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Center channel speaker - need advice (1 Viewer)

HarrisG

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Joined
Mar 31, 2003
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Is there anything I need to know when looking for a center channel speaker? The reason I ask is that I looked online at some vendors, and the info would say something to the effect that the speaker was matched to certain front channel speakers. Right now I have Bose Acoustimass 5's ( around 11-12 years old) I plan to get a new receiver, subwoofer, rear channel speakers. Mostly I am interested in home theater vs music ( though I like to listen to music) so I thought the bose might be ok for front channel, and if not, would then replace them. But if the center channel has to match the front, then that makes getting a center channel dependent on what I do with the front.

Right now, my center channel is a powered one as my kenwood amp from 12 yrs ago only supported powered center channels for its prologic feature.

Help!

Harris
 

Bob McElfresh

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Joined
May 22, 1999
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5,182
For home theater, it is usually considered VERY IMPORTANT to have all 3 front speakers tone-match.

More and more movies are moving dialog/critical sounds to the L/R speakers as the actors move to the sides of the screen. Having mis-matched speakers blows the illusion of movement.

If money allows, plan to get at least 3 front speakers from the same make/model. It can be argued that 5 identical speakers all around make for a superior HT experience.

There are some deals for people who need .. nearly everything. Check out the Kenwood HTB-509: receiver, 5 speakers, self-powered sub, DVD changer for about $600. This system has all the toys, but you can slowly swap out the parts over the years as you wish.

Good Luck.
 

HarrisG

Auditioning
Joined
Mar 31, 2003
Messages
11
Bob,
Thanks for the reply. I was looking at the Yamaha rx-v3300, sony str-da7es recievers as well as the kenwood 6070. I have bose acoustimass 5 front channel, but was not sure I would keep them until how I saw they sounded with a sub and new rears. But if all 3 front should match, I may have to rethink and consider buying all new front channel speakers. More choices now.

Harris
 

Philip Hamm

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 23, 1999
Messages
6,874
Matching the front three is critical to good home theater sound.

What I would recommend that you do is move those Acoustimass speakers to the rears and stick with 5.1 (as opposed to the 6.1 and 7.1 systems that involve more rear speakers). As much as I and many others dislike Bose speakers (and I strongly urge you to avoid Bose in your shopping in the future), I have to admit those little cubes can really work well as rears in a home theater environment.

If you get a pair of mains and a matching center from a company like JBL you should really be ready to hear some fantastic surround sound. You'll still need that acoustimass bass thing in the back with thte rears, but it will be really easy for you to mount those suckers up on the walls near the ceiling. That's where you can get really nice really effective surround sound.
 

HarrisG

Auditioning
Joined
Mar 31, 2003
Messages
11
Thanks all for the answers. Hmm, never thought of using the Bose as surround channel speakers. Not a bad idea. My ceiling is 14ft high, and already have flush mount speakers up there, but they need to be moved back and down. Shouldnt be hard to snake a wire from them back to where I want and then pull thru another from beginning, do you think?

Thanks

Harris
 

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