Anyone going Phantom Center Channel?

i did the Phantom center in my room and loved it. i think the effectivness of the Phantom center depends on how optimized your room is for 2-channels. if you already have excellent center fill and depth then any center channel speaker will likely detract from the 2-channel performance and not contribute much for multichannel music performance. if you primarily watch movies then i would go for a center channel as dialog benefits from it.

how are you doing the center channel electronics? does your multi-channel preamp have that capability?

Yep - me too - if your speakers image well then no problem at all - it will actually sound better than having a center on the floor or above the TV as you won't mess up the image from the mid/treble frequencies from your mains, which will be at totally different height from the center. Yep you heard correctly - phantom will be BETTER for a single viewer properly centered.

Of course if you need to entertain a crowd then a center channel is an absolute necessity for off axis listeners - to anchor the sound to the screen - of course surround speakers also become a problem with a crowd too - dipoles are often best for rears and surrounds in this case.

On the other hand...there is a school of thought that 2-channel material is improved by using a derived center channel. I belong to that school, and have belonged since before multichannel was invented.

But I refer to music. Where video is involved the difficulty of placing the center speaker is a significant consideration. Especially if the center speaker is to be the same make and model as the main speakers (which it ought to be).

My response is to only use a center channel for dialogue heavy movies, and SACD. I elevate the center channel on another stand for multi-channel music, it is matched with the front speakers and it is important to precisely match the levels and height. Otherwise, it is best to do without the center. With orchestral music and a proper set-up of the center, it is better, with a holographic wide front image. Multi-speaker set-ups are frought with problems and are develish to get right!

Great responses. Yes, I have thought about running phantom center channel for a while. If you are going to do it properly your surround system has to have it as an option or you will loose all the voices without a center. With the dispersion of the A-1's I thought they would be optimal for phantom center setup.

As an earlier poster mentioned, matching the A-1's to a proper center channel might be tough, I actually have considered purchasing a single large maggi, laying it sideways on the floor and running it as a center. There is also the Martin Logan curved center which is a nice piece (hybrid ribbon and small cone) but I think I might try it without a center first to see if it's better than with.

Rears I am planning on using a set of the C1 maggi's but someone mention dipoles which might be an option. Anyone using the C1's maggi's for the rear? I wanted to stay planar/electrostat for the whole system for matching purposed but wouldn't be apposed to going dipole. I was just concerned about the match though it may not be nearly as important for rear fill.

Concert video will be watched in 2 channel most likely as well as music only so it would only count for film.