wilson watch

aerial model cc5

focal jm lab center utopia be

b&W htm1d


not in specific order


then change the front LR and surrounds to match the center

follow by upgrading to pre/pro and power separates


just my recommendations for achieving the best

 

A good center channel with good placement should be able to project sound beyond its physical dimensions just like the left and right does.


Just changing the center might cause bigger problems with mismatching tonal characteristics.

 

Those all look nice, but let me add another checkpoint for recommendations.


I need to be able to find this center channel new or used for less than 500 dollars...preferably much less. I don't mind buying used speakers.






That wilson watch was $6500



I spent only 475 for the pair on my mains, and 350 for the pair for my rears, and my previous center channels were only about 100 a piece. So I'm looking more in those price ranges.

 

The best center channel would be another Sapphire 89. This would ensure that you have the best panning and of course would perfectly match your mains. If you are currently running 5.1, you could buy a pair and run 6.1. Having multiple drivers along a horizontal axis will not improve your sound or the width of the sound field.

 

I'm a little confused. Are you currently running 2 center channels instead of one? You can introduce comb filtering and phantom imaging problems if you do.

 

NHT M5 or M6 are in your price range. When you are ready to replace your mains, you can pick up some more of these for a truly coherent soundstage.

 

yes....I was running two center channels, at 4ohm (two 8 ohm speakers) and it didn't sound good, but the single center channel speaker seems to tiny sounding and I wan't happy with it either. I had bought the second identical center to see if I liked that setup better. I had them both mounted splitting the difference in the width of the projector screen...


The mains and surrounds are sapphire line, but the centers were valadus line, and wharfedale valadus line isn't any good. I really would like to move to a different center completely.


The 89's are floor standing speakers, and they truly are a great sounding speaker...but they are big and tall...I found one here in a google image search so you could see as to what they look like.

http://avforum.no/minhjemmekino/user...hire_SP-89.JPG


Having a center channel of an 89 just isn't possible, as the tower is 4ish feet tall, and besides being too large it is also a mirrored image speaker, meaning the speakers have a left and right channel, and have their soundstage setup perfectly that way.


I could look for a wharfedale sapphire center, but I've only ever seen the slimline sapphire centers, and I want a more full sounding larger speaker for the dialogue.

 

If the single center channel didn't sound correct, it could be that the settings are off. Did you do a SPL calibration?

 

Archaea,


Three identical speakers accross the front would be ideal, but that would require a transparent screen.


Looks like you have already discovered the problem with mis matched Centers and Mains. Borrow a single Sapphire center and try it out.

 

I never did an SPL calibration as I don't have the equipment(however cheap it may be) to do it, however, I've played with the independant gain on the center channel, and the delay settings and never could get it to sound right. I think it had more with the fact that the Wharfedale Valdus is a crappy speaker than it did with anything else. I'm not so worried about mismatching the speakers, as long as the center channel I buy is a quality piece. Most center channels don't contain the same drivers as the mains anyway, even if the mains and center are from the same manufactorer and of the same line. Has anyone ever heard of Cadence? Are they any good?

 

Buy yourself a sound meter from Rat Shack. It is cheap and you may find that your system only needs to be calibrated. Even if you do buy a new center you'll still have to recalibrate it for best results.

 

So you don't have the $50 for a SPL meter you need to set up the speakers in the first place but you have the money for a second center? The second center as pointed out above is also not ideal. As well, having mutiple drivers in the horizontal plane does not give you a better pan or placement of dialogue on the screen. Actually many feel the best way to design a center is with Tweeter and Mid actually vertically aligned, take a look at the configuration of the centers CPU8088 first mentioned.


And in the best HT setups, in many cases the majority of the drivers are the same in the mains and center. The horizontal center is a compromise.

 

I would highly recommend buying a SPL meter. It's definitely worth the money. You also might be able to find the old analog SPL meter at your local RS. I bought mine last year for about $15 since they were normally selling the digital one. It's worth asking.


Another thing to try out is to angle the center channel toward the primary listening position.

 

I'm not using a center at all right now...just have the center downmixed to the L & R through the receiver...I haven't yet made up my mind about this yet. Could this be making me lose sound quality? or introducing errors into the audio through the processing?

 

Get a single Wharfedale tower and use it as a center. If you want to smear it's location, just jam it up against the wall.


All the smear, none of the lobing. If you're into that kinda thing.