Newbie Looking for Info

You also need information/hardware/software on determining the Theile/Small parameters of the drivers you have. The hardware and software to build the appropriate cross-over and finally the experience to tweak the results by ear. Nothing about building a speaker the correct way is "basic". You can take shortcuts and use pre-built crossovers, etc but you will not be happy with the sound compared to your current speakers.

What makes the center channels from Athena "weak"? Have you calibrated your system so that all speakers are at the same level? Have you plotted your system's frequency response to deterimine if you have some room induced issues? There's a lot of work you should do before you start replacing equipment.

-Robert

Uh....stick with the single B2.2

I don't know what you mean by weak, exactly. If you have the levels set properly, it should sound OK. Either stick with it or get a single F2.2 for center duty (which would actually be more ideal).

What did you use? Internal tones and your ears? Calibration DVD and an SPL meter?


TrueRTA sofware, a PC and a calibrated mic. You may want to just work on the calibration before attempting this.


Not good for the speaker or not good for the sound quality? It won't hurt the speaker and your center channel output is already not optimal. A quick test will only take a few minutes.

-Robert

If your speakers are properly level matched and you're still experiencing problems, just get all new sepakers. Doing some hack job with two B2.2's will not help the matter.

everyone has already explained that this won't be an easy undertaking...someone hacked something together here:

http://gallery.avsforum.com/showphoto.php?photo=11906

but I doubt that was a proven out design...just as I said in my comment there...the spacing between the drivers is off, etc etc...

if I were in your shoes, I'd start auditioning a larger or three way center that is close to the timbre of the rest of the athena line.

I honestly wouldn't be as concerned about "timbre matching" as I would be getting the best center for your budget...but maybe I am just crazy. Now, if you had really nice fronts, it might be another story.

What is your budget?

there's nothing that says he can't do both...if he plans on keeping the Athena's, which are pretty fine speakers, for a while then he might as well do it right the first time.

arbitrarily buying a center just because it fit his budget could just lead to more disappointments when there are pans across the front stage, and there's a change in timbre...clearly he's already concerned about his centers dialogue intelligibility, so one could deduct that he might also care whether or not the pans are as seamless as possible.

this is exactly what i would do. I doubt you'll find a center that's much better than this situation unless you want to spend more bucks on a three way.

Of course, but his concern for clear and intelligble dialog seems to be more serious than worrying about timbre matching.

But he can always just audition some stuff in his setup to determine what fits and what doesn't, as far as the total packacge is concerned.


Exactly, but that is what puzzles me. He says he level matched everything, but apparently even with the center trim set to +10, the dialog is still unclear.

Oh, if you want to build a center from scratch, that could certainly be arranged.

But I don't think anyone here in their right mind would recommend a frankenstein approach using your spare B2.2s or B1.2's. Now, if you sold those and spent the funds on parts for a new one, you'd be in business.

Do you have any pictures of your front soundstage?

Do you want consisently unintelligble and unclear dialog?

Have you been through all the setup options on your DVD player.

A friend of mine almost wept with joy when we discovered that his player had a "dialog level" setting buried in there......

Good call Collo. I was thinking that there must be something else going on. Any half-decent MT shouldn't sound so bad for center use.

If you want to build a great center--the Audax Center channel is fantastic...

Not sure how the timbre would line up with what you have...

http://www.madisound.com/audaxhometheater.html

Looks like the drivers are getting harder to find, they have all the drivers at Parts Express for around $110.... I don't know if Madisound still carries the drivers or not, maybe you could get them to sell you some crossovers, or you can get the schematic and make your own if you know how.

Cheers
Mike

You should definitely check out this design: http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=15323

And the others there. I know that Kingpin (who is a member here as well) has had great experiences with PartsExpress and he lives in Canada.

Most receiver test tones are not accurate. Get a calibration DVD and try it again.


Just the most important part of a speaker. You can buy the most expensive, best sounding drivers in the world and come out with a horrible sounding speaker if the crossover isn't designed correctly.

-Robert

I have a Bose Acoustimass 10 with the center cube being used as my rear center. For the front center, I' m using a Polk CS400i. My guess is that is does not timbre match at all. Conversely, it sounds great! This speaker is so clear and can handle any bass thrown at it.

I've been contemplating getting a VCS 10 Bose Center speaker to match timbre of my cubes but the reviews of the Bose VCS 10 are so bad. The reviews of my Polk are so much better.

Is timbre matching all that it is cracked up to be? Is it better to timbre match even if it means downgrading to a lower quality speaker?

Apparently I am one of the few that believes it isn't better to timbre match instead of going with a better quality center.

Now, if the quality difference isn't that significant, it is one thing..but in your case, it is.