D-Box Centre Channel Speaker at Costco (1 Viewer)

[Moe Maishlish]

Hi all,
The search facility is disabled right now, so I don't know if this has been brought up in the past. I'm just going to ask and see if anyone can help.
I was in Costco yesterday (in Toronto), and noticed a D-Box centre channel speaker for sale for about $119. It looks like a decent 100 watt speaker, but I can't seem to find any information about it on www.audioreview.com or the d-box website (www.d-box.com).
Does anyone have any experience with this speaker? If so, what's it like?
I got my centre channel speaker as part of a combo Kenwood Home Theater in a Box system. It's already buzzing & kracking with certain titles. I'm seriously considering replacing it soon...
Any help would be welcome.
Regards,
Moe.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Moe I've not heard the D-Box but I know which one you're talking about. IMO I wouldn't bother with it. At best its a temporary patch and at worst it will sound horrible. On the other hand Costco has a great return policy so there's no harm in trying it but Iwould much rather you spent your money on a speaker that you could build up a matched set from. Granted picking the centre before your mains might seem odd but at least if you had say an ok Paradigm centre speaker when you upgrade later on you could easily buy some mains that would match in timber to the centre you have.
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[Moe Maishlish]

Andrew,
Thanks for the input!
I was hoping to get a cheap alternative centre channel that would hold up to the listening conditions in my apartment. I don't really pump the stereo, so I'm not in need of really high-end speakers right now.
When I buy my own house (i.e. when I win the lottery

) I'll probably upgrade my speakers to something more fitting to my listening conditions... but for now I just want something that'll hold up and won't start buzzing after 5 months.
I'm still searching for some kind of review.
Thanks,
Moe.

 

[Imants Krumins]

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the D-Box centre just because it is for sale at Costco.
I own the D-Box David 301 subwoofer, bought at Costco, and am most impressed with it for only $299 Canadian (around $200 US).
I bought the centre to try out because of the price, apparent quality and the liberal return policy. I replaced a cheap old Yamaha centre and noticed a great improvement, primarily in clarity and power handling.
Two 6.5 inch mid-ranges/woofers, a nice fabric tweeter, 100 watts continuous power handling and 3/4" MDF construction seemed pretty good for only $119 Canadian ($80 US).
After auditioning and deciding to keep the centre, I e-mailed D-Box and ordered a pair of the Ambiance II towers (matched to the centre) for $299 Canadian. They feature the same drivers as the centre, in a rear-ported tower configuration which gives more bass response (34 Hz claimed vs 40Hz for the centre). They are bi-wirable, which I thought quite amazing for this price.
So, my subwoofer, centre and mains are all visually and timbre matched for a total of $720 Canadian. I am currently running some cheap Future Shop surround speakers (little Dalquists), but am thinking of ordering another pair of D-Boxes to complete the set.
As you can tell from my speaker choice, my system is being built on a tight budget (cheap Kenwood Dolby Digital receiver, basic Pioneer dvd, Sony 53HS10, Rega Planar 2, Sony CD changer, etc), so I am looking for bang for the buck.
For music, I listened to Paul Simon's Graceland CD, Carol King's Tapestry (LP)and Shawn Philip's Second Contribution CD. The speakers play clearly, image very well and play as loud as I would want. I use the subwoofer (turned down from 0 to -6 Db) to fill in the bottom end but the speakers sound decent without it. If you like a bright, forward sound, the tweeters would be perbaps the only shortcoming of the speaker, as they are somewhat laid back compared to some others I have auditioned. For me and my system, which is bright to start with, they are fine.
For movies, I played the dvd's of Charlie's Angels and A Knight's Tale. The speakers have plenty of impact and the voices and music come through beautifully. I have heard none better for the price.
For reference, I was originally auditioning Paradigm 7's for my mains, but couldn't see spending the $800 (list price) the local dealer quoted. I feel the D-Box Ambiance II mains give 80% of their performance for well under half the price. I cannot see how you could match the centre's performance for anything less than double or triple the cost.
You can surely find innumerable speakers which outperform the D-Boxes. However, I would be skeptical that you could get a 5.1 system for around $1000 Canadian that beat them convincingly. If you do, buy it!
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[Myles]

I am wondering about that D-box 301 sub...it has some good reviews at audioreview (look for it under main speakers...not sub for some reason).
It is a 12" woofer. I'm just wondering if it's ok for music.

 

[Imants Krumins]

I am happy with it for music, although I am still experimenting with the best location for it. It seems to me that the main thing with subwoofers is not to turn them too loud relative to the mains. Even though I initially calibratied them with a Radio Shack decibel meter, I still turn the LFE output up substantially for movies over what I like for music.
I doubt that too many inexpensive subwoofers would match well with really high quality speakers. It is all a matter of balance. I feel that the D-Box at $299 fits in well with a budget system.
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[Khalid_Y]

I would also like to give props to D-Box.
I own the D-Box David 300 subwoofer and D-Box Ambiance II Centre Speakers, both of which were purhchased from Costco. I am pleased with these purchases, and will be ordering the Ambiance II Fronts very soon directly from D-Box. IMO, for the money, they are definitely a good buy. At least you won't be paying a few hundred dollars more just for the name brand (remember it's all in the head....).
Besides, they're Canadian speakers...