2. home-theater
  3. 1215881103

Anyone going Phantom Center Channel?

Just wondering if anyone out there is skipping the center channel and running in phantom? I have a pair of A-1 soundlabs with pretty big soundstage and dispersion and am thinking of just running rear surround for when I watch movies and skipping the center channel. Anyone out there doing this?
lance_s
chadnliz's avatar
chadnliz
3,737 posts
 
Turning your TV speakers up is like pouring Ketchup on Filet Mignon but whatever works right? I would just try and see if you like it enough to leave it alone and invest accordingly.......your opinion is all that matters.
electro77
40 posts
 
I would try phantom mode first and see if you like it. Phantom mode worked well for me, but only when I was sitting dead center. As soon as I sat off to one side, the dialog ended up localizing to the main speaker I was sitting nearer. I ended up getting a center channel because I want to be able to sit anywhere on the couch when I watch movies, and because I want guests to have a great experience as well. If you end up trying a center channel, make sure you use a *matched* center speaker as well as identical amplification and cabling on that channel. In my setup, watching movies with a center channel sounds so much better, I wouldn't go back to phantom mode. In fact, I now exclusively listen to stereo music in Meridian Trifield mode, but that's fodder for another thread!

Tomer
lance_s OP
27 posts
 
Electro,

I would love to run a matched center but the A-1's are 7 ft. tall and 39" wide. That is one of the reasons I was thinking of running phantom in the first place. The A-1's also deliver and exceptionally large stage with a huge sweet spot. This may work well with the type of system I am trying to put together. But your right about just trying it and seeing whether or not it makes sense. My wife and I are usually the only ones watching together and the kids don't care about sweet spots :-)! So going phantom just might work in this case. The A-1's are a tough match. Some of the ideas listed above where a single Maggie on it's side though members have mentioned the company frowns on the idea and that it may not be good for the speakers.

martin logan produces a nice hybrid center channel with ribbon and small drivers which may fit the bill. I also thought about running Quad ESL 57's as center channel. They are not too tall and well know for their remarkable mid-range though it may be a shame to use such a beautiful speaker as a center.

I know there are many who love surround sound and use it as their primary listening system. I don't want to start a 2 channel vs. 5/7 channel war, that has been done in many other threads. What I am interested in is how essential speaker matching up front is. I may be splitting hairs here and worrying about nothing. The A-1's are a tough match so it may just make sense to not worry about matching them and pick up a decent center channel, realize there will be some inconsistencies and leave it at that. Matching the center channel with the correct power is another tough call. To purchase just one monoblock for a center just to match the left and right may not make sense from a cost standpoint since the A-1's are so hungry for power the center channel may be a little overwhelmed with 400W of power.
More to discover