Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater M80 as center channel speaker

Why would you want to slice+dice an expensive floorstander like that instead of just trying a VP150 that's designed out of the box for that sort of deployment?

If you put an M80 on its side and perform surgery, you don't really still have an M80 when you're done, so you're not at all achieving the goal of matching M80 L/R mains.

Most people who can use a full-size floorstander as a center seem to be using large front projection screens mounted high.

Note that the idea that ideally having identical L/C/R speakers doesn't mean that a different center solution will suck -- there's a certain amount of diminishing returns effect here.

Conventional wisdom is that video/movies (which is what most people want a center for) mix mostly dialog into the center channel, which is concentrated in the midrange. The bass and treble extremes are much less taxed, which is one reason why you'll find a number of people who are happily using smaller, bookshelf speakers for centers, that can perhaps be inserted into a stand or placed unobtrusively in front of it - or even in front of the display on the top shelf of the stand, or on top of the display. Several happy reports of M2 centers can be found on these forums.

My plan if I ever navigate the WAF for my system is to order a VP150, an M22, and an M2 to see what works best with M80's and QS8's, and send back whichever I don't decide to keep.

I suspect you would pretty much have to rebuild the cabinet in order to change speaker position. Even after all that, you don't get one of the big benefits of a matching center: vertically aligned speakers for better off axis performance.

From what I have read here and other threads I understand that if there is a "complaint" about the VP150 (or any other center I suppose) is that it looses some of its luster when moving off-axis.
I was wondering if distance plays a factor? Being a bit of a newbie at this I am picturing the sound as coming to me in a fan, dispersing horizontally across the soundstage. In this scenario, the further back you are, the more likely you would be able to move and still get good sound.
Ok, I reread that last paragraph and it barely makes sense to me but I can't find a better way to phrase my thoughts.

Hrm, now I'm interested in the two VP150's vs. a single M80 for the center channel as well.

Now I know why my post above sounds so bad.

I meant to phrase it as a question.

Complaints was very appropriately put in quotes. It is sometimes hard to say whether or not something is a real or perceived issue.

That there is a dropoff in spl as you move off center is well established, but not whether or not it significantly affects your ability to hear what goes on in a movie, or the movie experience.

In my case, with no WAF and no significant cost difference I decided on dual M2s as a center to gain maximum theoretical advantage. I have no idea how much difference it makes.

Besides, that M2 pointing strait up over the display makes a nice phallic symbol. Mucho extra manpoints for that. If I add a mondo DIY sub I figure I qualify for the Man Card Platinum.

Ohn, you do not want to lay the m80 down, that would make no sense and defeat the whole design of the speaker. You might as well go to a VP150 which is designed for horizontal placement.