Center Speakers Recommendations

[Raanan]

From my experience with surround music mixes so far, there is a lot of emphasis on the center channel. Many times the vocals comes only from the center speaker. Therefore, it make sense that the center speaker would be the best speaker in a surround music set-up. Right now, I think that the center is the weak spot in my set up. I use Wharfedale Lintons as fronts, Wharfedale Dentons for surround and SVS sb2000 for sub. My center speaker is an old Paradigm CC-350, which is fine for movies but I find it unsatisfying enough to be the main speaker in a 5.1 music set-up.
I like focal's speakers, so I thought to try to get a second hand Aria 900cc (focal speakers are usually more forward sounding with more details in the highs than the Wharfedales. I think that it would be a good match). I've also looked at the svs ultra center. The ultra line seems like a rip-off of focal's sopra line at half the price. The 3 way design seems interesting.
What center speakers do you use? Do you have any recommendations?

 

[JediJoker]

I use Wharfedale Lintons as fronts, Wharfedale Dentons for surround and SVS sb2000 for sub.

Great choices. If you can manage, I'd recommend using another Linton or Denton for your center. If you absolutely need a horizontally-oriented speaker, I'd recommend staying away from non-concentric 2-way designs, as their dispersion patterns tend to be suboptimal:



The Lintons and Dentons are fairly linear/neutrally-tuned speakers with wide dispersion. I would recommend a speaker that matches those attributes closely. If it can match in impedance, sensitivity, and/or dynamic capability, even better. The best online resources for objective loudspeaker data are Erin's Audio Corner, Audio Science Review, and Audioholics. All three have data-driven YouTube channels, too, if you prefer that.

 

[Raanan]

I have seen this video, it's one of the reasons that I was interested in the svs center (although there is a chance that Erin and Audioholics are not fully objective and get paid from svs).
Do you think that vertical speaker can work better for center? I actually have enough place to put the 2 Dentons in the middle and connect them in parallel.
I know that people usually says that the 3 front speaker should match, but I have a feeling that if I will combine Wharfedale and Focal I can enjoy both worlds (but maybe it will just be a mass).

 

[wavelength]

The best center speaker would be identical to your left and right speakers.

 

[timothyemerson]

I have seen this video, it's one of the reasons that I was interested in the svs center (although there is a chance that Erin and Audioholics are not fully objective and get paid from svs).
Do you think that vertical speaker can work better for center? I actually have enough place to put the 2 Dentons in the middle and connect them in parallel.
I know that people usually says that the 3 front speaker should match, but I have a feeling that if I will combine Wharfedale and Focal I can enjoy both worlds (but maybe it will just be a mass).

Just 2 cents that I have SVS Ultra speakers and the centre is awesome. Audyssey recommended setting it to 2-way in my room and when I switch from 3-way to 2-way, the bass is noticeably better when set to 2-way with sub taking over the low duties, so 2-way is where it stays.

I've always wondered what it would be like to have 2 floorstanders/bookshelves in parallel as the centre though. It's not a common set up but definitely might be worth a go if you've got the space and the speakers.

 

[alansanchez86]

Klipsch RC 64 III

 

[stoopid]

The best center speaker would be identical to your left and right speakers.

This can't be overstated. Manufacturers tune their speakers to create a certain sound profile, and since it would be impossible for them to make those fine adjustments with a reference pair of every speaker ever made, they instead have only their own speakers to reference. So you get the best sound with 'paired' speakers as the manufacturer designed/intended.

Since we're not on a strict budget and the ideal is striving more towards perfection than good-enough, matching the center with the fronts would get you closest to a balanced sounding result. Ideally all 5 speakers would be of the same manufacturer and series. The sub is obviously still a factor, but I find that to be more manageable via room placement, crossover, and EQ adjustments. IMHO.

I obviously can't be there to hear what you're hearing, so I'd be curious to know what it is you think is lacking in clarity/definition from your current center speaker. This would be the only way to know for sure any recommendations would be useful, unless someone just happens to have the same fronts and a different center they could recommend. Even then you're relying on their ears to know what your ears want to hear, in your particular space, playing your particular albums/movies, etc.

 

[marpow]

My own experience.
Center speaker in a 5.1 system designed by Phillips in the early 90's was for the emphasis on movie dialog.
Having had many surround speaker systems, I have an opinion.
The center for TV/Movie dialog is still the number one choice/reason.
I speak and listen in USA English. My hearing in non language Brit/Aussie dialog is not as good. This has been solved by my current set up.
I agree as stated above timbre matching, same brand can be a plus.
Tweeter heights equal to main front and left, this can be challenging as it most definitely effects the height of your TV.
I did this for two years, meticulously measured on metal/wood frame stands with spikes, no problem.
My center is B&W Diamond top of line.
I recently purchased an awesome all wood component cabinet. I got nervous as I could put my center on top which was 6" higher, But I just did not to raise my TV on wall as my eye line was perfect.
My perfect design of matching tweeter height was going.
I am very happy to say that my wife and I cannot hear a difference. She could care less about any type of audio/speakers/equipment and thinks it is a huge waste of money, but dammit, she NEEDS that center speaker to be correct.
Here is one picture as of 2/13/2024 front end only.

 

[DrKlahn]

I would echo what @stoopid and @wavelength are saying. You don't just want a great center, you want a center that is going to timbre match the rest of the speakers. I've heard a very good Klipsch center speaker paired with older Paradigms (also good speakers) for L/R. The ingredients were good, the result of the mix was not.

If you need a dedicated center than you do what @marpow and I did, you get the best quality center in the same family/brand as the rest of the speakers. I can switch between 2ch and multi on the same artist and the voicing is spot on. The center is indistinguishable voicing wise from the L/R.

 

[paligap]

As I suspect you're aware of, there is much debate on the Internet about "speaker matching" in general and front three matching in particular. There is also debate about whether 2-way or 3-way speakers are better as center speakers. I hesitate to think about Internet debates like these in terms of consensus because the Internet is so vast, and anybody can state their own opinions or advance some else's.

I have two systems, one that has a front three from the same manufacturer and line, and one that does not. The former is in a large open area, and the latter is in a smaller media room. The speaker line in my media room is no longer available, but when I looked for a center speaker, I did look for a speaker with drivers that were similar (aluminum) to my mains. I'm not exactly sure how to assess "tonality," either before or after a speaker purchase, but I did look for reviews that mentioned sound profiles, which in my case would be "laid-back."

I think @stoopid is on to something regarding asking yourself what you think your existing center speaker is lacking.

 

[DrKlahn]

As I suspect you're aware of, there is much debate on the Internet about "speaker matching" in general and front three matching in particular. There is also debate about whether 2-way or 3-way speakers are better as center speakers. I hesitate to think about Internet debates like these in terms of consensus because the Internet is so vast, and anybody can state their own opinions or advance some else's.

I have two systems, one that has a front three from the same manufacturer and line, and one that does not. The former is in a large open area, and the latter is in a smaller media room. The speaker line in my media room is no longer available, but when I looked for a center speaker, I did look for a speaker with drivers that were similar (aluminum) to my mains. I'm not exactly sure how to assess "tonality," either before or after a speaker purchase, but I did look for reviews that mentioned sound profiles, which in my case would be "laid-back."

I think @stoopid is on to something regarding asking yourself what you think your existing center speaker is lacking.

I think you can make a very good sounding setup with speakers of similar characteristics. But I have heard speakers with very different voicing paired and it just didn't sound good. EQ can do a lot, but for example I don't think a forwarding sounding horn loaded tweeter and laid back soft dome tweeter are ever going to sound all that cohesive.

The reason you see the recommendation often of staying with the same brand and family is that they're generally engineered to work together and share the same components. Generally takes the work out of finding a good match. Though you'll sometimes find that the manufacturer dropped the ball when it comes to some speakers, so it's important to still do your research. The first set of Klipsch's (mid 90's) I had the best center match was from the lineup that came after it.

 

[KPdeak]

I would suggest to try not using a center speaker (that is, a phantom center) by just turning off the center speaker in your speaker setup of your preamp or dvd/sacd/blu-ray player. I have compared using the manufacturer's designated center speaker as well as a speaker identical to my other four speakers with the phantom center speaker and I believe the phantom center speaker sounds just as good or better. Additionally, I don't have to worry about placing a large speaker behind, in front of, below or above a tv. And the phantom speaker concept works great for those of us old folks who are still using quad receivers, preamps or, equivalently a pair of matching front and rear stereo systems.
I find that visitors who are hearing surround sound for the first time enjoy how the old quad systems allow speedy isolation of one speaker which, from what I can see, is a feature not available on most modern receivers or streaming devices. (without going into the menu system and changing balances and all by which time the song is way past any individual solo) Obviously, this would appear to be a drawback with the phantom speaker concept. I was able to circumvent this issue by employing a small mixing console (ex: Yamaha MG10/2) which allows me to isolate the phantom center.
For those of you with 7.1 or Atmos, the phantom center speaker idea still works.
One last point: Most dedicated center speakers do not have bass drivers which might be problematic if there happens to be a lot of bass in the center mix. Can anyone think of examples of such a situation?

 

[KPdeak]

Three albums that feature the bass in the center channel on many songs are:
Nora Jones - Come Away With Me (some songs only bass)
Carole King - Tapestry
Derek and the Dominos - Layla And Other Favorite Love Songs

 

[Scytales]

The best center speaker would be identical to your left and right speakers.

Absolutely !

If two different types of speaker have to be used nevertheless for whatever reasons, there is a trick to check if their association will work properly.

Listen to mono programs in plain 2 channels stereo with one of the two main speakers kept playing on one channel of the stereo pair, and the intended center center speaker on the other channel instead of the other main speaker. If the sound remains pinpoint in the center, the two speakers are compatible, however different they are.

 

[mister_eff]

I recently upgraded my speakers to Polk Reserves (R600s for fronts). I ended up getting the older Polk LSiM 706c center channel because the Polk Reserve R400 has the MTM design while the older 706c has the tweeter on top of the mids, whatever that design is called.