Recommend Me A Good Center Channel

Platano

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jan 24, 2008
Messages
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What is a good center channel? Looking to spend up to $800 on one.
 
Are you looking for a in wall? ...Is so, Kef Ci9000ACE is a little more than you are lookng to pay but is about as good as you can get IMO. Tou can probably find a center chanel used for around $800. Here is the website if you want to check them out.
http://www2.kef.com/gb/awards/2008
 
In-wall is fine although would the room have to be a certain type in order to have it. Will be using it with a 108inch projector screen and a projector (although I don't have these yet)
 
What do you mean by certian type? Do you mean size or demention? If you are runnign a 108 inch screen size shouldnt be a problem. Just PMed you.
 
Yeah, basically thats what I mean. if say for example my room is 14x10 (Theoretically) as most of this will be custom built (Dad does these things for a living and loves movies :) So I'm trying to grasp the general idea of what I want to accommodate for it.
 
And more importantly, what are you using for front speakers??? If at all possible, you'd like the center to be timbre matched to the fronts/rest of your system so the dialogue/sound up front is seamless in a movie.

I've got the Polk RTi series all the way around, including a csi-3 center to match my RTi-10 towers. Bang for the buck, Polk is tough to beat in regards to good sound and speaker quality...but in your case I'd definitely go with the larger center (whatever the new version of the csi-5 is.)
 
And more importantly, what are you using for front speakers??? If at all possible, you'd like the center to be timbre matched to the fronts/rest of your system so the dialogue/sound up front is seamless in a movie.

I've got the Polk RTi series all the way around, including a csi-3 center to match my RTi-10 towers. Bang for the buck, Polk is tough to beat in regards to good sound and speaker quality...but in your case I'd definitely go with the larger center (whatever the new version of the csi-5 is.)

As of now I'm building everything up from scratch starting with a center channel. I have some cheap subwoofer for now from Paradign. Would it be smarter to star with the fronts? I was thinking of buying good speakers in this order:

Center->Fronts->Subwoofer->Rears->Rears Back

I have actually upped my budget for this (got a new client :), $1100 for the center or for the fronts.

Right now I'm using some Z5500 speakers with an Onkyo SR606 and it sounds great but I know it could be better.
 
Yes, it could be a million times better. You'll want a nice set of front speakers, and a center that is timbre matched to those. More importantly, if you want to push those speakers properly, you'll need good amplification to drive them. Check out www.emotiva.com for good prices on new amps. A good receiver with pre-amp outs (not sure if yours has pre-amp outs or not) and a nice amp will really make your speakers sing.

So I'd start with that, and then build the surround speakers around your chosen front speakers. Honestly, I'd start with the fronts (if it were me) and then add a quality, timbre matched center when you can. But some nice floor standing speakers with good amplification will absolutely blow you away if you're currently running pc speakers...
 
Yes, it could be a million times better. You'll want a nice set of front speakers, and a center that is timbre matched to those. More importantly, if you want to push those speakers properly, you'll need good amplification to drive them. Check out www.emotiva.com for good prices on new amps. A good receiver with pre-amp outs (not sure if yours has pre-amp outs or not) and a nice amp will really make your speakers sing.

So I'd start with that, and then build the surround speakers around your chosen front speakers. Honestly, I'd start with the fronts (if it were me) and then add a quality, timbre matched center when you can. But some nice floor standing speakers with good amplification will absolutely blow you away if you're currently running pc speakers...

Thanks for the help. Any good fronts that you know of? My receiver has a pre-amp but solely for the subwoofer. I keep hearing good things about the Polk R50s from a friend although their price wouldn't suggest that they are that great.
 
Thanks for this. Will be ordering next week. :) Also does anyone know how good the Paradigm PDR series subwoofers are? I currently have one and thought it was a cheap POC but have been told it was a very good one.

You wont be disappointed in the X-Voce. It's a beast of a center.

Not sure what your budget is for a sub, but you'll also want to check out av123s MFW-15 subwoofer. It's been getting great reviews for HT and for being a musical sub.

http://av123.com/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,265/category_id,9/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,37/

Here's Craigsub's ("the authority" in subwoofers) ranking list. You'll see how well the MFW-15 does for the price. It also shows many other great subs you'll want to look into.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=9164136&postcount=8
 
You wont be disappointed in the X-Voce. It's a beast of a center.

Not sure what your budget is for a sub, but you'll also want to check out av123s MFW-15 subwoofer. It's been getting great reviews for HT and for being a musical sub.

http://av123.com/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,265/category_id,9/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,37/

Here's Craigsub's ("the authority" in subwoofers) ranking list. You'll see how well the MFW-15 does for the price. It also shows many other great subs you'll want to look into.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=9164136&postcount=8

Limit for sub is probably around $1000

Total budget for this is around $8000. So the way I see it, I can spend 1000 on each speaker unless I buy some for cheaper than that amount gets added in. Just out of curiosity, what would be good for fronts with that center channel? I looked at the site and I couldn't figure out what would be best to get. I want the timbre to be accurate. As I will be decompiling my current sound system and would like everything to match (as closely as possible)
 
The x-voce will work well with any av123 product.

Depends if this is only going to be used as a HT or if you're going to listen to music as well.

The x-statik will match the center perfectly. They both use an open baffle design. It's a Danny Richie speaker, so it's going to be amazing.

http://av123.com/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,266/category_id,21/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,37/

If you want a little more punch, there's always the Rocket series. They are having a lot of specials right now. Give them a call. They'll be willing to work with the price for you.

http://av123.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=19&Itemid=37

If it was me, I'd get the x-statik. That speaker will be priced over $1000 after the new year. And make sure you get something in stock. Seems people have been waiting ages for back orders.
 
The x-voce will work well with any av123 product.

Depends if this is only going to be used as a HT or if you're going to listen to music as well.

The x-statik will match the center perfectly. They both use an open baffle design. It's a Danny Richie speaker, so it's going to be amazing.

http://av123.com/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,266/category_id,21/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,37/

If you want a little more punch, there's always the Rocket series. They are having a lot of specials right now. Give them a call. They'll be willing to work with the price for you.

http://av123.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=19&Itemid=37

If it was me, I'd get the x-statik. That speaker will be priced over $1000 after the new year. And make sure you get something in stock. Seems people have been waiting ages for back orders.

80% movies, 10% TV, 10% emulators (although let's face it, I don't really want the sound on). X-Statik seems like a better buy. Will be purchasing this very soon than, I've heard great reviews about AV123, I'll call them up though to see what they could do for me. Why is the X-Statik going to get a higher price though? Is there a new revision of the speaker coming out?

BTW thanks for all the help. I'm kind of a dummy for speakers, I'm more of a video person but would love to hear everything clearly :).
 
80% movies, 10% TV, 10% emulators (although let's face it, I don't really want the sound on). X-Statik seems like a better buy. Will be purchasing this very soon than, I've heard great reviews about AV123, I'll call them up though to see what they could do for me. Why is the X-Statik going to get a higher price though? Is there a new revision of the speaker coming out?

BTW thanks for all the help. I'm kind of a dummy for speakers, I'm more of a video person but would love to hear everything clearly :).

The x-statik is a new speaker from av123. From what I've been told is that they've been undercutting themselves at the current price.
More of an introduction price, but now that everyone's got a chance to "meet" them, the price will go to where it should be.
 
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