[Toecutter]

I have a modest  setup very new to the game. Im pretty happy  with my main speakers , I have tried a couple of commercial  center channels and they all sounded awful compared  to a phantom center with my main speakers. The Soundstage is boxy and narrow and weak with the couple of centers I've tried. The mains sound so open and airy. I end up just watching movies without the center.
Is it even worth spending money on a good center channel?

[corndog71]

I think they’re good in big rooms.  In my current smaller apartment I’ve been rocking 2.1 and not missing the center.

In a big room the X-Voce is a great center speaker.  While I never tried it as a center the X-CS would be a cheaper alternative.  With sonicaps on the tweeters they won’t sound dark at all.

[richidoo]

A high performance audio system makes a strong center image and doesn't really need a center channel, but budget consumer electronics make a relatively poor center stereo image so they require a discreet center channel for intelligibility.
Center is preferable as long as it meets the sound quality you want. And that means the surround decoder and multichannel amps too, not just the speakers. So moving from hifi stereo to hifi 5.1 is a huge financial investment if you want the same sound quality.  For me, the video itself is captivating enough that I can enjoy it fully with a good quality but inexpensive midfi surround system. So I have one TV with full range stereo speakers and another TV with good quality but tiny deftech/onkyo surround system. They are both very satisfying. But listening to stereo music on the deftech doesn't do much for me.

If you can get a center channel from the same mfg as your stereo speakers using same drivers and voiced to be a center to the L/R then you might have better luck. Also make sure the amp on the center is very similar to L/R. A lot of commercial speakers are real shit these days, even expensive models from big name brands. See Danny's utoob video about a center channel mod from last month.

[WC]

You can skip a center channel if you only have one seat, but if you have more than one seat the sound will vary drastically for those other seats depending on how far they are from the sweet spot for 2-channel/stereo listening. If you already have the front 2 speakers you can try it out by trying different seats in your room while listening to see if it makes a difference to you or others who are sitting in the other seats in your room.

[Toecutter]

My living room is small, wherever  I sit the 2 mains sound way  better than the center. The center seems to be just getting in the way . Thanks

[Bendingwave]

In small rooms usually a center channel is not needed depending on how far apart your main speakers are from each other.

There are many factors of why a center channel does not blend well with the mains.  One of them is voice matching where the center channel is of a different brand and or a different model.  Second I never like the sound of MTM placed horizontally I prefer 2 way placed vertically like a normal speaker but IMO the best is a full range driver and or a Coaxial/Concentric driver. IMO the most coherent voice comes from full range and or concentric type of drivers.

The other is center channel placement.  First one is height as some place them to low and or to high. Other method is placing the center speaker further out into the room and or further back but if you have a receiver most come with a distance control so you wont have to move them forward or backward you just adjust the distance setting on the receiver.

Also with 2 channel most people toe in there main speakers to a degree but when using a center I find that toeing in the mains seems to cross into the center channel stream having some cross talk cancellations.  Try keeping the main speakers straight with no toe in and or even try toeing them out slightly.

Then there is the volume level of the center channel. When playing music if the center channel speaker is to loud it will draw attention to itself. The right level of volume of a center channel is when you dont even know that the center channel is playing yet the sound is still full. Also certain receiver have a EQ just for the center channel to blend better with the mains.

[mrhyfy]

You can skip a center channel if you only have one seat, but if you have more than one seat the sound will vary drastically for those other seats depending on how far they are from the sweet spot for 2-channel/stereo listening. If you already have the front 2 speakers you can try it out by trying different seats in your room while listening to see if it makes a difference to you or others who are sitting in the other seats in your room.

+1

You took the words out of my mouth

[Markwatkiss]

My reality is that a centre speaker is a must if you have a dedicated home theater system.The center channel delivers 90% of the dialogue and the more evolved the design the more you will benefit.
Of course it is critical that the center blend seamlessly with your mains to ensure that the sound staging is not compromised by a mis match.

[Toecutter]

My mains are pretty  rare German speaker from the 70s doubt I can find a center that matches  it lol.

 I have a theater setup in my living room  which is small 12x17 . 5.2 channels and a 100 inch screen these folds down on hinges from the ceiling. Ive  not been running  my center channel and I don't seem to be missing it. I was gonna save up and get a nice center but I don't want to spend a bunch of money and be disappointed.

[Bullitt5094]

A center is important in any HT execution meant to be listened to by more than one person at a time. Exception would be, if you have your mains very close together. If you do that, you don't have any sound stage/imaging anyway. Welcome to two channel mono. Just get a soundbar.
Do not use the center for music reproduction if you're really a serious audiophile. Exception... you're watching a concert video.
Voice match it to the mains. Very important. I had Tekton build a center to match my Ulfberts. Apparently I was the first to use those in a HT application. Thanks Eric! It was worth the investment.
Try to keep it at the same height as the mains. Not always possible but a worthy effort.
Level match it as accurately as possible. Most make the center way too loud.

[WarmColors]

 Would be cool to see who ever is financially capable of purchasing 3 or 5-7 (full HT system) NX Oticas and turning one of them into a center channel? Of coarse you will need a very large tv so it doesn't look funny size wise and a very large room to get them as far away from the walls.

[Bullitt5094]

Large speakers can work in HT.

[Toecutter]

I was watching game of thrones a few weeks ago. With my main speakers when it was raining  I can hear every drop hit and still hear people talking clearly ,with the center speaker it was just rain noise. There was a fire in the background with the mains I can here it cracking ,hissing ,burning ,I didn't hear any of it through my center.  I wouldn't mind it if it was just voice in the center but I feel like I'm missing so much ambient  sounds.

[Early B.]

I was watching game of thrones a few weeks ago. With my main speakers when it was raining  I can hear every drop hit and still hear people talking clearly ,with the center speaker it was just rain noise. There was a fire in the background with the mains I can here it cracking ,hissing ,burning ,I didn't hear any of it through my center.  I wouldn't mind it if it was just voice in the center but I feel like I'm missing so much ambient  sounds.

The majority of center channel speakers are weak. They're typical MTM's with cheap drivers and crossover parts, regardless of brand name. After going through 10 or 15 center channels, my current center channel is 4 feet long and weighs over 100 lbs. It's a large floor stander modified slightly to serve as a center channel. Of course, it's DIY, but the point is that the acquisition of a center channel depends on what you're trying to achieve. The OP said he has a "modest system." If you want to keep it that way, you may not need a center channel. However, if you want a much improved HT experience, you'll have to be willing to spend a lot more money on a bigger, badass center channel.     

[WGH]

Usually all the dialog is in the center channel which is why quality is so important. Cheap center speakers are not crisp or clear enough so you loose intelligibility plus they are usually boomy or chesty sounding so male voices are unnaturally deep. The center speaker should exactly match the side speakers so the front sound stage's timbre is consistent and go as loud as the L & R speakers without strain. The addition of a center channel also allows the system to go louder without strain, depending on the layout you will have an additional 3 drivers. In a basic MTM speaker design, that would be 1/3 more (9 drivers instead of 6) which is important in movies like the current Christopher Nolan film "Tenet" which should be played at eviction levels (the sound is a WOW!).

The L, R and surrounds have all the effects, the center has the dialog. I don't think you are loosing any effects with a phantom center.

I got lucky and found a used Salk Veracity HT2C center channel speaker, the drivers are exactly the same as my HT2-TL speakers. The Salk doesn't have a port so no chestyness like the cheap centers that proceeded it and it can go as loud as the sides without strain. The Seas and RAAL drivers are fast and clear so no dialog is lost or slurred. The only downside is it needs lots of power, the center gets 120 watts from an AVA 3 channel amp I bought used, the other 2 channels go the the surround speakers. Affordable home theater receivers don't have enough power for Salk speakers.

[WarmColors]

Large speakers can work in HT.

Are those Mcintosh?

[RolandButcher]

Those are Tekton Design Ulfberhts per his earlier post.

[Woodsea]

I could not live without a center channel.  Which is my largest speaker!  Go big or go home and my home theater is small and I have filled it with speakers.  My atmos speakers sit a top my Mains...they are tiny.
Once you have a decent center channel you will understand.

[kernelbob]

I don't use a center channel speaker.  In fact, I don't use surround speakers, strictly two channel with rear subs.  The soundstage is extremely wide. tall, and deep.  It is kind of an Imax effect, yes, just with two speakers.  In fact, there have been several times when someone hears the system the first time that they ask me to turn off the sound from the TV (centered between the speakers), which of course was never on.  Speech, as everything else, is just as clear from the extreme left or right as from the center listening position.

The speakers, acting as a virtual point source, have an extremely wide and tall dispersion throughout the audio range and above, so even seated or standing directly in front of the left or right speaker, there is still a wide soundstage extending to the opposite speaker, again with a solid and clear center image.

The system includes a pair of 15 inch subwoofers at the rear of the listening room with phase offset and low pass dialed in.  These subs are an integrated component of the speakers with their signal derived from the front bass driver's speaker input.  This way, the back EMF from the bass is integrated with the signal.  The purpose of the subs is to neutralize room resonances and to reproduce the natural hall ambience that is embedded in the signal.

The speakers are 6 foot towers using a WWMTMWW vertical array.  They're 13 feet apart (center to center) with the drivers 6 feet from the front wall.  The ceiling is 9 ft at the side arched to 10.5 ft in the center.  The room is 21 ft wide and 50 to 70 ft long.  The subs are 46 ft from the front drivers.  The normal center listening position is ~13 ft from each speakers, making an equilateral triangle with the towers.

Apologies for the long post.
Robert

[Toecutter]

Yeah thats where I'm at, my 2 mains are making for a perfect center image. Its weird how they sound more centered than the center channel. In fact its seems better cause when someone is is speaking on one side of the screen  the  sound seems to match their location. No matter how hard I try I can't hear any sound actually  coming from my speaker.  Its weird . I used new record days video to setup my speaker location. They are 3 way kirksaeters about 3 feet from the back wall and 8 feet apart.

I disconnected  my center yesterday decided to save money for a better reciever.