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Center channel

Since I did a 6.1 setup, my wife has complained that she has trouble understanding the dialog of certain cable movies that are in 5.1 or 7.1. I have a handsome KEF Reference 204/2C center speaker sitting just outside the media room, the metal frames that used to support in the garage, and a spare pair of Clear Day Shotgun speaker cables. So I think I’ll reinstall the 204/2C center channel, using an Ayre A7e integrated to drive it. The Bryston SP3 processor has a balanced center output. The 204/2C was designed to match the big Reference 207/2s, but seemed to blend seamlessly with my 107/2s. I’ll see how it does with high-passed KEF Reference 1s augmented with HGS-15 subs. The 204/2C is rear ported with a 6.5” center Uni-Q driver and two 6.5” drivers to either side, so it could run full range but more likely I’ll declare it small in the SP3 menu. It’s about 3.5’ long and weighs nearly 80 pounds! I hope for an attractive setup that sounds as good as it looks and satisfies my wife’s complaints.
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oldhvymec
5,101 posts
 
http://pointillistic.com/vmps-audio/RMX.htm

If you wheel down just a bit. That 3 piece Elixir set was on a SST analog processor. What the heck is that? Summation without cancelation like a mono signal. BUT it's a modified MONO signal. Mac has a version, Krell had a version. There is more than one kind of 3 piece setup..

I herd the same set up with a 5.4 Krell HT, his rear speakers were RM40s. The subs were big 3 driver VMPS subs

The general consensus at the time was the CENTER channel should be the largest speaker width wise of the entire front speaker set up in HT.

An option was to at least match the size of your mains. 
I use (2) 8 (each) 8" planars in a lattice LS speaker side by side for an analog center. 65" of planars 12" wide You can hear that VERY clearly.
I always go back to stereo though.. An hour of that, I flip the switch back to stereo..

It's in the wood shop when I set it up..

Fruit for thought..

Regards
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Did she find dialog unintelligible before you went multi-channel?
fiesta75
1,378 posts
 
I tried for almost 20 years and about $100k in various electronics and speaker arrangements, finally gave up last year and sold all my surround sound stuff. The sound coming from different locations was cool during movies, but the clarity and detail was aways missing. Exactly what your wife is describing, hard to understand all of the words. In my opinion, nothing beats a good 2 channel system for EVERY type of listening. Good luck. 
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dbphd OP
1,630 posts
 
The answer to your question, miller carbon, is that she did not.  Only the input of the Ayre KX-5 preamp that is set to by-pass invokes surround.  The DX-5 DSD can go directly to the preamp via balanced analog or through the Bryston SP3 processor via HDMI that returns balanced analog to the preamp.  The QX-5 Roon endpoint goes directly to the preamp via balanced analog.  Cox cable goes to the SP3 via HDMI and is always in surround mode.  IIRC, she has never complained about dialog when a disc is played in 6.1 using the DX-5.

The 204/2C is now inplace and looks very handsome, but it is not yet connected.


 
auxinput
2,920 posts
 
If your center channel has good enough woofers, I would recommend setting it to LARGE.  I have found that male voices have a deep bass/texture that actually comes out better through the center channel.  It's more cohesive.  The subwoofer has timing issues and those types of sounds are generally not crisp enough when coming from the subs.

Also, try bumping up the calibrated level on the center channel 1 or 2 clicks in the Bryston SP3 speaker setup.  This can have a significant effect on how well you hear center channel dialogue!  I have needed to do that even after a individual speaker calibration using a db meter.
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