All speakers have a purpose and certain elements are lost if each one does not fulfill that purpose. Having said that, I would say the Center Channel speaker is the MOST important.
THIS IS OVERLY SIMPLIFIED!!!
1. The Surround speakers give you that sense of envelopment. 2. The Main L/R speakers greatly enhance the soundstage and musical score. 3. The Sub adds impact and depth. 4. With all of the above and a lousy Center Channel speaker, the dialogue becomes hard to understand and not centered to the screen , which would tend to make the entire movie VERY unenjoyable (unless your watching a Charlie Chaplin movie).
Center. With that said, there are those who prefer splitting center channel to the main speakers. I like the sound of a firmly planted center speaker so I know the sound is coming from the screen.
I agree, the center speaker is the most important.
In regards to the subwoofer though. It stinks to not have one but i'd rather hear what is going on in a movie then just hear a boom every once in a while.
Now in a set of various brand speakers, I have noticed that the center speaker is the same as the L & R and surrounds. Does this mean then that the receiver is the one that determines the quality of the center one?
I'm going to disagree a little about the centre speaker... IMO if you actually have a centre then it becomes very important that the centre you have is a good one. IOW if you have a centre speaker then it is the most important speaker in the setup, IMO. If you don't have a centre and your room isn't very big (and perhaps also if your TV isn't that big) then the dialogue can still sound pretty centred if you ask me.
I can see that in some situations having the centre might become more important though.
Like Johnny, I am tempted to say the sub as well because of the above opinion of mine...
I think in a low-cost set up you can get away without the centre but you can't get away with a budget centre speaker in a higher cost system (and nobody would try anyway)...
Debating this red herring of a question is best done in the area devoted to the discussion of speaker systems. It's not a Basics area type of discussion.
The center is the most important, but a sub has has the most WOW! factor. Take away the sub and it's not as thrilling of an experience. Take away the center and you'll be missing 1/2 or more of the movie.
I'm gonna disagree with the premise of the question. Because I don't thing any one speaker is more important than the other. They are all needed to make the ideal audio presentation of the DVD/video. A strong argument could be made that the center speaker is the least needed speaker in a HT setup. Keep in mind some people prefer no center speaker and run theirs in the phantom mode. While others run their systems without a sub, prefering to hear the lows from their mains.
I agree with what Reginald said...a good set of tower speakers could produce both upper and lower frequencies.
Personally, if I could go back in time, using the same budget I spent on my current setup, I'd buy a good quality stereo receiver and a pair of really good tower speakers.
your front trio is the seamless "front" speaker. Without the front stage intact (same speakers, in other words) then it is a matter of spurious psycoacoustical calculations after that. Granted, the center is dialogue laden, but if you do not have the same tweeter and bass drivers up front then it is a matter of variables and degrees after that. Purely subjective. But that is the love of audio ;^) ...go figure. So enjoy what you strive for. It really does matter. IMO and IME.
PS- if you are a bass head, then ignore this reply ............ if you enjoy musical speakers then you will nod
The center channel carries about 70% of the data,so do the "math".Ragading the "fold in" option,I've never seen a decent HT that didn't have a dedicated center speaker,nor anyone "reputable" would recommend skipping it.
All working in harmony to bring me the sound I want to hear. Overall I think in HT the center channel is the most important and for 2ch music its the fronts.
i've always heard the center was most important but its just as easy to send the signal to your mains. I think the most important speaker(depending on what your speakers are) is the subwoofer. If you have large mains that can handle the bass then I would say the mains would be most important. But if you have smaller speakers that need a sub then the sub would be first. Basically it all depends on the setup you have i'd say.