[Mike Gillespie]

Does a center channel have to match the right and left front speakers?
I have Dynaudio Confidence 1 speakers on the left and right.  The Dynaudio’s have an Esotec tweeter.  For music listening I’ll just use the right and left channels, but for watching movies, I’m going to add a center channel speaker.   To maintain good sound for watching movies, is it best to only get a Dynaudio speaker that has the same tweeter.  Or can I get a less expensive but good center from another manufacturer who doesn’t use that particular tweeter and still good good quality sound without the tweeters mixing badly (which is what the Dyn dealers tell me but of course that's in their interest)? Thanks.

[milford3]

For HT it's best to match the center with the left/right channel with the same speaker make.  But a good center speaker from a different company will work.
Just make sure the OHM rating is the same for all speakers.  The same OHM rating will result in smoother dynamics

[Mike Gillespie]

milford3, thanks.  But consider this: I just got a Bryston 9B-SST2 amp, which has 5 independent amp channels (really 5 amps in 1).  I was thinking of saving a lot of money on the center (Dyns centers are outrageously expensive and hard to find used) by getting an Aperionaudio Verus Grand Center Channel speaker [http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/Verus-Grand-Center-Channel-Speaker,269,89,806.aspx].  But that Verus is 6 ohms, whereas the Dynaudio Confidence 1's are 4 ohms.   Do you think with the Bryston, that's a problem in terms of what you're saying about different ohm ratings affecting the SQ?

[milford3]

The Aperion center will work as long as your amp center output jack is rated for 6 OHM's.  You might have to tweek the db levels on all three speakers for proper balance.

[srb]

I currently have 4 ohm speakers for Left, Center and Right, but I have also had 8 ohm Left and Right Speakers with a 4 ohm Center in my setup as well as 4 ohm Left and Right speakers with an 8 ohm Center.
 
As long as the surround processor or receiver can level match the speakers, and the amplifiers can drive the lower impedances, I have not personally found any reduction in sound quality or dynamics.  In fact, I would be more concerned with getting speaker sensitivity more closely matched than impedance.
 
Steve

[Mike Gillespie]

Thanks to you both.  My receiver will let me adjust the levels of center vs. left/right. 

[Soundtrackmixer]

I guess I am going to be the only one to disagree with everyone else. Having a mismatched center speaker will call attention to itself. Panning will be uneven as effects pass through the middle, and no amount of equalization will be able to correct it.

If you are not looking to actually improve the sound of your system, then you can compromise by getting a another center channel that is tonally different than your L/R mains.

[sharpsuxx]

+1 on Sensitivity.  You don't want you center channel to be any more or less efficient than the speakers around it so that when there is a big front stage scene the center channel is any more forward or backward than the fron L/R.  Even with leveling I could always notice a difference.  If you are running a primarily home theater system there is no harm in spending a little extra on a good center channel as more than half of the sound of your whole system will be coming through it. 

Personally I would rather go Center-channel-less and run a phantom center with a good processor than have an improperly "voice matched" center channel.  But I am picky so...YMMV.

[electricbear]

For the best reproduction of movie soundtracks you should emulate what is done in the recording studio. They use the same speaker all the way round. This is hard to do in the home ( three towers is generally not wife acceptable) so the closest most of us can get to is matching the center tweeter with the front two speakers. Not using a matching center will lead to a different tonal balance, a less than 3 dimensional front sound stage and even possible holes in the soundstage as sounds pan from side to side. If you watch a lot of movies it makes sense to spend the extra to get it right.

[Soundtrackmixer]

For the best reproduction of movie soundtracks you should emulate what is done in the recording studio. They use the same speaker all the way round.

This is not exactly true, but it depends on exactly what you are talking about. In studios that mix multichannel music, you are correct. With movies, not so much so. We use three full range speakers across the front on the dubbing stage, and smaller timbre matched speakers for the surround channels.

This is hard to do in the home ( three towers is generally not wife acceptable) so the closest most of us can get to is matching the center tweeter with the front two speakers.

This is going to be very tough, as you have to also match the crossover point with the L/R mains as well. You also have to match the tweeter design, as a hard dome tweeter will sound different than a soft dome one.

Not using a matching center will lead to a different tonal balance, a less than 3 dimensional front sound stage and even possible holes in the soundstage as sounds pan from side to side. If you watch a lot of movies it makes sense to spend the extra to get it right.

The holes you mention are a lot more pronounced at the halfway position between the center and the Left/Right mains. In other words, half left or right positioned sound effects would lose intensity with a dissimilar center speaker.

[max190]

Mike, the C1 has the Esotar tweeter not the Esotec
I would look at the Contour series centers if you are trying to save some cash.
The S CX has the same tweeter as your C1's.
The SC has the Esotec.
Both are rated at 4 ohms

I would not mate the Aperion with the Dyn's
What are your plans for your surrounds?
Do you own a sub?

[FireGuy]

Tonally, I agree a matched center with your L/R mains is probably your best bet.  In my situation, I could not for example accommodate my first choice an Axiom VP150 in that space.  I settled (for positioning reason alone) a rather compact, entry level Aperion 4C.  It turned out to be  a rather pleasant surprise.  The 4C handled everything I threw at without a sweat.  In fact, when our new TV was installed, that opened up the area I needed to upgrade to a larger center...Aperion 5C  It's not the timbre match I would like with my Axiom M22's today but it's  darn close.  M22's are 8 ohm, 5C - 6 ohm.  Some EQ and the soundstage is optimized.

So...  Do you settle for a lower grade center and have that timbre match or do you upgrade maybe to a different vendor's product that is superior and live with that slight tonal anomaly?   Testing is the best.  Double blind if you can arrange it.