I got some Paradigm Studio 100's v4 last Christmas, and I'm absolutely loving them. I'm using a Signature S2 v1 as the center. Now I usually listen to 2 channel music and the imaging is excellent, but I don't get the same sort of imaging in movies. For instance; when I'm listening to music the vocals might sound like the are coming out of the top left of my tv, sometimes directly in front, but the location can change based on the recording. I don't get that from movies. The vocals sound like they come out of the center channel. I've dialed in my levels and sound traveling from one speaker to another sounds seamless, but I don't hear the imaging that I get from 2 channel. Now is this an issue with how its' recorder or possibly an issue with speaker placement (the center does sit lower than the tweeters on my 100's). Is there a movie that someone could recommend that has good imaging that I can try on my system? I know there is 7.1, but I wonder how a 4.1 system would sound with high end speakers. Any thoughts on this issue?

Well, the soundtrack most likely has been mixed to have the vocals come out of your center channel speaker!
Unlike 2 channel, which must create an illusion, a surround sound system actually has the center speaker that Bell Labs recommended when stereo became the standard (at that time, it was considered that three channels was not feasible). I've seem lots of estimates--probably as much as 80% is in the center channel on a movie soundtrack.

I got some Paradigm Studio 100's v4 last Christmas, and I'm absolutely loving them. I'm using a Signature S2 v1 as the center. Now I usually listen to 2 channel music and the imaging is excellent, but I don't get the same sort of imaging in movies. For instance; when I'm listening to music the vocals might sound like the are coming out of the top left of my tv, sometimes directly in front, but the location can change based on the recording. I don't get that from movies. The vocals sound like they come out of the center channel. I've dialed in my levels and sound traveling from one speaker to another sounds seamless, but I don't hear the imaging that I get from 2 channel. Now is this an issue with how its' recorder or possibly an issue with speaker placement (the center does sit lower than the tweeters on my 100's).

More than anything else, this is simply the result of how most movie soundtracks are mixed these days. At first, movies only had mono soundtracks of course, but when discrete four-track (CinemaScope) and six-track (Todd-AO 70mm) magnetic soundtracks came onto the scene, I believe that directional dialogue was the norm with all of those ultra-wide theater screens in use (up to five channels just for the screen). Then movies went back to mono sound, and eventually adopted Dolby Stereo. If I had to guess, I'd say that Dolby Stereo and its decoders at the time were not proficient at supporting directional dialogue that was located between any two adjacent front speakers, so except for extreme cases where a directional effect in either the right or left speaker only was called for, virtually all of the dialogue was mixed into the center channel. Somewhere along the way--I don't know whether this occurred in the cinema or home theater realm--people got the notion in their heads that dialogue must be "anchored" in the center channel, no matter where it was coming out of on the screen. While this notion made sense in home theater when TVs were 32" at the most and the left and right speakers were separated by ten feet or so, it does not make sense for commercial theaters or in general. Nevertheless, this supposed rule keeps getting repeated and obeyed--dialogue must be "anchored" in the center channel--even with the modern revival of discrete multichannel soundtracks, and that's what you're hearing.

I may sound like I'm complaining, but it's not all bad. It can be beneficial for those with small TVs, and can help with dialogue intelligibility in some cases. I just don't know the reasoning behind the rule, aside from what I surmised above from history.

Is there a movie that someone could recommend that has good imaging that I can try on my system?

Even movies that used to have directional dialogue often no longer have it on DVD, but there is a small percentage of modern movies on DVD that have it. Off the top of my head, some movies mixed by Gary Rydstrom have directional dialogue, presumably at the directors' option. If you have any Disney or Pixar movies mixed by him, check those out, as they are the most likely. I'm pretty sure that Atlantis: The Lost Empire and some of the Pixar movies have dialogue that is imaged between the center and the left or right speakers. Also, Disney's Tarzan, although not mixed by Rydstrom, definitely has this feature in many scenes.

I know there is 7.1, but I wonder how a 4.1 system would sound with high end speakers. Any thoughts on this issue?

Plenty of people use phantom centers and don't have back surrounds, if that's what you mean. This works just fine in most cases, although some receivers handle the downmix oddly (e.g. center channel material is mixed into the other fronts too loudly). I prefer having a center speaker, but only if it's at least as good as the left and right front speakers; otherwise, it would be the weak link in a stronger system, given the heavy burden that most movies place on the center channel.

Thanks for the good reply Robert. There is a lot of information in your response. I never thought of the commercial theater aspect of the issue, and it makes sense. I can understand wanting a lot of the dialogue anchored in the center, but imaging between the center and the front speakers could definitely enhance the experience. Maybe a voice coming from off-screen, or the edge of the screen. It could be used effectively in suspenseful movies. Since I've dialed in my speakers and spend several hours of listening to just music, it has made me more aware of the lack of imaging in movies. Hopefully they use it more effectively in the future.

Heck, I often enjoy plain old stereo more than multi-channel music recordings (SACD) for exactly that reason. Sometimes they mix all the vocals to the center channel and there is no effect left.