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What's more important, Center or Front Speaker?

702 Views 6 Replies 6 Participants Last post by sdurani, May 2, 2006

jhetta

Discussion Starter · May 2, 2006

I'm in the process of purchasing speakers and was thinking that most of the sound in a home theater set up seems to come from the center speaker. So, I was thinking of upgrading my center speaker from the rest of the pkg. Where would you put your money? Thoughts?

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rvanya

· #2 · May 2, 2006

You'll probably hear some varying opinions on this. Fact is the a vast majority of the dialogue in a movie comes from the center channel. So just looking at that, one could say the center is the most important. Most will tell you that the optimal situation is to have the whole front stage timbre matched and that the speakers should have identical drivers. It's not like the stuff won't work if you hodge podge it all together, but just sound quality wise- that's the preferred set up.

So, if you want to upgrade the center while purchasing the package, that is okay, but try to get a center that is matched to the front left and right channels. And have a blast!

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PULLIAMM

· #3 · May 2, 2006

The goal is perfect timbre matching between the center and mains. Room acoustics make this impossible even with identical speakers. Every center I have tried sounds inferior to not using a center (to my ears), so I have stopped using one.

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Nuance

· #4 · May 2, 2006

For home theater the center is very important, unless you are the only one watching. If you sit perfectly on axis between your main speakers it sounds better without a center. A center is more for the folks sitting off axis from the main speakers in which case it does become the most important speaker for home theater. Like the above folks have said, the ideal situation is finding a center that matches the timber of the L and R main speakers and one which has the same drivers. This is very hard to do today, so the best solution is to use three identical speakers across the front. However, this may be difficult for many people, especially those using full range tower speakers (which I prefer over bookshelves). There are some manufacturers that make a very decent center, but very little if none at all match their main speakers perfectly.

So, if dialog is very important to you for movies, research the center channel. The best one I have every heard is Vandersteenâ€™s VCC5, however it is 2K. I donâ€™t have 2K for a center so I will need to compromise; you may need to do the same with whichever manufacturer you chose.

I am a huge 2-channel guy, so the center is not the most important speaker for me (obviously the mains are). If you listen to a at least 50/50 music and HT, the mains will probably be more important. This is just my $0.02 and YMMV.

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umr

· #5 · May 2, 2006

Center channel performance is critical for surround sound. I would invest in quality speakers, equalization and careful setup to get the best sound. I find EQ is very important for most installations to achieve a balanced timbre.

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PULLIAMM

· #6 · May 2, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nuance
For home theater the center is very important, unless you are the only one watching. If you sit perfectly on axis between your main speakers it sounds better without a center.

Excellent point. I usually qualify my recommendation of no center by mentioning that I usually watch movies alone.

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sdurani

· #7 · May 2, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhetta
I was thinking of upgrading my center speaker from the rest of the pkg.

But that might make it sound different from the L/R speakers, which could end up being distracting. The goal isn't to have the very best centre speaker possible but instead to have the one that best blends into the front soundstage.

When setting up a pair of speakers for stereo music listening, you'd never consider using different models as your left & right speakers, even if the manufacturer told you they sound "similar". So why change that way of thinking just because your front soundstage is now made up of 3 speakers instead of 2.

The number of speakers may have changed, but what you want to hear hasn't: a seamless and consistent sounding front soundstage. What difference does it make whether that soundstage is made up of 2 or 3 or more speakers?

So rather than getting a spectacular centre speaker that might end up being a mis-match for your mains, concentrate on getting 3 speakers that blend with each other as seamlessly as possible. If you can't do 3 identical speakers, then try to get as close as you can.

Good Luck,

Sanjay

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