Center Channels sound crappy

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...

I think pro logic came out in the late 80's / early 90's (thereabouts). I was just wondering what the use for a center speaker one might have had in 1974?

Rives audio , an acoustical engineering firm , blasted Absolute Sound for a letter I sent the magazine the prior month regarding center channel placement issues. The misunderstanding was in the wording , not the concept. Widescreen Review printed a ground breaking article in its sept 95 issue { Star Trek generations } by the esteemed Peter Moncrieff [ editor and publisher of the International Audio Review : IRA ] , regarding the proper speaker setup of the home theatre . Concerning the center speaker , he suggests that "Our research shows that center speaker placement is the single biggest mistake people make in setting up home theatre or surround sound systems " . Most experts will tell you that the front 3 should be equidistant from the listener. Peter says that his research shows that the center be placed 4 feet back from that equidistant arc .... OR .... { not AND } use a 4 millisecond delay to achieve the same result. He goes on to say " ...the front stage space also suddenly became cogently real , all sounds in this space suddenly acuired a palpable solidity and three dimensional reality"..... The next issue is making sure the center is a good match for the mains. The exact same model is the best choice but most pick a dedicated center that the same company suggests to timbre match to your mains . Complicating things more is the display device that usually occupies a space near the center and that itself introduces its own pandoras box of evils like distorted imaging issues. Rives can offer some excellent solutions with a few new great products just hitting the market now as a matter of fact. Its terribly difficult to perfectly dial in just a stereo pair and in the past decade we have added a center , subs , and surrounds to the mix . Getting all of this right is a true challenge to put it mildly. Good luck and be patient. You will vastly increase your listening skills with the trial and error period you are in .

When you lay a speaker on it's side as most center channel speakers are designed for, you have created a problem for good music reproduction. If your L/R front speakers are bookshelf types, lay them on their sides and listen to them in two channel, sound quality will drop like a rock if they are of the type with bass drivers at both ends and tweeter in the middle which almost all center channels of close to full range output are. I also agree With Brainwaters post on placement of center behind the fronts, mine are two feet behind with vertical placement.

Once i get a center channel that is worth a damn i will probably give that a try.
I think im going to skip the entire "Center speaker" altogether and get anotehr KEF Q1 monitor and use that on the center channel...

Hey Brainwater, the more i think about your handle, the more it freaks me out. I mean come on. Brain Water. Eww.. Makes my eyes tear up just thinking about it. heheheh no offence intended!