Quote:
Originally Posted by Venomous 
I read a review in a link in this thread last year. The reviewer pointed out how the 590 was unable to produce a clear center soundstage due to its midbass limitation. He made the statement about how a larger center was produced by paradigm to address the problem. I never payed attention to the date of the review or if it was a preview type of review. Upon further research on the net, I found more user input saying the same thing about the 590 lacking midrange punch. I had already purchased my studios before I came across these reviews. I noticed the same thing during auditioning. The 590 isn't a good center for a large room where the seating position isn't close along with studio 100s. I went with the 690 after weeks of auditions. Although the size of the center could be atrocious, it's sound is remarkable.
I'm surprised paradigm didn't match the number of drivers in the 690 to the 590 by using the 5 1/2" ones. Most likely the cabinent size would of remained the same. The midrange section would be more present, but the speaker wouldn't obviously play as loud as a 690. The 690 is not a center you would find common in many peoples homes. It's size isn't compatible with 99% of the av furniture out there. Which gives more credibility to the review I read that is was a bandaid fix. If you look at centers by B&W that match CM9s or Diamond 800s, they aren't as big as a 690.
Personally I don't think a speaker sitting horizontal as designed makes room correction anymore difficult then a center channel not sitting at the right height, level with the L&R channels.
My center is roughly 8" lower than the tweeter height of my L and R channels. Reviewing pictures of people setups, some sit 10 to 15" lower then their main L&Rs. So is the problem with room correction really about a center channel speaker sitting horizontal or is it about the centers tweeter sitting much lower than the left and right channel?
I read a review in a link in this thread last year. The reviewer pointed out how the 590 was unable to produce a clear center soundstage due to its midbass limitation. He made the statement about how a larger center was produced by paradigm to address the problem. I never payed attention to the date of the review or if it was a preview type of review. Upon further research on the net, I found more user input saying the same thing about the 590 lacking midrange punch. I had already purchased my studios before I came across these reviews. I noticed the same thing during auditioning. The 590 isn't a good center for a large room where the seating position isn't close along with studio 100s. I went with the 690 after weeks of auditions. Although the size of the center could be atrocious, it's sound is remarkable.
I'm surprised paradigm didn't match the number of drivers in the 690 to the 590 by using the 5 1/2" ones. Most likely the cabinent size would of remained the same. The midrange section would be more present, but the speaker wouldn't obviously play as loud as a 690. The 690 is not a center you would find common in many peoples homes. It's size isn't compatible with 99% of the av furniture out there. Which gives more credibility to the review I read that is was a bandaid fix. If you look at centers by B&W that match CM9s or Diamond 800s, they aren't as big as a 690.
Personally I don't think a speaker sitting horizontal as designed makes room correction anymore difficult then a center channel not sitting at the right height, level with the L&R channels.
My center is roughly 8" lower than the tweeter height of my L and R channels. Reviewing pictures of people setups, some sit 10 to 15" lower then their main L&Rs. So is the problem with room correction really about a center channel speaker sitting horizontal or is it about the centers tweeter sitting much lower than the left and right channel?
I can't help but think much of the hype is bias that it is not the top model. The mid-range driver in competitors such Focal and B&W are of similar size to the C1|C3, and in total size comparable to the C3. I have not heard reports of similar issues. There is not another model to jump to. Or in the case of Focal there is another model line --but the price is much steeper, about $9K more for the center speaker.
