Stereo Imaging

It depends on your speaker setup. In my room the mains must be far apart, and I have used a center since before multichannel was invented.

The extra speaker provides extra volume, taking the load off the mains.

Larry,

The Cd you are talking about is from a group called Deep Forest. The song is #6. I forget the name of it. Quite bizzare how those drums sound as if they are directly behind you!

Mike

My rig is a 2-channel/HT combo, but the 2-channel sources run a detour around the multi-channel gear. When I had a large SD RPTV with my center atop it, that illusion happened constantly when listening to stereo sources. Now, with a plasma, and center mounted beneath the TV on a stand, the illusion is rarer. I think this is due to the height of the center image provided by my Ohm Walsh 2000s. Most vocalists appear to be about 5'6" tall, about where my center used to be, but about 3 to 4 feet higher than where it is now. A visual disconnect.

FWIW, I did try my system with a phantom center setting, but on film soundtracks, the center just lacked some oomph that it has when I installed the center channel speaker.

Mikeba316,
Thanks, isn't that a freak out?

Larry

Good listening.
Larry

Larry,

Yeah. Freaky for sure.

I actually use that drum intro to that song as a test when I try different tweaks and cables. There should be a seamless 360 degree circle from those drums. If part of the circle is missing or it's uneven then something is wrong. I'm experiencing that right now with a tweak I'm trying.

mike