Yer Doing yer Home Theater Wrong

[rebuy]

So You went and bought Big mains and a center channel with surrounds for

yer home theater. You think it sounds great.

You've made a big mistake.

Those Big mains are a waste of money unless you move them

to the center channel.

That's the most important channel.

Don't believe that?

Unplug yer center and play a Movie or TV show and

listen to what yer $1000 speakers are playing.

 

Comments?

[billybob]

2 channel mains kickin in stereo mode for music. Sometimes with a sub.

[rebuy]

2 minutes ago, billybob said:

2 channel mains kickin in stereo mode for music. Sometimes with a sub.

That's Great but not the same thing

[billybob]

1 minute ago, rebuy said:

That's Great but not the same thing

More multitrack dvds happen all the time now. Alright, others will come. Thanks!

[rebuy]

1 minute ago, billybob said:

More multitrack dvds happen all the time now. Alright, others will come. Thanks!

Do you have this in a HT setup?

[billybob]

12 minutes ago, rebuy said:

Do you have this in a HT setup?

Not doing HT now, but have in past. Stereo here...

[wuzzzer]

I agree 100%.  In fact, that’s why I have 5 Heresys in my setup.

 

A while back a member on here had Klipschorns and a tiny little KV series center speaker.  I have no problem calling someone out on things like that.

 

I’ve always says that a phantom center is infinitely better than shoehorning some tiny little center that is completely mismatched to everything else.

[CWOReilly]

I have a large center to go with the big mains in my primary HT and my second HT are all Heresy II. 

[Tom05]

On 7/22/2023 at 1:45 PM, rebuy said:

So You went and bought Big mains and a center channel with surrounds for

yer home theater. You think it sounds great.

You've made a big mistake.

Those Big mains are a waste of money unless you move them

to the center channel.

That's the most important channel.

Don't believe that?

Unplug yer center and play a Movie or TV show and

listen to what yer $1000 speakers are playing.

 

Comments?

What you say is an  inconvenient truth of home theater. It’s sometimes difficult to put the correct speaker in at center , and when compromises are  made , a fly is added to  the ointment. The problem is that excellent mains  become masked by the dominant center’s lesser quality/performance , bummer. Really good mains deserve a really good matching center.

[rebuy]

1 hour ago, Tom05 said:

What you say is an  inconvenient truth of home theater. It’s sometimes difficult to put the correct speaker in at center , so compromises are  made , and when this happens a fly is added to  the ointment. The problem is that excellent mains  become masked by the dominant center’s lesser quality/performance , bummer. Really good mains deserve a really good matching center.

I don't have my mains in the center, They on both sides of the TV.

It centers perfectly. In a HT have you ever "Unplugged" your center

and listened to what the Mains are doing?

Not Turning off the center but disconnecting it and run the regular sound program.

[Tom05]

So you’re flanking your display with two center speakers ?, I did this several years ago  , works pretty good. Have I unplugged my center ? No but I’ve listened with the left right “mains “ off and that’s also an eye opener  . I agree that if you don’t have matching speakers, then it’s good  practice to place  the most competent speakers/ speaker  at center . The center channel after all is  the  base channel in a multi channel HT  system , I think a guy should strongly resist compromise  at center .

[Audible Nectar]

In a theater setup, there is ONE main - the center. Then you match the front left/right speakers to match that one - now you have THREE identical mains across your front soundstage. There's some room for variance with the rest, particularly with film sound, whereas a case can be made for five/six/seven identical speakers for multichannel music vids that treat five speakers like full range mains with full bandwidth 5.1 channel sound, then using effects speakers (should still be of the same line ideally) to fill out the rest.

 

I tell people over and over and over and over when conceiving their HT setups to MAKE SURE that the center/front soundstage is of all identical mains, in Klipsch fashion as large as the room will allow, and should be set up to suit the center channel requirement/goal FIRST. 

 

The question that should be asked is "Where will my center channel speaker go and how big can I have it, and where will my screen be in relation to that?" Just like your screen, we want it as large as we can realistically make it.

 

Three LaScala, or three Cornwalls, etc etc etc......

[rebuy]

4 hours ago, Audible Nectar said:

In a theater setup, there is ONE main - the center. Then you match the front left/right speakers to match that one - now you have THREE identical mains across your front soundstage. There's some room for variance with the rest, particularly with film sound, whereas a case can be made for five/six/seven identical speakers for multichannel music vids that treat five speakers like full range mains with full bandwidth 5.1 channel sound, then using effects speakers (should still be of the same line ideally) to fill out the rest.

 

I tell people over and over and over and over when conceiving their HT setups to MAKE SURE that the center/front soundstage is of all identical mains, in Klipsch fashion as large as the room will allow, and should be set up to suit the center channel requirement/goal FIRST. 

 

The question that should be asked is "Where will my center channel speaker go and how big can I have it, and where will my screen be in relation to that?" Just like your screen, we want it as large as we can realistically make it.

 

Three LaScala, or three Cornwalls, etc etc etc......

My Centers and Mains do not match.

I use smaller speakers for my mains and a different brand that the center.

It works oot very well.

My Center channel is huge.

[alkemyst]

Ideally you want timbre matched speakers...they don't have to be the same form-factor.   Also with things like DIRAC and Audessy, things can be a bit more lax.   My setup is pretty mixed, but sounds excellent for movies.   People actually ask about what I have and how they can duplicate it.   The Chorus II's and academy are still amazing today, sadly most don't want to pay the prices they are getting.   There is a new in box set of Chorus II's on ebay for $7500 free pickup in Central Square, NY.  They are matching serials in oiled Oak.

[Zen Traveler]

On 7/22/2023 at 12:45 PM, rebuy said:

Those Big mains are a waste of money unless you move them

to the center channel...

Don't believe that?

No. If you listen to 2-channel music then you want the best mains that will fit into your room. If you listen to multichannel music then you definitely want larger speakers to reproduce this material. The problem with movies is that usually folks can't use a large speaker channel because of placement issues. So in the latter two scenarios Bass Management comes into play. With the smaller center/surrounds being able to benefit from the subwoofer by selecting a crossover point and taking some pressure off your AVR you can use more of it's power to run higher to run speakers and still have a well-balanced and immersive experience. Fwiw, I have RF-7s/RC-7 up front and they blend seamlessly. That's my take.

[babadono]

On 7/22/2023 at 7:11 PM, rebuy said:

Not Turning off the center but disconnecting it and run the regular sound program.

yea but....why would you do that?

There are all kinds of silly non sensical things THAT CAN be done. Audio is no exception.

[rebuy]

2 hours ago, babadono said:

yea but....why would you do that?

There are all kinds of silly non sensical things THAT CAN be done. Audio is no exception.

So you can actually hear what the other speakers are playing, that's why.

[Zen Traveler]

On 7/22/2023 at 7:44 PM, Tom05 said:

The problem is that excellent mains  become masked by the dominant center’s lesser quality/performance , bummer. Really good mains deserve a really good matching center.

Can't a dominant center also show the weakness of your other speakers? Fwiw, most Home Theaters seem to be limited by the size of their center channel.

On 7/23/2023 at 1:19 PM, rebuy said:

My Centers and Mains do not match.

I use smaller speakers for my mains and a different brand that the center.

It works oot very well.

My Center channel is huge.

What is your setup? 

[rebuy]

In a Home Theater set up, I disagree that there should be 3 Identical speakers in the front.

In a Home Theater, The center rules all the other speakers.

The other speakers are not as important because of the sound program.

That's why if yer in doubt, unplug the center and play a movie or TV show

in 5.1 or whatever and listen for yourself.

In a "Home Theater" if the center is weak, the Whole System is Weak.

YMMV

[Zen Traveler]

5 hours ago, rebuy said:

In a "Home Theater" if the center is weak, the Whole System is Weak.

Well....I think we can agree to purchase a center that can keep up with your mains while staying within a realistic budget for the whole system. Fwiw, if your Mains are "weak" then you also are compromising your Home Theater.