[ajzepp]

Hey Maggie Fans...

I know from time to time there are people who go back and forth about whether or not a center speaker is necessary in an HT system. I've had mine both ways, and I've enjoyed movies with and without a center. I just wanted to chime in with a recent experience here in case anyone else is in this same boat.

I wanted to go bigger with my projector screen, so I ended up moving my 3.6s a little farther apart than I wanted. To offset this, I changed the tweeter orientation to "on the inside", whereas before I had always kept them on the outside. I really like my CC3, but the center image I'm getting all of a sudden with the mains alone is AWESOME. I'm thinking about just keeping my center out of the equation for right now because of how good it sounds. I was really nervous about moving the Maggies so far apart, which also put them within about 20" of the side walls, but I couldn't be happier. This allowed me to move to a larger screen (120") and still maintain excellent sound for both movies and music - with movie sound actually having improved, I think!

Has anyone else tried it both ways with an HT application?

[rw@cn]

Using a phantom center has long been accepted and used. The problem is that off axis listening is adversely affected. When I had a HT, I used the phantom center configuration for years and thought it better than using an actual center speaker.

[ajzepp]

Good point. My experience has been the same. As it stands now, my seating ranges from dead center sweet spot to about 3' off center in both directions. The center fill I'm getting from the side seats is actually quite good now that I've reduced the number of room treatments I had in here. I'm leaning that Maggies don't like lots of absorption, whereas when I had box speakers they loved it. But as it stands now I think I'm going to run phantom a while...vocals sound fantastic during movies 

[josh358]

Yep, the main purpose of the center channel in a movie is to anchor the dialogue for listeners sitting to the side.

The tri-center can apparently sound better than two Maggies alone, but a regular center doesn't, if you're sitting in the sweet spot.

With planars, many people like diffusion rather than absorption at the first reflection point behind the speakers. Elsewhere in the room it's optional unless you're sitting too close to the rear wall, in which case you can use absorption. First reflection points at the sides aren't heavily illuminated but they do get some depending on speaker angle so you can use absorption or diffusion if you're far enough away (a QRD diffuser really needs about 8' or so of distance to work). Elsewhere in the room absorption and diffusion aren't necessary unless the room is too bright or has slap echo.

[ajzepp]

Yep, the main purpose of the center channel in a movie is to anchor the dialogue for listeners sitting to the side.

The tri-center can apparently sound better than two Maggies alone, but a regular center doesn't, if you're sitting in the sweet spot.

With planars, many people like diffusion rather than absorption at the first reflection point behind the speakers. Elsewhere in the room it's optional unless you're sitting too close to the rear wall, in which case you can use absorption. First reflection points at the sides aren't heavily illuminated but they do get some depending on speaker angle so you can use absorption or diffusion if you're far enough away (a QRD diffuser really needs about 8' or so of distance to work). Elsewhere in the room absorption and diffusion aren't necessary unless the room is too bright or has slap echo.

All I have left up are the two at the FRP on the sides of the room, and then I have another panel in the little alcove thing at the rear of the room. That's about it anymore, and it sounds MUCH better. The soundstage is just massive, both wide and deep, and it's easily the best sound I've ever achieved.

Also, not to get into the wire debate, but I SWEAR that these speltz anticables improved the sound. I've had three different types of speaker wire on the Maggies over the last year or two, and since I went with the anticables they have sounded better than ever. It's really not all that expensive either.

[Robin Hood]

The tri-center can apparently sound better than two Maggies alone, but a regular center doesn't, if you're sitting in the sweet spot.

When you say tri-center do you mean three speakers for the center channel plus the typical L+R front speakers as opposed to a single center speaker centered between the L+R speakers? How is the latter setup bad if you're sitting in the sweet spot?

Doesn't room dimensions come into play if the tri-center consists of five front speakers? What would be the minimum distances between the speakers assuming the extreme L+R speakers are 1 or 2 ft away from the side walls?

[josh358]

When you say tri-center do you mean three speakers for the center channel plus the typical L+R front speakers as opposed to a single center speaker centered between the L+R speakers? How is the latter setup bad if you're sitting in the sweet spot?

Doesn't room dimensions come into play if the tri-center consists of five front speakers? What would be the minimum distances between the speakers assuming the extreme L+R speakers are 1 or 2 ft away from the side walls?

You might try some diffusion on the front wall, at the first reflection point (where you'd see the speakers in a mirror from your seat). That's a pretty popular arrangement.

I've heard good things about those cables too, but haven't heard them myself.

[josh358]

When you say tri-center do you mean three speakers for the center channel plus the typical L+R front speakers as opposed to a single center speaker centered between the L+R speakers? How is the latter setup bad if you're sitting in the sweet spot?

Doesn't room dimensions come into play if the tri-center consists of five front speakers? What would be the minimum distances between the speakers assuming the extreme L+R speakers are 1 or 2 ft away from the side walls?

The tri-center is a single Maggie center flanked by two on-walls. According to those who have heard it, it improves depth and imaging and keeps the center from losing height and giving you a "butterfly effect."

Here's an article about it:

http://www.theaudiobeat.com/blog/magnepan_37_tricenter_system.htm