Help me pick best center channel under $150 (1 Viewer)

[Jared_C]

Looking to buy center channel speaker before christmas. so far i am looking into the wharfedale diamond, acoustic research 4c, BIC Venturi DV62CLR, and cerwin vega ls6c. please post your suggestions for best center under $150 and where to buy it. thanks

 

[ColinM]

I have the BIC 62 CLR - "S" and would recommend it in a heartbeat for budget systems like mine. Mated with NHT, it sounds perfect. Paid $85 shipped from Ubid. I know there are a ton on ebay right now (or were, not sure.)

I've heard about EFE Technologies tweaking the crossover to raise the x-over frequency to "clean up" the sound. I don't know if it's necessary, since I'm happy with it out of box. I believe it's a capacitor swap only - I may try it on my own some day.

PS - "S" = Slim, or 20" wide instead of 25" or whatever the original was. I also stuffed it with poly and plugged the ports since I had to stick it in a new cabinet. It sounded better sitting on the TV in mid-air, but what else can you do when new furniture arrives? (Thanks, Honey!)

 

[Ted Lee]

keep in mind timbre-matching.

so, try to get a center that will match well with your mains. that will help provide a cohesive sound for your front speakers.

 

[Jared_C]

I have an older set of fisher mains right now, have wharfedale diamond 8.2 bookshelf speakers ordered, and am not sure what to do yet. I know the wharfs will not provide the bass the fishers do so i am thinking of using them as surrounds until i can afford better mains. As far as timbre matching, is there any way of knowing how a speaker will match, specifications, etc. without actually hearing the speaker in person. new to the game, but very interested in learning. I would like to go with the bic over the wharfe because its about half the cost, will there be a sig diff in sound?

 

[Ted Lee]

As far as timbre matching, is there any way of knowing how a speaker will match, specifications, etc. without actually hearing the speaker in person.

hmm...i dunno about that. i'm pretty sure specs alone won't work. even if two speakers have the same specs, they could (and probably would) sound different.

i always mention timbre matching because it's one of those "good if you can get it" type concepts. but don't put too much emphasis on it...if you hook up a center speaker and like the way it sounds, then that's good enough!

if anything, your center speaker should be your *primary* focus for ht anyway. just about all the dialogue and much of the effects come from that speaker - it's definitely the most important speaker for ht.

 

[Jared_C]

ok, since i have little to no places to actually hear centers, best buy, thats it. From what you people have heard/own, which would you want as your front, the wharfedale diamond, acoustic research 4c, BIC Venturi DV62CLR, or cerwin vega ls6c. i haven't heard or seen any of these, just looked at them on the net. the bic and the cerwin are more affordable, the wharfedale and the ar will both run $150 shipped whereas the other two will be about $80 shipped. help me please, i am really unexperience with ht setups.

 

[RichardH]

I would get the matching center to whatever you plan on getting for fronts. Maybe that's not a possibility if the matching center to what you want to eventually get is more than $150?

 

[Jared_C]

ok, just got exact price quotes. $125 for wharfedale diamond, $129 for ar 4c, $70 for bic, $60 for cerwin. I won't be buying tower speakers for atleast a year, what would you do if you were in my situation? little money, in college.

 

[Adam Bluhm]

JBL's S-Center is a wonderful center piece. $131 + shipping found here.

 

[Jared_C]

i heard that the s-center is known for making your tv distort because it isn't shielded well. is this true?

 

[Adam Bluhm]

Mine sits atop my 27" Sony Trinitron. Absolutely no picture problems.
... and wonderful sound.

 

[Jared_C]

alrighty, down to the jbl s-center and acoustic research 4c, both have plastic enlosures(blah) and good reviews at audioreview. same price 130, which do i get!!! please reply only if you know both speakers or have an even better solution. thanks everyone

 

[ChadLB]

I own the Acoustic research ar4c and love it. I bought it from accessories4less. Great center channel for the price.
Read this review on it http://www.hometheatermag.com/showarchives.cgi?54:3
Current System:
RECEIVER PIONEER VSX-D811S
EQUALIZER KENWOOD 1070EK
DVD PLAYER PIONEER DV-333
TV TOSHIBA 36A40
VCR SONY SLV695HV
CENTER CHANNEL ACOUSTIC RESEARCH AR-4C
BOOKSHELF ACOUSTIC RESEARCH AR-17
MAIN SPEAKER ACOUSTIC RESEARCH AR-11
SUBWOOFER ACOUSTIC RESEARCH AR-S112PS
POWER SURGE ACOUSTIC RESEARCH AR-10V
SUBWOOFER CABLE MIT RG-59
BI WIRE CABLE MIT - BI WIRE TERMINATOR
COMPONENT VIDEO CABLE IXOS 1713-200
COAXIAL CABLE IXOS 1061-100
CENTER CHANNEL WIRE IXOS 6007
SUBWOOFER CABLE IXOS 1182
VHS CABLES ESOTERIC AUDIO USA AVK2

 

[Adam Bluhm]

Sorry, Jared. I cannot give you a comparison.
Like Chad, I can only tell you that I really enjoy the sound all my JBL S series put out. I have S26II's all around (with the S CenterII, of course). They are powered by a Denon 1802 and I'm 100% pleased with my first HT setup.

 

[RichardH]

You might also consider this at $100:
http://www.htdaudio.com/levtwocenspe.html
http://store3.yimg.com/I/htd_1714_2826263
or this at $150:
http://www.htdaudio.com/levthrecensp.html

 

[Jared_C]

wow! thanks for the prompt responses! this home theater stuff is addicting. i may have to focus more of my summer income into ht rather than car tuning.

 

[Jared_C]

just checked out the home theater direct, they look impressive, the stage 3 weighs 26Ibs!!, not sure with my older sony receiver i would have the power, as for the stage 2, it seems to be very similar to the acoustic research 4c. gosh, i am so bad at making decisions, advice again anyone?

 

[Aaron Smithski]

Jared,
Like Colin, I too highly recommend the BIC DV62CLR. I use one horizontally for the center and also a pair standing up vertically for Left and Right channels.
Let me tell you, the Ed Frias tweak is a phenomenal improvement to these speakers! Colin, if you could hear how much better they sound with the $20 mod you would be overnighting your crossover to EFE tomorrow!
They sound pretty good out of the box for the money, but there were some issues...piercing high end and the midrange could also use some improvement as it was just not very natural sounding. Ed said that BIC did just about everything possible to screw up the sound of this speaker with the crossovers!
I had Ed modify the crossovers of all 3 DV62CLR's and a pair of DV52SI's I use for surround in my second system. It is not just a capacitor swap - there were 2 components on the board when I sent them off...they returned with 5 components! I believe he installs 2 capacitors, 2 resistors, and an inductor on the board.
The difference is amazing! I will put it this way - listening to music before was ok, perhaps tolerable. Now music draws you in! The midrange is MUCH more natural and the highs are no longer brash. I am currently using a Parasound HCA-1205A that puts out 140 dynamic watts into them and they take the power very well.
The best part is the price. I picked all 5 of these up for about $270 with shipping included from uBid when they were blowing BICs out. EFE's mods ran $90 for all 5 crossovers with shipping included. I really don't think I could be happier for $360 unless I built the speakers myself.
If you watch eBay, you could pick up a DV62CLRs for under $100 shipped. There was somebody who listed 9 new ones that ended on Dec. 1st; these all went for about $85 shipped. Tough to go wrong at that price!
Aaron

 

[Jared_C]

I am stuck between the BIC dv62, acoustic research 4c, and the htd level 2.

Factors: little to none, don't care about size, looks, etc. just want the best bang for my buck. leaning toward ar 4c right now, but maybe someone can change my mind

 

[mike_snazzy]

Yoou can get a klipsch SC-1 from ubid.com for less than $100 and it is new, not refurbished or B-stock. Check out the reviews on audioreview.com. NO problems were encountered with customer service from ubid when I ordered mine.