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Center speaker OR Full range as Center speaker?

What is your thought on this subject?

For HT setup, center speaker is very important since ~70% of the recording consists dialogue, depending on whether or not the movie is action or drama. Some say this is why center speaker is designed specifically for such purpose. Some, on the other hand, recommend to use full range matching speaker as the center. For the center speaker in a HT setup, what would you do if you had to choose between a specifically designed center speaker and a full range speaker? May I consult with A'gon members for this trend of thought.

If you had big box like B&W or Wilson Puppy, would you pursue this option? If you have HT Magnepan, would you use MG center or MG full range to hang on the wall to improve the WAF condition? If you had Thiel monitor with stand, would you use all 5 matching Thiels? If you had Definitive, would you use all full range or its specifically designed center speaker? Would you change your system around to pursue this option?

What are the pro and con of using a full range as center speaker? How many have done so, and what is your opinion? Thank you for your input.
lej1447
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,680 posts
 
Without question, go with the full-range IF you can fit it. I use 3 Revel Studios across the front in one system and 3 Paradigm Studio/60s in the other. Various other configurations, in both systems, was less successful.

The only justification for a dedicated center speaker is to accommodate compromise for physical, cosmetic or marital constraints. (All of which must be acknowledged, of course.)

Kal
chadnliz
3,736 posts
 
Kal is correct, but not all, but alot of Home Theaters cant do the 3 matching speakers because of height, the center channel is and will always be the compromise for space and placement...and WAF. On the other hand I think it would seldom mater if you had a full-range speaker in front, I just dont think there are alot of 20HZ material encoded on the center track. I would simply try to get atleast the same mid-range and tweeters and hope for the best, I always admired how Sean made his own center channel using the AR-9 as his mains.
krell_man
827 posts
 
There is only one real reason for the center channel speaker: to localize the voices for everyone seated off to the side of the screen! If you are seated in front of the screen with a high quality stereo system, the voices are centered.

Think about this for a minute, if you do go with a center channel speaker, what's the most important thing that you have to worry about? An object moving from one side of the screen to the other. Why? Because as the object moves from one side, across the center and onto the other side, if the center speaker doesn't match the left and right speakers, you'll notice the switch across the center.

If you don't have to use a center channel speaker, you save:
1. a possible mismatch with the front speakers
2. the cost of the center channel speaker
3. the cost of the amplification for the center channel speaker

If you put that extra saved cash towards your stereo speakers and amplifier, not only will you have a better home theater, but a better stereo as well.

Chuck
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,680 posts
 
It's not a question of music vs. movies. It's a question of how many discrete channels there are. If you have no center signal, well, you don't need a center speaker. If you have a real center channel signal, you cannot split it to the L/R and hope to recover it properly as a phantom center.

Of course, if you do the center channel poorly, it can be worse than not but that's not an issue of design or theory but of compromise.

Kal
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