ALL Centers Vs Seperates (1 Viewer)

[Mike_Grun]

I am in the process of building a new home, we have a room set aside for Home theater. I have talked to a couple of salesman from different store concerning home theater and both have suggested that I use center speakers all around the room. I am looking at setting up a 7 speaker layout with two subs, one in the back and one in the front. What are the pros and cons of using just centers as well as placements of the subs. Mike

 

[Chuck Schilling]

Sounds pretty screwy to me. Not sure why you'd "need" the matched surrounds, and quite honestly center speakers are probably not going to give you the sort of sound in musical passages that most of us like.

What were the salesmen's rationales for such an approach?

 

[Reginald Trent]

Quote:

"What were the salesmen's rationales for such an approach?"

Probably profit?

 

[Mike_Grun]

I never asked the question, what is the difference between speakers and dosent the reciever send the differnt signals to each speaker ? Just as an FYI the room design is 16 feet deep by 13 feet wide with 10 foot ceilings with no windows.

 

[jon_ad]

there is a review at hometheaterhifi.com that uses five centers

search for athena

it is the review for July 17, 03

sorry i can't put in links yet

 

[WayneO]

I'm not going to have scientific answer, but that sounds off to me. The way I look at it is most companies design a specific speaker that is used for the center. Though the center can/do cover the same frequencies of so-called Mains or surrounds(tower or bookshelf) the enclosure design is usually for it's specific placement on or under a TV. Dolby Labs does recommend all the same size speakers for a hometheater setup. Before I start rambling, if anything, I'd think you'd want five monitor spekaers(towers wouldn't work to well due to size now would they?), using one for center, before doing what the salesman suggested. I don't too many here would support what this salesman told you.

I think many would agree for specifically HT, you would want direct radiating LCR speakers and dipoles for the surrounds in a dedicated room. Or you can just do direct radiating for the surrounds as well if you can't place the dipoles up on the side walls, since I believe dipoles on speaker stands aren't a great idea. One man's opinion.

 

[Robert_Gaither]

The main advantage of using 5 identical speakers is that thier sensitivity and voice/timbre matching will be identical. Many of the MTM centers imho are designed so poorly as to not blend properly with other speakers that they were supposely designed to match with. When an object pans across the front three speakers, the sound characteristics should sound the same and none should sound suddenly louder than the next unless that effect specifies this.

Don't forget a tower could be used for a center if one is using either a front projection setup or a TV wall mount (a friend of mine uses 5 towers in this fashion). Depending on the bookshelf design, some sound pretty good on it's side. The main advantage I see in most of the properly designed centers is that can be mounted close to the TV in most cabinets and stands and can do a pretty good job being angled with a rubber door wedge unless the manufacturer builds into it a method to angle this speaker to the listening position.

 

[John S]

I would hate it, I am sure.

I don't even like center specific speakers for centers.


I like a fairly beefy bookshelf all the way around with at least an 8" woof.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

As has been stated the *ideal* setup is to use 5 identical
speakers and you will be assured to have a completely
Timbre Matched soundfield plus the same dispersion and
sensitivity.

The salesman was not "off" when he said this. I think he
should have just said to go for 5 identical bookshelfs or
towers rather than "centers" but some centers are just a
bookshelf on the completely matched setups like those
offered by B&W, M&K and others.

Not everyone has the luxury of 5 identical speakers though
for whatever the reason. And that's when a properly designed
surround system comes into play. A proper Center will have
the exact same drivers, the exact same airspace in the
cabinet and the exact same crossover points as the mains
and you will have the same timbre match.

 

[Kevin. W]

Paradigm made the LCR-350 which could have been used in a 5.1 setup.

Kevin

 

[cabreau]

How come you guys say "timbre" instead of timber but you don't say "theatre" instead of theater?

I think that 5 towers would be better than 5 centers...but then again, it depends on what kind of centers you are getting. If you are using Paradigm Studio centers, then you are probably all set.

 

[Robert_Gaither]

I hate to say it but I think of "timber" as in wood and on home audio sites use "timbre" for describing a way a speaker is "voiced".

 

[Phil Iturralde]

FYI: timbre : The perceived quality of a sound, unrelated to pitch or amplitude. Timbre is determined by how many harmonics are present in the sound, their frequencies, and how loud each is in relation to the fundamental frequency, and how the relative amplitudes of those harmonics change over time. The initial and ending transients of a tone have more to do with the timbre of a tone than its harmonic content. Also referred to as tone color.

It's no mystery why IDENTICAL speakers all-around would enhanced the 100% seamless surround Blockbuster DVD Movie experience, ... it's based on Dolby Labs 5.1-Channel Production Guidelines:

One reason why I bought another set of JBL S26s for my REAR Center Channel location, (JBL S26 = Fronts & Surrounds / Yamaha RX-V1300) to maintain that excellent seamless precise imaging. If it's good enough for the DD/DTS-5.1 / 6.1 Mixing Engineer, ... it's good enough for me!

Just my .00002 cents worth,
Phil