Revel center channel help. C-30, C-50 or Voice?

I think the big issue is the matching of the center to the L/R speakers. Although they are all from the same family, I would ask Revel for insight about the matching.

I would compare the C-50 to the voice. If you are going with studios I would be inclined to go with voice which is perfectly matched to the mains. I have the whole setup including the studios,voice, 4 embraces, and 2 subs 15s. I am planning on using a voice as a rear center some day.

Matching your speakers is very important for home theater. If your room is small the 30 series might be more than enough. It is unclear from the Revel web site if the top end drivers of the 50 differs from the 30 or the 20 series. If they are the same, then mixing and matching should not be an issue. If they are different then you should match all 30s or 50s depending on your budget. Lower bass extension of the 50 series may not matter much in a home theater system if the processor does not run the LR or C full range.

If 2CH music is your main thing then you want the best FULL range LR you can afford. If you can't do the F-50s and the C-50 now then maybe buy the F-50s now and run phantom mode center channel until you can get the C-50. Better to get what you want in smaller steps than to buy twice.

If this is just for home theater, another option would be to buy 3 more M-20s and a sub. Add more M-20 speakers as you upgrade your system to 6-7 channels.

Good luck,

Stewart

Thanks to all for the very helpful advise! Stewart, you seemed to imply in your comments that an extra M20 could be used for the center channel. Is that practical? Would the M20 delivery the clarity of movie voices that a dedicated Revel center channel can do? With a limited budget, it is an interesting, temporary corner to cut if the difference would be tolerable.

I would not use an m20 for the center. I also have the M20s and the c-30 in another system and these work great together. There is a reason Revel built dedicated center voice speakers. You can email them and I suspect they will second this thought. The question for you is the choice of the voice vs. the c-50. I personally would match the voice with the studios. Although the c-50 might have advantages I am unaware of much as the B-15 had advantages over the sub-15, which was the original sub matched with the ultima line.