To audiophiles, What is a good center speaker at the $250-$300 price range?

Answer 1

Klipsch. I use one for my media room. its fantastic. its on the upper end but well, well worth it.

Answer 2

Hi. It depends on what you are using for the front.Anyway they usually have two types of sound.Some are fairly bright such as Klipsch and others are neutral.For the bright ones Klipsch are good For the other type any of the British ones are good .Fore example

Klipsch center look at
http://www.nextag.com/Kef-IQ2C-MAPLE-507148483/prices-
html
JBL center
http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?page=proframe&prod_id=2344208&fp=f&cid=60145&keywords=10584309


Kef center look at
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/features/540249068


WHARFEDALE center
http://www.amazon.com/Wharfedale-WH-2BLK-Center-Channel-Speaker-Black/dp/B00005UD2B


In case you may be interested i firmly believe a center speaker actually degrades the sound from what you are watching.We are told that the center speaker is mainly used for dialog. If you have a very wide TV or a projection screen. voices do not stay in the center of the frame they are constantly moving backwards and forwards according to the action. If you sit exactly in the center of your 2 stereo speakers you will get a seemless sound across the viewing area which is more natural .Even if you sit not quite in the center you will still get a better result.This is how i have my setup at home. Also if your main speakers have ample bass you don't need a subwoofer.All makers of home cinema want you to spend as much as possible on unnecessary equipment cause they think you don't know much about true Hi Fi sound.The money you save will buy you a better amp than a receiver and better speakers .Trust me i know .I have been involved in sound reproduction for over 40 years. Someone is bound to disagree but that's ok, everyone has their own opinion.But if you just think about it, it makes a lot of sense . I would not bother to tell you this if it i thought it was a load of rubbish.I hope you get what you are after.
Cheers.

Answer 3

To audiophiles, the best center channel is the one that tonally matches your front spkrs. Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks often have voices, and sound effects pan from left to right, thru the center channel. If you purchase a center channel based on its own merits, it can produce clear dialog, and have robust output, but unfortunately sound different than the other spkrs in your system. So as the actor walks across the screen you will hear the tone of his voice change as it moves from the left to center or center to right spkr. This breaks the illusion of being right there in the action. Virtually all spkr manufacturers make center channel spkrs using the same parts as their main spkrs. If you own older spkrs, start with center channels from that brand, they should share similar tonality. Toy Story 2 DVD, chapter 13 or 16 during the beginning of the chapter, will have a characters speak through the center channel, then imediately from the left spkr. This should work as a great test if you cannot purchase the center channel provided by the manufacture of our main spkrs. Good luck

Answer 4

well it would help if i were to know what you are using as your front speakers so i could find a voice matched center chanel. That being said heres a good one.

I would look at Paradigm speakers there probly the best deal on the market right now.

Paradigm CC-190


by the way audiophiles dont use there home theaters for music. i have 2 different stereos. one really good 2 chanel for music and a 5.1 or my movies.

http://www.paradigm.com/en/paradigm/centers-monitor-cc190-model-3-4-1-6.paradigm

Answer 5

Get one which is as similar as possible to your front left and righ speakers. Definitely go for the same brand, as it's likely speakers from a single manufacturer will be voiced similarly. Then you won't have an annoying timbre change when sounds move across the stage.

Answer 6

First of all....audiophiles do NOT mix sound systems with home theater....but....the best I have heard (without selling the farm) would be to put together a Definitive Technology system.

What are your other speakers?

Answer 7

an audiophile would never buy a speaker without listening to it over and over and comparing it to other ones and I think if an audiophile would leave analogue stereo and go digital surround he'd get a matched set... Depending on his budget he'd then probably look at http://www.bwspeakers.com and http://www.kef.co.uk/ personally I'd also look at http://www.magnat.de/

Answer 8

Get the same speaker for the center that you're using for your 2 fronts...(try the same speaker for the rear, too)...Check this link to see why: http://www.avtruths.com/speaker.html