Who turns center off when listening to music

I use the center channel all the time for everything. I listen almost exclusively to 2 channel recordings and up-mix everything to 3 channels with simple channel summing and subtracting - no complex processing. The 3 speakers are very close together, on 1 foot centers. This creates enough crosstalk reduction to restore a normal width stereo sound field while completely eliminating the comb filtering caused by the phantom center image created when using only 2 speakers. Anything panned center will only play through the center speaker. The speakers are all far away from the side walls, and all close enough together to have a similar acoustic interaction with the room and thus create a cohesive sound. I think one of the biggest problems with center channels in normal use cases with wide spacing between speakers is that the center speakers are loaded into an acoustically different space than the side channels so they don’t blend in as well as they should, even if the center speaker is identical. A wider spaced 3.1 system might work better in a wide room, where all 3 speakers are a long distance from any corner position. My limited experience has supported that notion.

@asctim

I use the center channel all the time for everything. +1

You are correct, spacing is key. If you look at the pic in my virtual system you notice that all tweeters (L-C-R) are the same level. Many people using center channels place the tweeters at a different level than the front L&R. 

Me, you, and the Chairman of the Board all get it :)

@kota1 

I'm with you and the chairman on the center channel. Not sure about that bowl of cigarettes. I guess he needed those to maintain his singing voice. 

I use the center channel all the time for everything. I listen almost exclusively to 2 channel recordings and up-mix everything to 3 channels with simple channel summing and subtracting - no complex processing.

@asctim No.  Just no.  Out of curiosity what’s the rest of your system?  If you’ve ever listened to to a truly high-end, 2-channel system NONE of them use a center channel speaker because it’s completely unnecessary.  Plus, if you use a center speaker you need a multichannel preamp/processor that further degrades the sound.  Go to any high-end audio show or retail shop and get yourself re-educated.    Jeez.

@soix

If you’ve ever listened to to a truly high-end, 2-channel system NONE of them use a center channel speaker because it’s completely unnecessary.

Well its obvious you have never heard a high end system WITH a center channel, don’t blame @asctim. Why do you prefer being trapped in the sweetspot? Once you leave the sweetspot anything meant for the center will be skewed and sound to be coming from the speaker you are nearest, don’t get upset, thats fact.

When you engage a center channel anything coming from the center channel will still sound like its coming from the center, no matter where you are sitting, standing or walking, fact.

You must know that stereo started with 3 speakers not two.

You must know that Meridian has been a proponent of a center channel with their "trifield" upmixer since the nineties.

I am only talking about music NOT movies of course.

Stop please, if YOU prefer two speakers, wonderful, but to slam @asctim , myself, the founders of stereo, Meridian, and Frank Sinatra all in the same post??

No. If you want more reference I can post but think you get the picture. I am not even talking about atmos or surround sound, simply 3 channel "stereo".

The problem with "high end" users of a CC isn’t the speakers, its the setup. The tweeters of all 3 speakers have to be the same height to get the desired effect. Most pics I have seen the center is either too low or too high.