B&W Center Speaker Dilemma! Stick within the same model line as the fronts or not? (1 Viewer)

Hi
I wanna bounce a few ideas around you all.
So I have the CM9 front speakers. so I decided to go separates, and decided on the CM line, mainly because the sound was good and it was in my price range. So I bought the CM9s for the fronts, bought an amp, a preamp and other bits n pieces. Now I have to move on to changing the center speaker, I could not do it all at once given the costs.
So my next choice is get a new center, then a new sub, then rears.
So here is my dilemma, i watch home theater and music 50:50 or maybe more into watching live music.
I am thinking CMC2, or getting a different "higher end" B&W center. This is my dilemma, I know the CMC2 is the center speaker for the line, but would it be so wrong to get a higher spec B&W center speaker from the diamond line? Maybe a HTM-4 diamond or HTM-3 or HTM-2?
I really just need your input and help,
Would the CMC2 speaker sound better with the CM9 despite it being a lower spec center speaker in the B&W range?
Would the HTM Diamond center just not sound right with the CM9's?
Any advice good or bad appreciated, i hear that 70% of Home Theater goes via the center speaker and the vocals come via the center, so I really just want as best a center as I can get........is that the CM9 in my situation.....or can i look elsewhere??

I wouldn't recommend it. The 800 series is so much more "breathy" that I think it would just overshadow everything else.

Breathy? Meaning?
My thoughts was I'd still keep things 2 ch for music and revert to 5.1 for HT that way 70% runs via the center.
But again I need all ur thoughts so thanks for the input

Breathy, to me, means "ease of sound production".
If you've not heard a B&W 800, then you don't know the difference yet. The tweeter not sharing the same space as the other drivers nets a much larger sound stage...
My guess is the HTM4 will overpower the rest of the system. But, maybe that is what you are looking for.

Originally Posted by wolfetone /t/323821/b-w-center-speaker-dilemma-stick-within-the-same-model-line-as-the-fronts-or-not#post_3976561
Breathy? Meaning?
My thoughts was I'd still keep things 2 ch for music and revert to 5.1 for HT that way 70% runs via the center.

Click to expand...

The "70%" figure is a bit misleading - or at least I think you may be misinterpreting it.

Yes, the center channel is arguably the most important speaker for home theater. As sounds pan across the front soundstage, the center channel inevitably reproduces not only the dialog (this is usually mixed specifically into the center channel) but also sound effects and music from both the left and right front channel.

Saying the center does 70% in no way implies that the other speakers combine for 30%.

As others have suggested, the best thing you can do is get the "correct" center for your system. Adding a $50,000 center speaker to a $500/pair mains thinking it will be better because it's "higher end" will put you worse off.