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It is well known that a center channel speaker is 'voiced' differently. Will it sound considerably different from main speakers? I mean for example will an Elac C5 sound inferior to one B6 for mono music? Strange comparisons I know. But same price. Thanks.
Bill
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The purpose of using same brand for center as mains is timbre matching for seamless panning of sound across the front. And, optimum same brand all around for all panning and effects to be seamless.
A manufacture will use same drivers in the center so it will match the mains. Whether is plays as low is no concern as in HT the low end usually goes to the sub, or If no sub, the bass may be directed to the larger mains more capable of handling it. In addition, pulling the low bass out of the center gives the effect of easier heard vocals.
Me personally, I'd use the Elac matching center for the mains.
"Whether is plays as low is no concern as in HT the low end usually goes to the sub, or If no sub, the bass may be directed to the larger mains more capable of handling it. In addition, pulling the low bass out of the center gives the effect of easier heard vocals."
The ".1" in 5.1, 7.1 etc. is the "low frequency effects" (LFE) channel, and is a completely different thing from "bass".
:)
Thanks for the lesson, I always thought Low frequency was synonomous with bass. Although it's true LFE (.1) is directed low frequency for special effect it's not the only bass. So you are saying when I run auto speaker set up and the crossover is set for the center channel that bass is just eliminated opposed to directed to other speakers or sub? What about surrounds, that bass is just eliminated entirely below the crossover point? What about when we set our speaker to "small", that bass is just eliminated?
I don't know what you use for HT but in all the set ups I've had no matter the crossover point the bass below that crossover point is directed to the sub and/or mains depending on equipment and set up.
I get the cynicism in your post.
Still, you may wish to read this paper from years ago.
https://www.grammy.org/files/pages/SurroundRecommendations.pdf
:)
Yes but, as the post says correctly, it "usually goes to the sub" along with the LFE.
Still, I do not agree that "pulling the low bass out of the center gives the effect of easier heard vocals." That's possible with a crappy center speaker but should not be an issue with a decent one.
All three front speakers should be of the same model.Well, for best sound.
:)
Edits: 06/17/16
In a home theater environment, all three front speakers should be of the same model.
:)
It is well known that a center channel speaker is 'voiced' differently.I've always heard the contrary !
In a perfect world, you would use identical speakers at all locations. Given the physical constraints of most HT arrangements, centers are often optimized in a more shallow cabinet better suited for horizontal positioning.
While I now use Acoustat 1+1s for mains, my HT consisted of LSi9s in front LSc center and LSi7 surrounds. All used the same ring radiator tweeter and multiples of same woofer.
Click here for another example.
"The Mezzo was formulated and engineered with a specific function in mind: a loudspeaker endowed with a nearly identical sonic signature to Wilson's Sasha W/P, but in a low-profile package."
Edits: 06/13/16
Anything except an identical speaker to the left and right is a compromise. Often speaker companies, realizing very few can place a large tower speaker right in the center of the room will make a "lateral" version of the vertical towers, but even they will say that the optimum system will include identical speakers all around.
What I had seen written was that the center speaker was for the voice to be better articulated and movies could be enjoyed better. Of course Wilson wouldnt want a strange voice between their super speakers but is harmony among the three speakers the rule among the budget systems I wonder. Well, I havent heard too many center speakers so I wont venture any comments. I find that I can build one Zaph Audio SR 71 speaker for the same cost as one Elac C5. Have to pick one. I find I cannot buy one B6, only pairs.
Best Wishes
Bill
Same drivers and sound other than less LF with their smaller cabinets. What comes out of the center out (vocals) in 5.1 is whats much different not the speakers.
ET
What I had seen written was that the center speaker was for the voice to be better articulated and movies could be enjoyed better.Perhaps you might cite your source(s) for that notion. As for me, I most certainly desire uniformity and coherence.
Note that in the professional cinema market, there really aren't any center speakers . They use identical models across the front.
Truly high end HT systems using projectors and perforated screens can fully take advantage of the professional approach.
Edits: 06/15/16
The center channel speaker by virtue of it's cabinet design will fall very short in the lower mids. Kind of where most of you good music sits.For mono stereo stick with a "stereo" like speaker.
Also the Zaph has been tweaked to death by the designer for audiophile perfection. If you're going with one speaker make it a good one.
And again, this is very important especially for mono, this speaker has EXCELLENT off axis listening.
Edits: 06/13/16
he center channel speaker by virtue of it's cabinet design will fall very short in the lower mids.
David Wilson would surely smile at your broad conclusion. Perhaps you might suggest where that is evidenced in the response curve of the modest Polk LSiC. Seems pretty darn flat to me from the lower mids to the ninth octave. A pair of 5.25 woofers has slightly more cone area than a single 7" driver.
" The LSiC's listening-window response measures +1.38/-0.77 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. An average of axial and +/-15-degree horizontal responses measures +1.54/-1.18 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. "
+1 I'm in agreement with you that the voicing would be the same for a dedicated center channel by the same series of the left right main speakers.
Through a misadventure with an Esoteric SA-60, I listened to my KEF R600C as a monaural speaker on a number of occasions. From that experience, I concluded a pair, turned on end and set on stands, would make damn fine stereo setup. The R600C is a solid performer that sits between a pair of KEF Reference 107/2s and blends seamlessly with them. The misadventure was pilot error; I was forgetting to turn on a by-pass preamp.
I rarely argue but this point always annoyed me. I've tried several different smallish woofer cone designs (yes with different amps as well) and they just don't get down there.
Math aside a 5.25" is a 5.25 cone. No matter if you have one or two. If you pushed it say with a tone generator then yes you could get those numbers. But with general use and amps - it ain't happening.
The tone generator is producing a single tone and the speaker behaves accordingly for each tone. The only difference is that the amp is outputting a number of single tones simulataneously. A center channel is designed for replicating dialog, not full range. If your trying to push any amount of serious bass, then a center channel will fail as will any standmount with the equivalent driver size from the same speaker series.
I like clear voices and articulation which the center speaker is said to provide. I dont think I can hear a lot of low or high frequencies, one ear being particularly weak. I would say a center speaker alone may be good for me, positioned vertically with the tweeter between the mid drivers in that good Doctor's ( I keep forgetting his name) arrangement a la Usher.
Cheers
Bill
Not every speaker with a vertical woofer-tweeter-woofer configuration is a D'Appolito array.
A true D'Appolito has to have tweeter and woofer coils aligned in the same vertical plane and use 3rd order filters in the crossover to function as intended.
The old woofer tweeter woofer arrangment on the same horizontal axes suffers from combing affects if you venture far from center. Better center channel designs move the tweeter off the horizontal axes. The trade off is a higher cabinet that may not fit into a user's current setup.
I think in the end the OP just wants a singe music speaker.Why not just get something that was designed and intended solely for musical use - 1/2 a stereo speaker set.
I think what the OP really needs is the best off axis listening possible.
In my early days I did try a D'Appolito design. They seem to have a very narrow sweet spot in all planes.
Edits: 06/15/16
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barely more than an inch larger "magically" solves this?
Don't ever listen to a Scaena 1.4 with its 3" midrange drivers or your preconceptions will be taken away. :)
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