Frequency Response of Center Speaker?
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Bronze Member Username: Juggy_25Post Number: 29 Registered: Apr-06 | What is the ideal Frequency Response Range of Center Speaker in a Home Theater system? Does the Center Channel deal with only the Voices in a Movie? |
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Gold Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 1918 Registered: Feb-04 | It's a full-range speaker by spec, but you are correct that it handles mostly voice content. It's fine to set it to small, so I suppose frequency response down to below 80 Hz would be okay. |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 1658 Registered: Sep-04 | Juggy, As Peter says, it's a full range speaker which locks speech to the screen. The THX spec says down to 80hz, but this is mainly because you need a dedicated speaker (subwoofer) to reproduce lower frequencies correctly. The thing is that in many movies, speech consitutes 80% of the significant information. Therefore the centre speaker works out to be the most important speaker in a surround system. Other attributes are also very importance. For example it needs to have wide dispersion, and to make a believable soundfield it needs to be voiced sympathetically with the rest of the speakers in the system. no speaker should 'stand out' since then it makes the soundfield appear artificial. This is why so many people choose and recommend that the centre speaker should be the same brand as the rest of the speakers in a system. This guarantees that the same design principles went into the process of designing that speaker as the rest of the system - and that it has the same presentation as the rest. Regards, Frank. |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 9160 Registered: May-04 | . JJ- We discussed this a bit in your last thread. Are you certain you even require a center speaker? Depending on the front speakers and the room set up, many HT systems can get by just fine without a center speaker. Centers, though intended to be "tibre matched", seldom sound like their front channel brethren when used in a typical HT set up. . |
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Silver Member Username: StefanomSilver Spring, MD United States Post Number: 157 Registered: Apr-06 | There is a way around that however; use an identical speaker to your mains. |
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Bronze Member Username: Juggy_25Post Number: 30 Registered: Apr-06 | Jan, do you mean that the Center can be avoided in a Home Theater setup of 2 fronts and 2 surrounds and a sub? I had auditioned a brand of center speakers which has specs of 95Hz-20KHz. I asked the dealer about the freq below 95Hz. He said it will be taken care off by the Fronts. Now....the Fronts doing the job of the Center....is that acceptable? Theres no Q on Timbre Matching. Center speakers HAS to be from the same stable, I do understand that. |
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Gold Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 1922 Registered: Feb-04 | do you mean that the Center can be avoided in a Home Theater setup of 2 fronts and 2 surrounds and a sub? It's sometimes called phantom mode, or simply tell the receiver that you have no center speaker. The center channel content will be added to the front R+L channel content. It works well enough if your seating is all fairly well centered. If you have seating off to the sides, say in front of one of your R+L speakers, then it doesn't work so well for the people seated there. Some people even prefer to have no center speaker at all. As for content below 95 Hz... It will only be redirectly to the sub (not the front speakers, unless you don't have a sub) if you can set the crossover frequency that high on the receiver (possibly 100 or 120 Hz). It's a little high for my own tastes. |
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Silver Member Username: StefanomSilver Spring, MD United States Post Number: 159 Registered: Apr-06 | To clarify on Peters last statement, frequencies tend to be more directional above 80Hz. As a result, sending them to the sub makes it easier to locate where the sub is, and does take away a bit from the overall experience. What mains do you use currently, and what kind of budget do you have for a center? |
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Bronze Member Username: Juggy_25Post Number: 31 Registered: Apr-06 | Stephen, I havent set up my 5.1 Home Theater yet. Planning on the Marantz SR-7500 and the Mordaunt Short 906 or 908 Floorstanders as fronts (not decided yet). In The Center speaker auditioned (95Hz-20KHz), I was told the Spec is based on tests with Pink Noise. So it wud go lower than the 95Hz. Could someone plz clarify what excatly is Pink Noise? |
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Silver Member Username: StefanomSilver Spring, MD United States Post Number: 164 Registered: Apr-06 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_noise Basically, it is noise  It *may* go lower in room (depending on whether or not that is an anechoic measurement), but I wouldn't count on it. If it were me, I would go for the larger model center, the 905C, rated down to 60Hz. That way you should be able to blend it better with a sub, and ensure there are no gaps in response. |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 9165 Registered: May-04 | . JJ- Some systems will do better without a center speaker due to the discontinuity introduced by the placement of a typical center speaker design. With two fronts speakers placed out into the room, it would be quite unusual for their timbre to match the sound of a center speaker which is sitting atop the TV. Room/placement differences dictate a dissimilar sound from even a timbre matched center in this situation. Timbre matched center speakers work best when they share a similar physical environment with the two front speakers. Behind an acoustically transparent projection screen is an ideal spot for a timbre matched center. Placing the center speaker above the TV normally means when you run your test sweeps you'll hear a distinctly different character from the center than from the front two. Center speakers work well in full THX systems where the specs dictate the response of the system and the system must be set up exactly in order to exploit those specs. Centers also work well if the system is placed to suit the room rather than the room being dedicated to the system. As HT systems expanded into the market, the dedicated listening room became less frequent and the family room, living room or den became the room where the HT system would reside. This "common ground" placement meant many compromises in speaker set up were going to be forced onto the system. If your system can't be set up for correct speaker placement across the front, i.e. if one speaker is set too low while the other is set too high or one is set too far to the left while the other is contained in a cabinet, this could be reason enough for a center speaker. If anyone is likely to sit far off to one side of the system, then you could probably use a center speaker. Anything which doesn't allow roughly equilateral placement of the fronts in relation to all seating positions might benefit from a center speaker. This will help place voices and foley effects with the proper visual event taking place on the screen. Door slams will be placed correctly for all listeners, not just those in the center of the room. Voices stage left will be placed correctly for all listeners. However, if your front speakers can focus the soundstage very well and no one sits far of to one side, there may be no need for a center speaker. Opinions may differ with most shops preferring to sell more speakers, but, in my opinion, you get better overall soundstaging from two timbre matched front speakers than you will by simply adding a center. In the subwoofer thread you began, I suggested the dealer should allow you to experiment with a center before making you commit to a purchase. Listen with the center in place and switched on and then with the center switched off and the information fed to the two front speakers, creating a "phantom" center as PG notes. If you are satsified there is no benefit to the center, there's no reason to buy the speaker. If, on the other hand, you find your system set up works better with a center, then let the dealer cash your check. . |
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Bronze Member Username: Juggy_25Post Number: 32 Registered: Apr-06 | Thanx Stephen. Another doubt, out of context....If a receiver is capable of shelling out 100W RMS per channel; during a movie (eg:Matrix) how many Watts wud be sent to the Surrounds(average)and to the center? coz the Surrounds I checked has just 60W RMS. Wud that be sufficient? |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 9166 Registered: May-04 | . Should you decide to purchase the sub, I would also suggest you buy a center which will match your front speakers' response as closely as possible. 95Hz is shy of what I would want from a center speaker. I tend to run my crossover to the sub at a rather low frequency. Whether that is how you will run your system isn't something I can predict. But buying a center with the broadest, timbre matched response possible will at least allow you to experiment without limitations. It is almost always a better idea to have a frequency response which is too broad rather than too narrow. . |
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Gold Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 1925 Registered: Feb-04 | JJ, The last thing you need to worry about are Watts for your speakers. Worry about them sounding the same, but not about Watts. |
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Silver Member Username: StefanomSilver Spring, MD United States Post Number: 166 Registered: Apr-06 | JJ: It should be fine as maximum power ratings tend to be a bit conservative and are rated for continuous abuse as opposed to peaks/transients, but it really depends on how loud you are looking to play the material. Assuming for a second that the speaker in question has a sensitivity of 87dB @ 1 watt @ 1 meter, it would reach its continuous limit at a level of ~105dB. Considering a surround speaker is largely relegated to being ambiance in the first place, you would really have to be pushing your system hard to get it to its limits. |
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Bronze Member Username: Juggy_25Post Number: 33 Registered: Apr-06 | Thanx a lot guyz. The sensitivity is around 88dB and I can listen in low to moderate levels only (I stay i an apartment). and just one more thing....Marantz is well-known for its 'Warm' sound. Should it be paired with 'Bright' speakers to sound good? and what decides the warmth or brightness of an equipment? |
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Silver Member Username: StefanomSilver Spring, MD United States Post Number: 167 Registered: Apr-06 | Theoretically bright to neutral speakers work with a warm receiver; however, go by what your ear tells you. See if you can bring in the Marantz to the dealer to test the combo out before you plunk down the cash. |
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