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Center channel speaker recommendation please, unhappy with current one.

post #1 of 11
12/29/10 at 6:08pm
Thread Starter 
My current setup is:

Onkyo TX-SR608 receiver
A pair of bi-amped Paradigm Studio Monitor speakers for my mains.
A pair of Cerwin-Vega AT-12 speakers for my rears.
An Energy ES-12XL subwoofer
And a Paradigm CC-290v5 center.

Everything is enclosed in a Furnitech cabinet and the room size is about 25 ft by 20 ft.

I am unhappy with the sound from the Paradigm center, voices sound too "bassey" to me so I am looking to replace it with a new center speaker. What do you recommend I go with (I have no brand preference at this time)? I am trying to keep the price on the lower end of the spectrum and trying to maximize the bang for the buck!

Thanks!
Chad
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post #2 of 11
12/29/10 at 6:40pm
before replacing the center is it rear ported? If so you're going to get extra bass because you've got it in a cabinet. Try plugging the ports and also raising the crossover for the center channel on your receiver.
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post #3 of 11
12/29/10 at 6:42pm
Or move it out of the cabinet if possible.
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post #4 of 11
12/29/10 at 6:44pm
Well, that would be the best option.
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post #5 of 11
12/29/10 at 6:44pm
Yeah, although I suspect WAF might be at play.
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post #6 of 11
12/29/10 at 6:56pm
The CC290 is rear ported and from the Monitor series and is
a little bass heavy to begin with - it needs to come out of
the cabinet and in the future try to upgrade to a Studio center
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post #7 of 11
12/29/10 at 7:12pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,

Thanks for the posts. I'll try to plug the rear port with a towel and adjust the crossover freq and report back.

Thanks!
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post #8 of 11
12/30/10 at 12:10pm
Thread Starter 
I stuffed the ports and moved the crossover to 100hz from 40hz but am still not thrilled with the result. I'll crank the crossover up to the maximum level (140hz I think) and see.

In the meantime, any recommendations on a sealed (non-ported) center channel speaker?

Thanks,
Chad
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post #9 of 11
12/30/10 at 12:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by shatter71 View Post

I stuffed the ports and moved the crossover to 100hz from 40hz but am still not thrilled with the result. I'll crank the crossover up to the maximum level (140hz I think) and see.

In the meantime, any recommendations on a sealed (non-ported) center channel speaker?

Thanks,
Chad

As Zieg suggested, get a matching Studio series monitor.

Ron
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post #10 of 11
12/30/10 at 12:24pm
The problem is you're getting too much boundary reinforcment from your Furnitech cabinet and TV. All of that stuff around your center is acting like a wall (IE needing speakers designed for in-wall use) requireing minimal baffle step compensation (BSC). Because your current center has a good amount of BSC, it's going to sound bloated on the bottom end - too much bass and midbass. Getting a Studio series center won't fix the problem because it too is designed with BSC. You'd need to redo the crossover and eliminate the BSC in order for either of those speakers to work properly.

...Or get an eq to setup a 3-4db (12db/oct) shelf filter at around 250hz to reduce the bottom end output of your center.
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post #11 of 11
12/30/10 at 1:35pm
I don't think getting the matching Studio Monitor is the answer.

Tulpa has the best advice...move it out of the cabinet. Try it out of the cabinet and see if the sound is just as bad. If it sounds better, you know the answer to your problem.
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AVS › AVS Forum › Audio › Speakers › Center channel speaker recommendation please, unhappy with current one.