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How much would be lost if........

I am thinking of integrating my HT and my stereo, I mean just using stereo speakers up front(NO center channel) and a set of surround speakers. I have a good sub also. I realize I will never be able to fully experience 5.1, dts, etc but is pro logic that bad? can I have seperate L and R surrounds with this set up or is it one signal that will be sent to them? My speakers are very holographic and tend to create a center channel when listening to music, also the company who makes them does not make a center(I use avalon acoustic eclipse just for the record). My other option would be to seperate the two systems and use much cheaper speakers in the HT. So I guess my question is: do I really need a center channel to have a good HT set up? any further questions/coments are welcome. Thank you for any help, Tim.
tireguy
panzercat
41 posts
 
In response to how much is lost by not having a center...A friend of mine has a system with no center channel and is always complaining about the level of the dialog compared to the music and sound effects. DVDs that have a 2 channel mix usually work pretty well when decoded as pro-logic or stereo and you can hear the dialog at a reasonable level for the sound effects. DVDs that only have 5.1 mixes can be mixed down to 2 channel output by the player, but in most cases the dialog seems to be downmixed at too low a level such that when you play the movie so that you can hear the dialog through the front two channels ok, then when sound effects or music kicks in, its way too loud.

I couldn't imagine having a home theater setup without a center channel, I think that's one of the best improvements for home theater sound. Also when I come across a movie that doesn't have a 5.1 channel mix, I am really disappointed so I would say that there is a lot to miss without a center channel.

I think you can have a decent comporomise of two systems in the same room. In your case with the screen, you probably don't lose much in imaging for stereo either so you can probably do better than most people in mixing the two. Still, I think the center is essential for home theater.
delancey
47 posts
 
My Meridian runs a 4.1 with phantom center. I don't know if other do, but I would imagine so. By the my experience is that 4.1 with independent controls for the phantom center are the only way it works. Panzercat is right about the problems with Dolby Surround.
pcc
150 posts
 
I've tried it without the center and it did sound great, did not realize I was missing anything until I put a center in the mix. Center is a definite for serious HT. Not nessary if your not a big ht head. But the question I believe you asked was if you don't add a center will your pre still play 5.1 or in your case 4.1.. I will say yes to this, you should have the option of selecting a center speaker in the pre setup screen.
good luck..
j_k
234 posts
 
I have the Avalon Arcus and a HT processor that does the phantom... I do not have problems with voice levels, positioning or inteligibility of the sounds. I have auditioned so many center channels that didn't work well with the system that I gave up.. I like my theatre as 4.1, and the only surround I would try is the one from Avalon. This may not work well, since it was designed for the Sentinel, but it will probably be the best match you will find. The other crazy thing that could be done is to see if you could find a 3rd Eclipse - this I know will work well... I borrowed a extra pair of Arcus for my theatre with a matching stereo amp for center and WOW!! The extra 11.5K and space requirements just was not worth it. If you REALLY want to do HT properly, it should be a separate room, separate components... IMHO Avalons do HT well enough not to worry about a separate system or a center
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