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Center or Phantom Center?????

Why do we perfect our two channel setups.....and then add a center channel??? I know...it's for the 7.1 movie setup.....and it anchors the dialog....and all that jazz. But shouldn't a good stereo setup up front do the job? I'm gonna a/b test my phantom center mode with the center active mode and report back here.
hbrandt
boldstrummer
21 posts
 
Dosen't mixing the center channel info into the L&R channels cause phase cancelation?
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Boldstrummer...No. This is the same mixing that recording engineers do when that make stereo recordings from multitack original recordings.
bhouser
112 posts
 
HBrandt-

How did your Phantom vs. Real Center Channel Test go?

I have an EAD TheaterMaster as well, and just had to send my Talon Falcon C center channel speaker back to the factory to get it shielded. I really miss it, as my EAD doesn't seem to like being setup without a center when Dolby Digital or DTS signals are decoded. It gets very quiet compared to the same material in Down-mixed 'Digital Stereo', 2-chnl Stereo or Matrix modes, requiring a big change in volume between modes. And - before you ask - it IS sending the center information to the L/R mains, as I can hear all the dialog.

In all other modes, the center image provided by the EAD is just terrific - even way off-axis - enough so that I too would consider doing without a CC if it weren't for the fact that this configuration doesn't seem to work great with DD 5.1 signals as described. As it is, I want my center channel back NOW!

Maybe I don't have my EAD setup for Phantom mode correctly? Not sure - but it won't stay in this configuration much longer, anyway ....

BTW - I REALLY like the TheaterMaster. It's kinda daunting to learn the menu/interface, but the results are truly worth it.
sogood51
2,157 posts
 
Bhouser

I had the same findings, a center channel for DD/DTS is a must IMO. Anything else is a compromise in sound quality for these types of disc. Of course, if you only had a $50 center speaker and tried to blend it with your $2,000 main speakers things could get ugly.

Dave
bhouser
112 posts
 
Great point Dave-

That is why I went the extra step to get the monitor equivalent of my Talon Raven main floorstanders as a center channel. Timbre-matching and power handling are not a problem.

Of course, it is also kinda stretching the category of "Monitor" when referring to a speaker that has a 10" woofer, is rated down to 19hz and weighs 75 pounds!

B^D
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