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Center Channels sound crappy

Why do center channels sound so crappy with music?

This is something that absoilutly baffles me...

I was talking to a KEF rep at SoundTrack audio, he said it is becuase they are designed for dialogue more than anything else.
What im wondering, is why can alot of center channels only give marginal preformance with music?
My front KEF Q1's do a fantastic job creating a phantom center channel, the dialogue is crisp and clear. They do a fantastic job on music as well.

Wouldnt it make more sence to just get another KEF Q1 for $225.00 and use that as a center instead of paying 350 for a speaker that does great voice but crappy musical preformance?

I know it was not the "center channel" amp either, it is on a DENON 3803 and all channels are identical, i was playing it with the 5/7ch stereo mode and all the speakers sounded great for music but the center channel really really sucked..

i noticed this with my past DefTech setup as well...

has anybody done a serious comparison between a center channel and a monitor of the same brand with same drivers and heard any vast improvement with the center speak with dialogue?

does it have anything to do with sound dispersion?

----- Slappys disclaimer-----
It was not my intent to offend anybody with the above post, im genuinly curious and hope it does not offend anybody becuase that is clearly not the intent. If so, please reffer to "My Apologies" thread which explains more.
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THANKS IN ADVANCE
slappy
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
For music you should definitely get a matching speaker for the center. (I speak from 30 years of center channel experience). Although good speakers will image so well that it is sometimes hard to tell if the center is working or not, having the center speaker permits wider spacing of the Left and Right for a broad soundstage.

However it is also true that a speaker with limited and/or shaped frequency response will make dialog more inteligible.
Ideally you would have an elcheapo dialog speaker that you can switch in just for movies.

Oh, and by the way, you are forgiven. Go, my son, and sin no more.
jdevine
58 posts
 
I had the same situation and then I found a center channel stand the problem in my case was the center channel sat directly on top of the TV which caused a sypathetic resonance with the wood in the TV ,we spend so much money on speaker stands and spikes on our main speakers and then drop our center channel speakers sideways right on the old tube. Find some sort of acceptable means to get your speaker some isolation ie. cones ,vibrapods { don't let them touch the wood on the speaker or the tv } or a speaker stand and see if it improves I know in my case it made a world of difference
sutts
700 posts
 
au contrair mon ami- the right center chanel can sound amazing! My previous HT setup included 5 identical full-range Totem Mani-2 speakers driven by a Theta Dreadnaught. The center channel being exactly the same and using the same type and amount of amplification was the key...
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