Russ 1: I agree that the lack of a center speaker CAN work better in many systems. This will depend on the mains being used, how far apart they are, the seated listening distance, if everybody is sitting in the "sweet spot", how the source is recorded / mixed, etc...
It is not uncommon for a center channel to corrupt the presentation. This is especially true if someone is running good sized mains and only has them spaced apart by 6 - 8 feet or so. I've seen WAY too many installations like this. I think that too many people are "fooled" into thinking that they "need" a center from looking at advertising and listening to money-hungry sales people.
In my particular installation my mains are over 12' apart, so a center channel does help to anchor dialogue in movies. At the same time, side to side special effects are more pronounced due to the wider spread of the speakers. If the speakers were a few feet closer, i wouldn't bother with a center. This is one of those things that is system / room dependent. Even if one doesn't have a dedicated HT room or system, just watching movies in stereo with "decent" speakers spaced a bit apart is a BIG improvement in most cases. Sean
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It is not uncommon for a center channel to corrupt the presentation. This is especially true if someone is running good sized mains and only has them spaced apart by 6 - 8 feet or so. I've seen WAY too many installations like this. I think that too many people are "fooled" into thinking that they "need" a center from looking at advertising and listening to money-hungry sales people.
In my particular installation my mains are over 12' apart, so a center channel does help to anchor dialogue in movies. At the same time, side to side special effects are more pronounced due to the wider spread of the speakers. If the speakers were a few feet closer, i wouldn't bother with a center. This is one of those things that is system / room dependent. Even if one doesn't have a dedicated HT room or system, just watching movies in stereo with "decent" speakers spaced a bit apart is a BIG improvement in most cases. Sean
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