Is there any advantage to using a floorstanding center channel speaker(M60)
over a smaller traditional center channel speaker (vp150). I have read
articles that talk about using 2 of the vp150's for increased volume, but
would it not be easier to use 3 identical floorstanding speakers to have a
seamless transition. Also, I have read that the center and surround
channels in dolby digital are mixed to send sound below 100hz to the .1
channel. Is this why larger more bass capable center channels are not used
(because it would be pointless regardless of large/small or crossover
settings for the center channel)? Finally could you turn a floorstanding
speaker sideways, or would the off-axis response be horrible?
Thank you,
Christopher
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Hello Christopher,
I'll address your questions in somewhat random order:
"Also, I have read that the center and surround channels in dolby digital
are mixed to send sound below 100hz to the .1 channel. Is this why larger
more bass capable center channels are not used (because it would be
pointless regardless of large/small or crossover settings for the center
channel)? Finally could you turn a floorstanding speaker sideways, or would
the off-axis response be horrible?"
Yes, you've figured this out for yourself, as to why larger, more
bass-capable centers are rarely used. For most installations, they're
impractical and since bass frequencies below 90 Hz are non-directional, it's
easy to send the deep bass to one or more large subwoofers that are much
better equipped to handle those frequencies than all floorstanding speakers.
Theoretically, it's ideal to use three identical
speakers across the front, as they would be perfectly timbre-matched
(tonally identical). However, the realities of room effects and reflections
will make even identical left, center and right speakers sound slightly
different, sometimes quite different!
The dual VP150 approach is one that Axiom developed (Ian Colquhoun and
myself) not for increased volume (although that's an added benefit) but to
address the problem of large front projection screens, where mounting a
single VP150 above or below the screen sometimes causes the dialog to be
localized off-screen, at the center channel speaker, which is not desirable.
By running two centers in parallel (or in series), one mounted above and one
below the screen, the two centers phantom-image the dialog in the center of
the big screen, and it works perfectly.
Some might advocate perforated screens to get around this problem, but they
have their own liabilities (degraded video image plus spurious reflections
behind the screen that may degrade center-channel sound quality) and I don't
recommend them.
I would not recommend trying a floorstanding speaker in a horizontal
orientation. The dispersion and off-axis problems that may ensue would, I
suspect, result in tonal colorations that would make things worse.
Don't get carried away with Rives and the notion that all rooms need highly
specialized (and costly) "treatment." If your room has a normal mix of
absorbant and reflective surfaces, with standard furnishings--rug or carpet
on the floor, upholstered furniture, drywall walls (not painted concrete
block walls or cement floors!), some furniture to naturally break up
reflections, then with linear speakers like Axioms, you should not have to
apply room treatments at all. The latter are encouraged by the firms that
sell these services. I've heard rooms "treated" by Rives and they tend to be
dead-sounding and overly absorbant.
I'd also suggest that for uniform distribution of deep bass to all seating
locations, you consider two subwoofers, placed at the sides or end walls
opposite each other. Two subs will go a long way to getting rid of standing
waves that often cause highly variable bass in different seating locations,
the latter resulting from one sub operation.
Kind regards,
Alan
