Importance of center speaker (1 Viewer)

[Dan_Gtp]

Hello,

I've been reading up, designing my HT setup for about a month now, and have basically narrowed it down to a Paradigm setup, esp. since I live in Canada. Bang for the buck is the goal here. I was gonna match Monitor speakers with the cheaper cc170 center to save cash, though recently I have read things stating the importance of the center speaker for movies, mostly dialogue.
Am I right in now assuming I should definately move up to the monitor series center, the cc370?
The system will be running off of an H/K AVR-520

Da

 

[Tim Robbins]

Absolutely go for the 370 if you are considering monitors.
I have a 370 matched with 11's and 5's. My dad bought a 170 to go with his 3's, against my warnings...he's kinda cheap, and wanted to save $ wherever he could. Needless to say, he had a 370 after about 2 months.

Tim

 

[Greg_R]

IMO, the center and subwoofer have the greatest effect on HT soundtrack reproduction (vs. other speakers). Bring along a DVD with lots of dialog (male voice & female voice) to do your comparisons...

 

[Chas_T]

Dan,

I think that all parts need to work well together. Also, as you write, Paradigm is a great value for the money. There are lots of Paradigm users on this site that can give you advice and information to make your final decisions.

Don't even hesitate one second about buying the CC370 versus the smaller model. I generally am not adamant about people's selections of product lines or purchases, but I would have to be in this situation.

In a home theater setup, in my opinion, the center channel plays a very, very significant role in a balanced theater setup.

Get CC370. You will be glad you did. Dialogue in soundtrack as Greg has noted, has the greatest effect along with a subwoofer.

Also, if I may add, you DO NOT have to stay with a Paradigm sub if you intend to add one to your system. You can use any brand of sub that is in the marketplace. It's a vital cog in the mix.

Charles

 

[Ken Custodio]

if you want to save money on an paradigm HT setup get the ADP170 surrounds instead of the ADP370's you'll save 300+ dollars and not lose THAT much in your setup

 

[Phil Mays]

Dan,

I do not know the paradigm speakers.

As far as center channel goes I feel it is ALL important. I use Klipsch speakers and originally had the RC-3, their smallest reference center speaker. I upgraded to the RC-7, their largest reference center. The soundstage completely opened up.

Get the better of the two and don't look back.

Good luck

Phil

 

[Mike Strassburg]

Center channel is were it all happens, or at least 75%+. I'm also a Klipsch guy and had their big C-7. Recently I converted a KLF-10 to a CC and it made a HUGE improvement. I can play movies as loud as I want (+5 over REF) and the dialogue comes through crystal clear with no strain and it matches my mains better.
As stated before, sub and CC can make or break a system. Then mains followed by surrounds and back center. Nothing worse than going cheap and having "buyer's remorse" about a week later

 

[Bruce Chang]

since you live in canada, go for the Totem mite T center channel. I call that bang for the buck since I got it used for $200.

 

[Philip Hamm]

The center channel speaker is by far the single most important speaker in any home theater set-up. It is the absolute LAST place to save money. A center that is identical to the main L/R pair is the best.

 

[Holger]

dan,
the center speaker is the most important speaker in the whole setup. it has to reproduce nearly 100% of all dialogs, which means the center must reproduce voices of women, men and children as natural as possible. this alone is a big challenge but there is far more: the center speaker must be able to playback 60-80% of a the whole movie, depending on the sound mix. there are some films out there, where you even not recognize if the front l/R speakers are off! it happened to me during the attack scene of *Pearl Harbor* for example. i was setting up and calibrating my lexicon mc-1 pram. i use def-tech speakers, the bp2000tl(front), clr3000(center), bpvxp(side surrounds) and bp2006tl(back surrounds). for some reason i forgot to turn back on my two channel amplifier for the fronts. i always finish a system setup with some *real life* software, in this case it was *Pearl Harbor*. well what can i say: after a couple of minutes watching i recognized that something was not there, just missing, but i was not able to tell what was missing or even why. then it just hit me, the fronts were still turned off. wow, what an experience and what a great center speaker. you must understand that the def-tech clr3000 is a speaker with an active build-in 10" sub, which makes this speaker a truly full range one. it sounds so great and is able to fill the complete front stage all alone, i think you have to hear it to believe it.
so here is my conclusion: never ever hesitate to buy the biggest, fattest, most powerful center speaker. its worthless to spent thousands of dollars for your main speakers and then save money and buy a cheap center speaker. the better the center speaker is, the better sounds your whole system. trust me on that.



regards, holger

 

[Phil Mays]

Dan,

Sorry to "piggy back" your thread.

Mike,

How did you convert the KLF-10? What did you do with your RC-7?

I like the idea and would entertain doing the same and placeing my RC-7 at the rear spot where my RC-3 is now.

Thanks.

Phil

 

[Dan_Gtp]

Wow, thanks everyone. I guess thats decided
I was just learning that fact when I started this thread, and am now completely clued-in to the importance of the center channel. The 370 is now the priority over the 170.
Thanks again.
No prob Phil
Dan

 

[Steve_Tk]

Well when playing around listening to speakers at CC, I turned off all the speakers except the R/L mains. When people were talking I didn't hear anything. No dialog whatsoever, on TPM, so center is pretty important with listening to Dolby.

 

[itai]

I was considering the monitor line setup also, and was happy with the 11's sound, but when i got to the center, it was kinda ,well, not so nice.
chapter 7 (i think)in Gladiator was my benchmark (where he slices the guard's face with a sword, a bright, metallic and harsh sound!), I asked to hear the studio CC center instead, and wow! now that's a center!
smooth, effortless, uncolored, open but not straining at all, a whole lot of difference from the smaller ones. (i went for the whole reference setup!)
cheers

 

[EricHaas]

"IMO, the center and subwoofer have the greatest effect on HT soundtrack reproduction (vs. other speakers)."

I actually think the mains have a greater overall sonic impact on the HT experience than the center. However, for all of the reasons stated above, definitely get the cc-370.

 

[Levesque]

I've start with the CC-150 2 years ago, then the CC-350, and now I use the Studio-CC, and I'm in love!! Don't buy the CC-370, do yourself a favor (you are working so hard to pay your wife collection of shoes!!) and for the little difference, go for the Studio-CC... Then, there will not be any "What if..I should have...2 years and I will upgrade...etc".

 

[Mike Strassburg]

Phil,

I knocked out the baffle and made a new one out of MDF. Placed the 10's on each side of the horn which I mounted horizontally. Cross-over wires still reached, so it was VERY simple. A few guys on the Klipsch forum have done this and that's where I got the idea. I matches MUCH better with my 30's up front.

I have a KLF-C7 which I moved to the back center since I don't have room for the 10's I bought to put back there.

If you get ready to actually build one let me know and I'll send you some guidelines. It's very easy....Mike

 

[Phil Mays]

Mike,

Thanks for the info. If I can find one cheap I may just try it.

I bet that baby has great bass for a center. I know I was amazed with the difference between the RC-3 and the RC-7. When I went to the Klipsch web site and saw the KLF-10 FQ responce I thought they may blow away the RC-7 I paid $720 for out of the water.

I have also (last night) decided NOT to purchase the RF-7's for mains (to replace my KLF-20's) and find some used KLF-30's and move the 20's to the rear. I just like a 3-way speaker better than a 2-way.

Any hew, thanks for the info and I may take you up on it.

Phil