Has anyone ever tried two center channel speakers?

Conversely, the vast majority of so-called dedicated center channel speakers are awful, having been designed to accommodate naive expectations and esthetic requirements at the expense of audio performance.

I cannot agree more! 5.1 movie soundtracks are ALL mixed and mastered in the studio with five identical speakers properly mounted at the same position in height. Phantom center more closely approximates what they hear in the studio then a center speaker at knee or chest height - ridiculously misaligned with the R and L channels which tend to be about waist height... a complex lobing pattern will occur due to what is often a one foot height difference between mid range drivers. (One foot is roughly 1000 Hz...so it is right at THE most sensitive range of your hearing...

If you can't mount the center channel properly (same as L and R channel) and your L and R channel speakers image well (as they should if they are audiophile quality) then I believe you are better off without one for a SMALL audience.

If you don't believe me then you should be able to fully enjoy your stereo music (as good as normal) with one speaker turned upside down...try it!!!

Butsy asked: "what about stacking the two on their sides??" Asked and answered: Twice as bad as one on its side. :-)

Kal

Stacking won''t work because the speakers are too big and they are trapezoidal in shape. The trapezoidal shape when laid horizontally naturally points the drivers upwardard and outward. My screen goes all the way down to the floor and stacking the speakers would obscure part of the picture.

I've read several opinions on the effects of lobing, and like a lot of things here on the 'Gon, there's lots of disagreement on its effects and detriment to the overall sound of your system. Some seem to think the effect is minimal and nothing to worry about.

As for laying a speaker on its side and getting poor dispersion. I haven't had that problem....I get excellent dispersion. A lot of stuff in audio is theory, or it may be factual.....nonetheless, if it sounds good, all the theory and facts go right out the window.

It pretty much comes down to if I like the way the two center channel speaker sound.

I will connect them this weekend and let you know what I think. Ordinarily, I wouldn't even consider two center channels, but my room is out of the ordinary.

Well, to get back to your original request: We have had several statements about the sonic problems with doing this and none about the advantages except for convenience. Of course, the bottom line is whether you like it or not but, judging from your acceptance of using a single horizontal Infinity Kappa 7 as a center, you may not be hearing, or caring about, what is so apparent to me.

Kal

I'm using 2 soliloquy sat-5's. I laid them on side with the tweeters in the center. It sounds amazing. I figured that I had the extra speaker, extra amp power and a 6 foot screen to fill. Remember that center gets the most work.