Good HT Center Channel Match with M3TS?

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vondy

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 24
Good HT Center Channel Match with M3TS?
« on: 12 Dec 2020, 03:35 pm »
To the point - Does anyone have a good recommendation for a HT center channel for M3TS? I know it's been discussed before but figured I would revisit.

Longer version -
I have been reworking our living room space and trying to slim things down a bit. Wanted to separate my M3TS from the HT since I have a dedicated 2ch amp for them and got tired of swapping cables for music and tv.

Thought about separate in-wall speakers for HT. Right now trying out the most high end soundbar money can buy with a sub and it sounds good but doesn't have the same experience the Spatials have. Even without a sub the Spatials just outperform in HT with the dynamics.

So I might try and keep them in the HT mix but would like to figure out a different center channel solution than what I have now. Currently I'm using a Klipsch Academy left over from my Forte II days. It's a great speaker but sits too high on the media console and I'm sure there is something out there that would blend better with the Spatials.

I guess Clayton is never going to offer that short center channel I've seen pics of. Yeah I would have to figure something different out with the media console but might be worth it for a matching center. Going full size is not going to work because it would put my new giant OLED too high up on the wall.

Rosswell105

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 14
Re: Good HT Center Channel Match with M3TS?
« Reply #1 on: 12 Dec 2020, 08:41 pm »
I am using a Gallo acoustic reference AV as a center with Sapphire M5s in my HT setup and I don’t have a complain. I am sure Gallo Strada should work as well. You can mount Strada or Reference AV on the wall just underneath a TV/projector screen or place it one a table.

uncola

Re: Good HT Center Channel Match with M3TS?
« Reply #2 on: 10 Jan 2021, 07:47 am »
I've heard it said you want the same tweeter in your center as your fronts so maybe have someone make you a center with the same compression driver?

Grahamps

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  • Posts: 26
Re: Good HT Center Channel Match with M3TS?
« Reply #3 on: 12 Jan 2021, 09:07 pm »
I'd elect to run no center channel. In addition to finding a good physical match with your speakers, there are timing and clarity issues that, personally, I'd forego dealing with, instead focusing on solid multi-axis sound from your stereo speakers. I used to setup a lot of nice center channels, and it always paid huge dividends to get them well time-aligned with the mains. By time aligned, since this never was measured, I mean that we attained good vocal clarity, that any recorded Center Channel ambience produced in the L/R, like "room" that the voice was in, was clearly portrayed, that the center vanished, etc., all were things to be coped with. While I don't think there are rules to mixing center channel info, sometimes it was just a dry voice, no effects; my L/R can handle that.

Eventually, having turned-over product and brands in a fair number of demo theater systems, it became clear that mixing two brands wasn't any worse than a good salad or stew or soup or anything we enjoy made up of many ingredients. While eventually every demo system would become a demo of one brand, that period of time when new speakers were trickling into the existing system never was all that bad.