help me choose a center channel

C

chronic9

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Aug 18, 2004
Messages
5,854
I recently upgraded my receiver to an Onkyo 818, wow it sounds AMAZING!
i am running a 7.2 setup consisting of the speakers from Onkyo S9400THX HTiB, to save you a google, below are the speaker specs:
(i have 2 of the onkyo subs)
http://www.onkyousa.com/Products/model.php?m=HT-S9400THX&class=Systems
Front/Center 50 Hz–45 kHz
Full-range, bass reflex 2-way, acoustic-suspension
Subwoofer 330 mV/100 k-ohms
Front 83 dB/W/m
Center 83 dB/W/m
Surround 81 dB/W/m
Surround Back 8 ohms
Front/Center/Surround 8 ohms
Click to expand...

i cant afford to go balls deep yet and upgrade the FR and FL speakers, so i want to start slowly buying matching speakers. Ive been looking at these 3 over the past few days, and granted i dont know enough about speaker specs, maybe one of them is way out of my range.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_107TX250CB/Polk-Audio-TSx250C-Black.html?tp=189#details-tab

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Qp7RRrNSbwq/p_108PC351BK/Infinity-Primus-PC351.html#details-tab

and i am hesitant on this guy, as good flood standing speakers are VERY expensive and i dont think i am going to be investing THAT much on my Front Left and Right.
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_735CLR2002/Definitive-Technology-C-L-R2002.html?cc=07#details-tab

obviously, if i pick Infiniti I am sticking with that brand to upgrade the rest of my speakers over time.... my budget for a center speaker is 300 max and i guess over time, about 400-600 for each floor standing front speaker.
 
I'm a huge fan of the BIC Acoustech PL-28II. IMO That particular lineup of speakers sounds just as good as or better than a lot of stuff that's twice as expensive.

The only downside is that they're huge. Pay attention to measurements.

The full set for a 5.1 setup usually runs about $1300 but I've seen them available for as low as right around $1000 when certain pairs were on sale seperately.
 
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I have a lot of space, essentially an entire mantle ontop of a fire place that can't be used :(
 
oh ya, i am definitely into buying from internet only brands, much cheaper and usually good quality.
 
anyone have experience with EMP Tek and Fluance for speakers?
 
Fluance is terrible. They look decent on the outside but are really poorly engineered. I'm not familiar from EMP Tek.

FWIW, I've worked in the A/V industry for 15 years, including almost 10 at speaker manufacturers.
 
I am personally biased against speakers with a horizontal layout. The lobing is audible in my opinion... Consider a standard 2-way (usually with a single mid) that you can place vertically, which also allows you to buy a number of identical speakers for L/R/surround. How could you have better channel matching than that?
 
Maybe I'll get flamed for this, but getting towers is a stupid idea. They were cool when I was just getting into the hobby because of the bigger-is-better mentality, but what is the point of getting such gigantic speakers when there are bookshelves/monitors out there that can play cleanly when crossed over at 80 Hz? They also make it nearly impossible to have an all-matching speaker setup, which is ideal.

I will never go back to floorstanders or regular speakers again after getting my HR824mk2 studio monitors. They can play ridiculously low, have very powerful built-in amps, a variety of acoustic controls, and even thermal protection. Best of all, you can easily run five or more for a consistent setup.
 
Well, I speak for myself and not my employer etc. I currently work at Sony (for the last three years) and have been involved in launching their hi-res audio players and Reference and ES speakers (which are amazing if you have the coin). I used to work at a company called BG Radia (bgcorp.com), an internet direct DIY company called Adire Audio, and also grew up with my dad owning a HiFi shop.

I know the owner of the company I recommended, though there are a lot of other great options. If you like woodworking, I think that kit speakers are a great way to go, as a lot of what you're paying for is the cabinet.
 
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