[Tonto Yoder]

An auction for a vintage Jensen center channel speaker.

http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2178065207&category=2151

[Brad]

Both of my mid-60's Fisher receivers have speaker-level outputs for a 'center' channel.

This was most often used as a remote, derived mono speaker in another room.   The Fisher manual describes the use of it quite well.

[Tonto Yoder]

Really??? I figured it was just a mono speaker that the seller used modern terminology to describe (hence the humor).  I guess some people DID use a single speaker to fill the "hole in the middle" that resulted from stereo (or spreading speakers too far apart).

[JohnR]

I believe my Scott integrated had some sort of center channel output at line level; I think the Dynaco manuals also describe how to wire the speaker outputs, I should look it up. Tube amps don't mind these sorts of shenanigans

Having said that, I don't think this is intended to be a center speaker, it looks like it's made for a corner.

Nice crossover. This is real vintage woody material...

[Tonto Yoder]

There are other items by that seller of similar vintage---cool to look at even if you're not bidding.  (There are nine pages of stuff to auction.)
There's an Altec corner speaker also labelled as a "center."

http://search.liveauctions.ebay.com/search/search.dll?GetResult&ht=11&ctlgid=5071&lc=1&isl=0&ccn=Furniture%20%26%20Decorative%20Arts&ahid=1810

[JohnR]

Holy cow!!! What a stash  

Anyone here done one of these "live auctions" before?

[DVV]

Er, um, guys?

May I remind you that Paul W. Klipsch clearly stated that for accurate music reporoduction we really need THREE channels, but that the third channel could be derived by summing up the left and right (although ideally, it should be a standalone channel), as early back as 1949? No typo, really so, nineteen fourty nine, 1949?

And that James B. Lansing, founder of JBL, worked on the sound system for the first movie with sound, way back in 1932?

Your friendly historian on duty,
DVV

[Den]

Center channel = L + R sum.
How would we wire a center speaker to sum L + R?

Old-school mono surround channel = L - R difference.
According to my trusty NAD manual (Never throw that away!), this is how we wire to extract L - R difference.
"From the L(+) terminal in the "B" speaker group, connect a single wire to the (+) terminal of the left rear speaker.  Connect a similar wire from the R(+) terminal to the (+) terminal of the right rear speaker.  Make no connection to the L(-) and R(-) terminals on the amplifier; instead, connect a wire from the (-) terminal of the left rear speaker to the (-) terminal of the right rear speaker."    


I did try this with an old pair of Pioneer car speakers as surrounds, and it does work for crude surround sound, but the usual disclaimers apply if you blow stuff up while attempting this.

[Tonto Yoder]

Er, um, guys?

May I remind you that Paul W. Klipsch clearly stated that for accurate music reporoduction we really need THREE channels, but that the third channel could be derived by summing up the left and right (although ideally, it should be a standalone channel), as early back as 1949? No typo, really so, nineteen fourty nine, 1949?

Was that for an ideal world or one in which stereo was "poorly" recorded???  I have a number of early stereo jazz recordings where certain instruments are clearly IN the left speaker, while others are right.
There's absolutely no illusion of a real band in front of you.  I assume a center-fill speaker that sums this hard left/ hard right info might "correct" this.

I'm not trying to put words in Klipsch's mouth, just wondering aloud.