Do you ...Center Channel?

Of course you have to be sitting in the sweet spot and you must not be using a discrete mutichannel source

Most DSP's handle even discrete data and will allocate the information to the speakers as necessary.

Obviously if you don't have a DSP and you are competely missing Center information then it will sound terrible. The same applies if you have a 0.1 channel and are not using a sub or do not have the ability to program the DSP to send 0.1 channel to your main speakers.

Missing channels DO need to be added back in to whatever you have in terms of speakers in order to mantain balance of the sound field (this is important if you have LESS speakers than discrete channels and is another reason why surround gest a bad rap from stereo people, as they don't do it justice by making sure they are using ALL the available information)

My system consist of 4 full range speakers. The problem with the center that I am considering (Vienna Acoustics Oratorio) is that it's shape is not the conventional rectangular box but the front side is angled toward the top so that the speaker can be positioned on the bottom of the tv without the need to angle the speaker toward the top. But that positioning would be too low according to what has been said around. The front speakers are 52" tall. And the center would sit well below. My impression is that the oratorio was designed with the HT in mind more then the MC music. So far I am listening multichannel music with four speakers.

Yes, own a center channel and use it both with music and HT. Why it is a no brainer for HT, using it on music, especially product done on SACD 5.1 disks, can give you sound stage that 'phantom' will never provide. An ideal way to give this a try is Miles Davis, kind of Blue. The original master tapes were three channel, mono. The 5.1 disk re-creates the master tape, three channel. The same material is available in regular SACD and regluar CD. Spin each CD and see what the difference can be.

Kal: Why do you find the center essential for multi-channel music? Assume the context of one person listening--so no issues with being off axis. I would have thought that in that context a "phantom" center would be fine. Are there phase variations that are extracting more information than that which would be effectively summed from the left and right speaker? I value your experience in MC music.

Now, I want to take it one step further. Let's say the center channel is not identical to the mains as is the case for most home theaters. In that context, is using the center for MC music still the better way to go--or is 3 channels matched essential to good MC music?

Last question--and then I'll let you go. How imporant is matching the rear speakers for MC music? I know 5 matched channels is the best way to go for this application, but few people have this set-up and typically invest far more heavily in the left and right mains. So I'm just trying to understand the relative compromises in your experience.

Sorry--didn't mean to turn this into an MC music thread--but it is relavent to the importance of the center channel.

If your speakers are set up for multichannel, the left and right are too far apart for stereo. With a 2-channel source like a CD you must come up with a center signal/speaker, or be faced with moving speakers around when playing a stereo recording.

I have yet to find a 2-channel recording that is not improved by using a center channel. This is not true about matrix-generated rear channels, although a very few stereo recordings respond well.