[Kensai]

The management . . . er, my wife has forbidden mucking up her new living room with surround sound speakers of any sort (and believe me, I came up with several different plans to get them there in hopes she would approve of one). Since the center channel would fit into our entertainment center and wouldn't disrupt the delicate balance, I was thinking of adding it, but was wondering if it was worth the trouble/money. What benefit would I get from going from a stereo setup to a L/R/Center setup (the receiver is surround, DD, DTS, DPLII, etc.)? and do you think it would be of enough real value to implement?


Thanks,

Kensai

 

[nutt]

Instead of worrying about the answer to this question, why not just ask the management for your cajones back? Or just set up the center and rear speakers one day while she is gone, and see what she does? Forgiveness is easier to get than permission.


But, if you must, I think adding the center channel would be worth it, and would sound better than stereo on a lot of movies.


Tim

 

[ChrisBr]

Have you thought about adding in-walls? That may take care of the WAF and give you the ability to have full surround.


I also agree with nutt...

 

[shokunin]

In walls and In-ceiling speakers are very high on WAF factor and actually look pretty cool up in the ceilings. As for your center channel, I think most people will say that it's essential. However, I've been living without one for almost 6 months and although I will be getting one, I can definitely live without one. of course, my wife and I are sitting in the sweet spot so we don't have to worry about other guests hearing the dialogue. But we do throw parties and I definitely will have to get one... eventually.

 

[sushi]

As shokunin eluded, what the center channel does is to prevent the front soundstage from "collapsing" onto one side, when the listener is sitting much closer to the left or right. This is especially important in solidly anchoring dialogs to the screen, in a manner that is independent of listening positions.


I would suggest you take the manager to a good AV / HT stores and let her experience a well-setup surround system. Do not forget to bring one of her own favorite movies for the demo, rather than yours!!!

 

[Maggie Guy]

The center channel is the most important channel in the whole setup for HT! Good luck!

 

[orion76]

I'd be shopping for a new wife instead of a center channel speaker...

 

[Tom Brennan]

A center speaker might make your rig sound better and it might not, it could even make it sound worse. Much depends on the dispersion patterns of your L&R speakers and their basic sound quality (tonality and distortion) and the sound quality of the center speaker. IME a center speaker is not needed but this is certainly not true for other rooms and other speakers.


So it depends.

 

[Kensai]

Let me just say this isn't my HT. I have a room where I've got everything I need/want, but we almost always end up watching things together in the living room. The ceiling in the living room is vaulted with the peak more towards the right wall than the center of the room, and the side walls are either an exterior wall with a bay window on the left, or a partition wall that doesn't extend far enough out to house a surround on the right.


The center is mainly just a first step. I'm trying to ease her into this, trying to get her to sit in my office/HT and hear the surround goodness, but this is going to take some time. Just simply dropping the coin on surround speaks and installing them behind her back would be one of those acts that causes her not to trust me anymore, which makes me seriously question if posters such as nutt have any clue what they're talking about.


As for everyone else that posted useful info, thanks.


Kensai

 

[nutt]

Do I have any idea what I am talking about? Well, you would probably assume that I am not married, and you would be correct. But, I do have a very steady girlfriend, and I live what I preach. She openly tells me that some of my equipment purchases are stupid, and I openly remind her that she has six closets full of clothes and shoes that she never wears.


The subject of her moving in has come up, and I know that she would like to say that I have to choose: the six-foot-tall speakers or her. But she never forces this issue, because she knows what choice I would make. And once I called her bluff, she would lose all her leverage.


Sushi mentions a VERY good stunt that I have definitely pulled in the past. Take the management to lunch somewhere nice on a Saturday. Make sure she has a glass (or two) of wine. Then take her shopping somewhere that she LOVES. It could be jewelry, it could be furniture, whatever. Then, between stores, accidentally drive by the best home theater retailer in town. Casually suggest that you go in for a minute "to look at the televisions." Then accidentally bring her favorite DVD into the store with you and let the salesman sit her down in the fancy room with the projector and the $100k system.


At the end of the audition, she will be saying, "that is so much fun but we could never have those 300 lb. rear speakers in the living room." The salesman casually suggests in-walls...


all of a sudden, the management demands home theater!


It might not work, but it's a pretty slick ploy.


Tim

 

[nutt]

Oops, I forgot to mention...


Kensai, if I was too strong in my wording in my original post, sorry, I was only kidding. We all get flack from the management. If you have your own home theater in another room, that is more than I would be able to get away with if my girlfriend really was the manger.


Tim

 

[orion76]

Be careful getting the wife excited about HT...


First it's: "but we could never have those 300 lb. rear speakers in the living room."


and then it's: "Hey I just found out that a company called BOSE can fit the sound of those 330lb speakers into the cutest little cigarette boxes!"

 

[Kensai]

nutt,


Another thing to consider here, the managment makes 60% of our income and handles 70-80% of the child care for our 11 month old son. I have no leverage for disturbing what is considered her part of the house.


The office is already wired for 4.0 surround (pair of giant old Fisher floorstanders with 15" woofers and a pair of large bookshelves for surrounds) in an area that, including my desk setup and a loveseat, measures about 10' on a side. I'd be more than welcomed to do something even more elaborate in the basement, but I couldn't possibly affort a display big enough or the construction that would be necessary (its unfinished), or even the furniture for seating for such a project at the current time. The situation isn't ideal for anyone, but folks keep telling me, "this too, will pass".


orion,


You're absolutely right . . . she'd think that BOSE are small enough and come in the right colors . . . I doubt she'd understand that for the money, we could get better speakers and a new TV On the flip side, she'd dig tiny, wireless speakers. Alot cheaper, but the surround channels would sound like FM. Its a lose/lose situation if you ask me.


Kensai

 

[ChrisBr]

Quote:

Originally posted by orion76 Be careful getting the wife excited about HT... First it's: "but we could never have those 300 lb. rear speakers in the living room." and then it's: "Hey I just found out that a company called BOSE can fit the sound of those 330lb speakers into the cutest little cigarette boxes!"

In this case I would just ask my wife if she would buy her china/crystal/diamonds (you name something she desires quality in) at Walmart, and if not, why not...worked for me anyway.

 

[Larry Fine]

The more I read posts like this, the more I realize how lucky I am that my live-in fiancé enjoys the HT almost as much as I do. She brags about the sound and picture whenever the subject comes up. I just stand back and smile.


She has always been a do-it-yourself'er, and had almost as much of a tool collection as I had when we got together. She'd rather go to HD or Lowe's than go clothes shopping! Am I blessed or WHAT!?!

 

[Lantern]

Quote:

Originally posted by Larry Fine The more I read posts like this, the more I realize how lucky I am that my live-in fiancé enjoys the HT almost as much as I do. She brags about the sound and picture whenever the subject comes up. I just stand back and smile. She has always been a do-it-yourself'er, and had almost as much of a tool collection as I had when we got together. She'd rather go to HD or Lowe's than go clothes shopping! Am I blessed or WHAT!?!

Yes......



Reminds me of a recent dentist visit I had. A casual conversation about the lame selection of periodicals with a BEAUTIFUL woman turned into an in depth dialogue in cars, fast cars, and racing cars.



She was taken............I BEGGED her to tell me where the the rest like her were located

 

[video321]

After moving into our new home and setting up the Living Room (home theater) I realized that my rear speakers would not fit nicely on the header that I was looking to mount them on. After mentioning this to my wife, I instantly hear "well, did you buy new speakers yet!?"


Yes, we are the lucky ones

 

[Kensai]

My wife has almost no appreciation for HT or toys of any sort (other than baby toys). Its very odd. She's a music person, so you'd think she'd be all into at least stuff for music reproduction (which would help getting HT stuff into the living room), but she was perfectly happy with old and scrounged components we'd been using previously, which had to start burning out before I could spend $300 on a receiver and a couple nice bookshelves for new mains (which, of course I was hoping to convert to surrounds later by purchasing some towers for mains).


She likes the new sound. She freely admits its much better than before, but she doesn't understand that we still have tons of room for improvement, even without spending audiophile grade money. She hasn't even really listened to my office/HT rig with a critical ear yet. Even the baby can tell the difference. He loves his Baby Mozart DVD, but he'd much rather watch/listen to it in the HT than in the livingroom. I blame her brother for all this . . . he was an anime/sountrack/videogame/RPG/transformer/lego fetishist when they were young and living together at home and annoyed the crap out of her with all of it. I actually feel lucky that she married me since I share so many of the same interests as him


Oh well, maybe I should save my pennies for a finished basement (she's all about home improvement ) instead of worrying about incremental improvements to the living room right now.


Kensai

 

[orion76]

There are some solutions that most wifes won't mind and sound quite acceptable.


Anthony Gallo comes to mind.

 

[orion76]

Who would object to these cute things mounted on the wall?

http://www.roundsound.com/systems/due.htm