No Center for HT?

[Travis]

Originally Posted by John72953

I did have a 5.0 setup before reverting back to 2.0, and for movies I much preferred having a Centre Channel. The more I'm learning about HT (not 2.0) and the importance of dialogue from movies, I am almost of the opinion that your Centre channel should be of better quality than your fronts. As such, and when I go back to multi-channel, I'd more than likely choose the Rainmaker Centre Channel as opposed to the matching Totem Mite-T centre channel for the Totem Sttaf's.

For music it's 2.0 all the way. I know there are some who like to listen in 2.1, but I'm not one of them. If you have speakers of a significant quality and match them to your musical tastes, you should have no need to add a sub. My Sttaf's are a two-way design with only a 5.5" woofer, but I can tell you that they expel a very satisfactory level of bass.

John

I've listened to music in 2.0, using the source direct mode on my AVR, and my bookshelves with 5" drivers do an excellent job. Love the theory behind source direct; hate the idea of the AVR trying to tweak and adjust the recordings. The dB level seems to go up a notch as well running S-Direct.

I've always felt the 2.1 setup was more balanced though and 2.0 was working too hard (don't know if that makes sense). I'm not an audiophile and spend 80% of my watching movies rather than listening to CDs. Also, my sub isn't booming, I believe my house isn't a dance club and I should only notice the sub when it is turned off. "Ah, something is missing." For movies however, I flip a switch on the back to turn off the high pass filter and it can boom away, but it still doesn't shatter windows. I hate that distorted rumble (RRRRWWWWWOOONNNNN) some people get and they think, "YEAH! My sub is booming."

Another typhoon coming this weekend, so I'll experiment some more. Nothing else to do. I think the sub will still be used at the end of the day. Other than SACDs I never put 2 ch music to all 5 speakers, it is too phony.

[Beta Man]

I love my center...... besides, I have a lot of classic films on DVD and Blu-ray that have monaural audio tracks, making it that much more important to have a good quality center.

I listen to all music in Stereo though..... despite owning an SACD player..... it's baffling I know

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by Travis

I've listened to music in 2.0, using the source direct mode on my AVR, and my bookshelves with 5" drivers do an excellent job. Love the theory behind source direct; hate the idea of the AVR trying to tweak and adjust the recordings. The dB level seems to go up a notch as well running S-Direct.

I've always felt the 2.1 setup was more balanced though and 2.0 was working too hard (don't know if that makes sense). I'm not an audiophile and spend 80% of my watching movies rather than listening to CDs. Also, my sub isn't booming, I believe my house isn't a dance club and I should only notice the sub when it is turned off. "Ah, something is missing." For movies however, I flip a switch on the back to turn off the high pass filter and it can boom away, but it still doesn't shatter windows. I hate that distorted rumble (RRRRWWWWWOOONNNNN) some people get and they think, "YEAH! My sub is booming."

Another typhoon coming this weekend, so I'll experiment some more. Nothing else to do. I think the sub will still be used at the end of the day. Other than SACDs I never put 2 ch music to all 5 speakers, it is too phony.

Right on Travis!

I would consider this pure BLASPHEMY!

John

[mx2004]

Originally Posted by Travis

Other than SACDs I never put 2 ch music to all 5 speakers, it is too phony.

Agreed, to a degree. Part of the problem is that most AVRs and amplifiers are pretty unsophisticated in their DSP processing - so 2 into 5 often doesn't go very well.

When funds allow I'm hoping to move up to a high-end processor from Meridian - they use extremely powerful DSP to extract the 'mono' elements from a 2-channel signal (i.e. those common to both channels) and direct it to the centre speaker. They can also extract ambience information for the rear channels, if required. All of this without grafting on awful echoey 'church' and 'stadium' modes.

Dolby ProLogic II can be interesting in this regard - if you can adjust levels per input or per processing mode without mucking up your whole HT - select your CD input (Digital not analogue), and make sure you engage DPL II Music mode. Make sure the rear channels are dialled down low (you can always bring them back up if you want a more wrap-around effect). ProLogic II can be very pleasing with music, if used with care.

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On the thread's main topic, I find if the centre is strong enough to keep up then it's presence is essential on movie and multichannel music material, but I can see scenarios where it could be dispensed with - especially to a solo viewer in the sweet spot. I couldn't do this though as I tend to move around the sofa during a movie and I like the dialogue to stay put. The key I think to choosing a centre is to run a mono movie through it on its own (with sub if you use one) and see if it can carry the movie on its own. If it can, you're fine.

Centre speakers mounted in cabinets and on furniture could, I suppose, sound a little smeared and chesty compared to a pair of L/Rs on proper hi-fi grade stands. This could account for the difference in vocal quality when the centre is out of the loop. Try a stand/wall bracket for the centre or placing it on its own shelf on a dedicated AV stand.

Sorry for the long post.