[alpacafarm]

I have a 7.1 system in my HT (Onkyo SR-606) with 2 front right/left Proficient IW85 in-wall speakers, matching Proficient IW550 center, 4 in-wall surrounds from Phoenix gold, and a BIC VK-12 powered sub. I have not purchased an acoustically transparent screen yet due to costs (and instead have a motorized elite screen). The center channel is the only speaker behind the screen.


Needless to say, the dialogue during movies is muffled. I connected a small floor standing center speaker below the screen from a cheaper Denon 5.1 HTIB system to help with dialogue on movies, and boosted the output from the receiver to the center channel. It's still a muffled mess, straining to understand every other word with movies. The other channels sound fine. This kind of puts a damper on the whole home theater experience, especially since lip-reading is not my forte.


So the question is, what speaker in the $150 range that will sit on the floor should I purchase to give me crystal clear dialogue (at least until I pony up for the acoustically transparent screen). Should it be a 3-way bookshelf speaker or a dedicated center speaker design? Any suggestions on models that would match my current setup? It may be quite some time before I can upgrade to the AT screen.


thanks

 

[fireman325]

Have you tried running a "phantom center"? If that works OK you could do that until you get the new screen. Just disconnect your current center from the receiver and re-run Audyssey so the receiver can see there's no center channel. The center channel information should then be split up between the left/right channels, if I understand it correctly. Hopefully someone will (gently

) correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[afrogt]

Phantom center is not a bad idea.


If you want a crystal clear center, get a KEF iQ2. They excel at dialogue. KEFs are known be very clear and forward with midrange and highs. I've heard them and I agree.

http://search.vanns.com/sitesearch/search?q=kef+iq2

 

[alpacafarm]

Well it might be a couple years before I get the AT screen, especially with little kiddies running around the house. Any suggestions on other speakers for the center channel, or votes of confidence for the kef? Is it better if the center is a 3-way?


thanks

 

[Espo77]

I guess the phantom center sounds like the right choice, but we don't know what your seating arrangement is or what your room looks like. I would be thinking more about how much I could get for the existing screen and how much for the transparent one.

This is HT in progress...... this is a good thing..................the anticipation.