

Hello all, if you have read czechu82’s post, you will see that he just wants to add a center channel so that he can watch tv/movies from time to time.  He does not want to use the center channel to add to the music score.  In this situation, adding a receiver could be a good solution if he doesn’t care as much about tv/movie sound quality.  However, like everyone has agreed, the center speaker should match as closely as possible to the left/right speakers.

@czech82 – I see that you do not have a preamp listed in your system, so I am assuming you are connecting the PS Audio Directstream DAC directly to the REF600M amplifiers.  If this is the case, you can add a receiver, but you need some sort of switching mechanism in the middle (such as a normal preamp or a passive preamp with at least two inputs).  Then make it into a “hybrid” system.

A passive preamp is the cheapest way to do this.  Just connect the PS Directstream and the new receiver to the inputs of the passive preamp.  Then connect the outputs of the passive preamp to the REF600M amplifiers.  You can run the passive preamp at full volume all the time since you are controlling volume from the Directstream or receiver.  Then just switch the passive preamp back and forth between the Directstream and the receiver to use as sources.  Khozmo and Goldpoint are two companies that make excellent passive preamps (in the $400 to $600 price range).  Alternatively, you can get the Goldpoint SW4 input switcher for $376 (does not include a volume control).  The only problem with passive preamp is that you are limited to RCA interconnects.  HT receiver will only have RCA outputs (they will never have XLR outputs) and the passive preamp CANNOT convert an RCA signal to a balanced XLR output.

If you want to use XLR for the Directstream and the REF600M amps, there are two other options. One option is that you will need to get some sort of active preamp that has both XLR and RCA inputs.  This needs to be a very high end and transparent preamp, such as the upper end Krell Illusion or Phantom, or something like an Ayre Acoustics preamp.  There’s a Krell Illusion II on audiogon for $3400, which is about the minimum I would recommend for a highly transparent preamp.  DO NOT get a Krell Phantom III  (only the I and II models are good).  Keep in mind that no preamp is truly transparent and it is going to add some sort of color or sonic signature anyways.

The other option is to get a fully balanced XLR passive or switcher, then get a HT Processor and a third REF600M amp (or equivalent).

So, three options:

 

Option #1:

Sonus Faber center speaker

Receiver

RCA passive preamp or switcher

3 sets of RCA interconnects

 

Option #2:

Sonus Faber center speaker

Receiver

High end preamp (Krell/Ayre)

2 sets of XLR interconnects

1 set of RCA interconnects

 

Option #3:

Sonus Faber center speaker

HT Processor

Monoblock amp (like REF600M)

XLR passive preamp or switcher

4 sets of XLR interconnects (one for center)

 

 

There is a fourth option, but it means spending a whole lot on a new HT processor that is at the level of a decent audiophile preamp and using that HT Processor as the “preamp” for the Directstream DAC.  Options could be Bryston SP, Classe SSP-800 or Krell Foundation.  All three of these have balanced XLR inputs and outputs and make decent preamps.  However, they are not going to be as good as a passive preamp or a Krell Illusion preamp.

 

So, Option #4:

Sonus Faber center speaker

Very good HT processor

Monoblock amp (like REF600M)

4 sets of XLR interconnects.

aux - You are not wrong ----

but what a mess we get into. That's why I suggested a sound bar instead. Simple, and good enough for a listener who wants to watch movies occasionally. 

good point erik.

"I think the idea that you should ONLY add a matched center is unnecessarily puritanical, and my own listening tests have shown to me that adding a different center, when done right, is a big improvement over a phantom center. Have you done this experiment?"

Sorry Erik, but again I must respectfully disagree, and yes, have done the experiment. When evaluating a client’s existing system, I would have them compare the way it was to using phantom center. Never had anyone with a mismatched center to say it sounded better and some with timbre matched even like phantom better. Dialogue could be adjusted louder with a mismatched center but the entire front image and overall sound was worse compared to using phantom. This definitely prompted many to upgrade and get as close as possible to 3 identical speakers on the front.

And yes, I have experience with room correction and DSP. It can help a little, however it is not a magic bullet and can not make a mismatched center have the same tonal character of the L & R. If it was that magic bullet, you could take 2 different speakers and make it sound like a stereo pair. I don’t think so.

Yes, the center speaker plays dialogue, however it affects the entire front image and sometimes that dialogue can be produced by the center and a L or R speaker depending on where that person is located in the picture. With a stereo pair, a single front image is created, but when a center speaker is inserted, that entire front image becomes much more complex. 3 identical speakers and that works easily with tonal character remaining consistent across the front. A mismatched center can provide louder dialogue, but at the expense of severely degrading the front image and tonal character within the image. I have heard many systems in which a vehicle moving across the picture sounds normal on each side, but much smaller or different at the center position. Now if the OP needs a center for off axis listening, that’s a different issue. I did reference that in my first post, however he has not responded.

Sound bar? Surely you can’t mean to use it with his current system. What a mess that would be. Assuming not, and using it alone compared to his current system, and I’ve got to assume this added TV is between the L & R speakers, no brainier, I’ll take the system.

Again, I must stay with my original recommendation that if he does anything, it should be rear speakers to get room filling effects and forget the center unless there is an off axis listening issue.

So Erik, sorry to say that it looks like the only thing we will agree on is the fact that we disagree, and that's ok, as everyone is certainly entitled to their opinions. Also, keep in mind that I speak from experience with many clients and it’s not just "my" experience.

@auxinput, why not a pair of rca to xlr cable with xlr passive preamp or switcher for Option #1?