Hate to ask......

I will most likely catch it from Cornfed, but my two channel system is also my HT system, and they occupy the same space.

I agree with him that you cannot have ANYTHING in between your stereo speakers, so my big screen Pioneer goes away and comes back (on wheels) when it is needed for HT. My center channel is a Vandersteen Dialogue speaker, powered by an Atmasphere OTL. All is wired with Purist Proteous speaker and interconnect cables. My side channels ( were ) Fosgate SD 180 THX bipolars powered by mono bloc Sound Valves with Telefunken tubes. These too were wired with Purist Proteous speaker and interconnect cables.

In anticipation of the new Dolby system ( with rear centers ), I just purchased four B&W surround speakers last week to replace my Fosgates. I plan to install them as the construction/acoustical project in my listening room draws to a close. I have already had the sweep tests run by a recording studio design firm, and know exactly where and how to treat the space.

My movie player is the Sony SACD/DVD 9000, and there are multiple runs of precision video cable from the progressive scan out to an outlet in the floor beside my right channel. These hook up directly to the big screen Pioneer only on Friday and Saturday night when the family groups up for movies.

My stereo speakers are Soundlab Ultimate 1's powered by Wolcott tube mono blocks. These become the right and left channel for the HT when all is fired up. I also have two 15" sub woofers manufactured by Unisphere of Canada which are run exclusively by the sub woofer outputs on my processor. Otherwise it, and all the other HT gear is disconnected from the wall when it is time for the two channel to reign supreme.

My Callisto preamp has one input marked video. I select that input and the signal from the Dolby 5.1 processor ( FRONT channel only ) is fed through that input. My Callisto's preselected volume setting is 12:00 O'clock, and the long run of Dominus RLS cable between it and my Mono blocks remains undisturbed.

At this point, the remote control for the Dolby Digital 5.1 processor becomes the volume control for the entire system. When the movies are done, the HT system is disconnected from the AC supplies, and the stereo system stands alone again until the next family gathering for movies.

Could better HT be had? I have heard many systems demo'ed at stores in various cities, and multiple times at CES over the years. Mine will not play as loud as most of the crash bang demo's I have suffered through, but mine is the lowest distortion and most magic I have ever heard. It is fun enough to enjoy and will still allow you to watch the movie and accept the sound as part of the visual experience rather than the reason for its existence.

To Kjg and some of the others, a center channel works best if you have your mains spread out quite a bit and you are seated a bit away from the screen. There is NO advantage to using a center channel if the mains are only 6' - 10' apart ( depending on their size ) and your sitting on top of the screen. Given a situation like that, it is probably a disadvantage so long as your mains are "decent".

In a wider room and sitting back a reasonable distance from the screen, mains that are spaced a good distance apart add even more "ambience" or "spacial cues" to sound effects and imaging. After all, a plane that buzzes from left to center to right in an 8' distance sounds a LOT different than one that motors across a 13' - 15' distance and slowly blends from left to center to right. Of course, not everyone has the room to accomodate such a system or speakers big enough to work well in a situation like that.

Something else that comes into play in a major way in situations like this is the dispersion patterns for the mains and center. Most people don't even think about the height or angle of the center speaker or take the time to properly aim it. Like anything else, "garbage in equals garbage out". It takes effort and planning to get ANYTHING to work at full potential. Sean
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Don't hate it. I have 3 systems. One is HT. I just can't imagine paying big bucks for a sound system to watch movies. Being all digital, and sometimes not very good digital, is it really high end most of the time?? My HT system sounds pretty good and I got it for a song buying mostly store demos.

FYI- My modest HT system is: (4) B&W 302 on Target Stands; CC-3 center; REL Q100E Subwoofer; Toshiba DVD Player; Onkyo AC3/DTS Receiver; Panasonic 32" TV; Audio Power Pack II and Monster conditioners. Synergy S30 Rack. Homebrew cables.

Ken,
I think Kelly was referring to the TV between the mains, not the center.
Sean,
Don't you think the mains can be too far apart? I would find it very unnatural to have sounds on the left side of the room (in the program) apparently coming from the next county over. Granted, most people have them too close to the TV, and too far recessed. But it's a huge improvement just to pull them out a couple feet and put the center on a stand in front of the TV. You really have to have a center channel to anchor the dialog for anyone not sitting in the sweet spot.

I needed a new 2 channel system last fall, but thought lets see how I could combine it with a HT set-up. I ended up with an Antheum AVM2 preamp driving Paradigm referance active 40s for mains, center, bipolar surrounds and Servo 15 sub. Everything is connected with XLR balanced lines. I could not be happier with it for both HT and 2 channel sound. The AVM2 even lets you create different enviroments if you like: theater, club, church, hall, statium, etc. or none.