Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo bookshelf speaker as center channel

I'm intrigued by Alan's comments. If it were anyone else I would probably dismiss it, but this is a guy that has spent years using his ears to validate things.

Hi Fredk and Mike,

At the risk of further confusing the issue, while the idea of three identical speakers across the front is appealing, the practical reality is that because of specific placement issues and the vagaries of an individual room, using an identical speaker as a center channel won't guarantee that it will tonally sound identical to its left and right-channel mates, especially if you use pink noise as a test signal.

Pink noise (the standard test signal built into most AV receivers) is extremely critical. If you switch between left, center, and right using say, three M2s or three M22s, in most rooms and setups the tonal balance will vary, which many enthusiasts initially find disconcerting. The upside is that all Axiom speakers, including the VP100 and VP150, are tonally very close and with some experimentation in placement will produce a seamless blend with music or movie soundtracks.

I can't really tell you whether you'd prefer the sound of an M2 or M22 over a VP100 or 150 used as a center. With a proper A/B switching setup, you might conclude that they are so close in tonal balance as to be called "similarly good". I do not think you'd be disappointed using either the VP100 or an M2 as a center.

Regards,

Alan

From my own personal experience and Alan mentioned about being able to boost the centre channel in the receiver is a big deal. I find source material to be very inconsistent with how the centre is mixed more than any other aspect in the soundtracks. Sometimes it is mixed much to low or to high where it blows you away. Having that type of flexibility to adjust the centre channel volume is great with a dedicated center especialyy if you watch a lot of tv where the sound program material varies dramatically from channel to channel and even from program to program on the exact same station.

THanks to all for your replies.

I plan to get 2-M2's and a VP100 center.

Next - onto the receiver selection - I am leaning towards a mid-priced Denon.

Denon is a very popular brand on these forums, great choice! Get the Denon model that has the features you want because any of their models will drive your system with ease. Actually any reputable manufacturer of a/v receivers will work great in your case.

You have been very helpful Doc! Thanks.

I have read good things about Onkyo and Denon.
I also need a DVD player and will probably get that from Denon as well.

Are you not interested in a Blu-ray player? They will play your current DVD collection as well. The blu-ray format is an amazing thing, the picture and sound quality is superb.

I certainly wouldn't spend the money on a Denon DVD player.

OPPO

I would not spend alot on a DVD player at this point in the formats history. However you can get them very cheap now less than $100.

Personally I would invest in a Blu-ray player. Brands such as OPPO, Panasonic, Sony and Samsung make very good quality players at competitive prices. Denon also makes a decent blu-ray player but they are usually priced much higher than the above. I like OPPO and Panasonic in this regards when it comes to price and peformance.