arj Posted September 22, 2003 Share Posted September 22, 2003 Came across this article on Soundstage... http://www.soundstage.com/surrounded/surrounded200307.htm As per this article, for Multi channel music 4 speakers is enough with Center on "Phantom" unless all five speakers are identical in every way ! What say ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hwatkins Posted September 22, 2003 Share Posted September 22, 2003 Not for me - only if you can not get close on matching the center to your mains would I forego the center channel. There is way too much center channel info that works to meld with the main fronts for me to do without. I have used Phantom (as you would have to do w/o center), mismatched bad center, mismatched good center and a matched center (current). For my ears phantom was only better than the mismatched bad speaker - in all other cases the sound is better for my ear (with the mismatched good center almost being a draw) with a center speaker. The current same for all five main speakers is extraordinary and firmly recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksdad Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 an actual center is a must, there are so many ways to answer thier statements, but i will be nice and say.... get a center Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig6519 Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 I don't know about multi-channel music, but for HT a center is a must because 50%+ of all info is used through the center channel. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 There is a similar thread in another forum at the moment... I'm sorry for those who saw my other post, as I'm going to repeat myself. As many already know, the centre speaker was originally proposed by Bell laboratories before the introduction of stereo... as it insured good imaging for numerous seating positions. It was dropped due to the complexities of having 3tracks in one vinyl groove... so stereo was deemed good enough given that the effect was pretty much the same when seated in the sweet spot. There lies the biggest difference between having a centre or phantoming it... it restricts the seating area. In theory, if the main speakers are properly positioned and the viewer seated in the sweet spot... the illusion is pretty much the same. Even Paul W Klipsch promoted his 3 channel stereo based on preserving the soundstage from different seating positions. I'm currently using phantom mode with my setup, as my centre alnico Heresy won't fit with my current TV unit (changes are coming). In my opinion, given the choice between a mismatched centre and a phantom centre, I'd go with the phantom. I have had the three and a mismatched centre will affect the front stage balance and draw attention to itself esp in front L/R pans. Guess it has a lot to do with your room setup... Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 The center channel in HT is a result of commercial theater practice. The center channel there is to glue the dialog to the screen. The left and right channels are too far apart to do that in a big auditorium. If your HT system is in a small room, or your seating is not dispersed, a phantom center channel may do just fine. I used one for quite a while. In a bigger room, or with more dispersed seating, a center channel is necessary to glue the dialog to the screen, just like in a big auditorium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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