Recommendations? Need center for Monitor 12's

jrdorst
jrdorst Posts: 3
edited September 2013 in Vintage Speakers
Hi. I have been a happy owner of Monitor 12's since the early 80's. Currently they reside in the entertainment room mostly used to provide the audio for movies. They sound great, even after all these years.

I'm wondering if anyone has a suggestion for the best center channel speaker to accompany them. I expect that we will stick with a 2.1 system. I've read that the center is very useful for movies, etc. as it's the primary sound source for much of the presentation.

If you have any questions that may help you with your answer, please ask away.

Thanks

John Dorst
Post edited by jrdorst on
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Comments

  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,639
    edited September 2013
    WELCOME to CLUB POLK....just a thought. How about a Monitor 5 or Monitor 7 for timbre match. Sure others will chime in
    ..
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  • halo71
    halo71 Posts: 4,603
    edited September 2013
    Welcome aboard! I really have no recommendations other than a Monitor 7 or 10. But then again it would be a shame to split one up for just a center channel. If you were running 6.1 it would be another story though.
    --Gary--
    Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out.
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  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,086
    edited September 2013
    halo71 wrote: »
    Welcome aboard! I really have no recommendations other than a Monitor 7 or 10. But then again it would be a shame to split one up for just a center channel. If you were running 6.1 it would be another story though.
    Why split them up? :wink:

    rxd2.jpg
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
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  • halo71
    halo71 Posts: 4,603
    edited September 2013
    ^ I take back what I said! Nice setup there....
    --Gary--
    Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out.
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  • jrdorst
    jrdorst Posts: 3
    edited September 2013
    Nightfall wrote: »
    Why split them up? :wink:

    So - did you just connect both of them to the center channel?

    Or has anyone tried any of the center channel speakers that Polk has on the market now? Or are they enough different that they'd be difficult to listen to?
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  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,086
    edited September 2013
    jrdorst wrote: »
    So - did you just connect both of them to the center channel?

    Or has anyone tried any of the center channel speakers that Polk has on the market now? Or are they enough different that they'd be difficult to listen to?

    Yes. You can either wire them in parallel, doubling the impedance, or you can wire them in series, halving the impedance.

    If you're against using vintage monitors as a center, it's a general consensus that the CS400 or CS400i are a decent timber match to vintage Polks.
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
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  • jrdorst
    jrdorst Posts: 3
    edited September 2013
    Nightfall wrote: »
    Yes. You can either wire them in parallel, doubling the impedance, or you can wire them in series, halving the impedance.

    If you're against using vintage monitors as a center, it's a general consensus that the CS400 or CS400i are a decent timber match to vintage Polks.

    Thanks for the info. Not necessarily against using them - it does seem a bit excessive, though as they are amazing speakers. It's mostly a space consideration. Thanks for the recommendation of the CS400 or CS400i. I'll take a listen to them.
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  • Msabot1
    Msabot1 Posts: 2,098
    edited September 2013
    Hey....you will get a lot of useful info here...I have been using a CSIA4 center and am quite happy with the performance! Look it up on the Polk Audio site...will run ya the specs and give ya visuals of the finishes ect!
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  • zingo
    zingo Posts: 11,258
    edited September 2013
    How about a Monitor 5Jr? They are small, but use the same drivers, so should be a perfect match similar to the Monitor 7s posted above.
    Jake
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  • StantonZ
    StantonZ Posts: 444
    edited September 2013
    I run a pair of Monitor 4's as a center channel in my surround sound setup of Monitor 10's. The reason for my post is if you want to get an (old) amp/receiver that is specifically designed to handle "parallel" centers (it sounds as though you don't yet have a surround sound amp), look for an old Yamaha DSP 3090 (DD only) or A1 (adds DTS): I've used both with great results (see my sig).
    Yamaha RX-A2050 AVR (5.0.2); LG OLED77C2 4K TV
    (4) Polk Monitor 10B's w/SoniCaps, Mills, and RDO-194 tweets (R/L F/R)
    (2) Polk RC80i (Top Middle)
    Polk CS300 center channel
    Analog: B&O TX2 Turntable, Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1
    Digital: Pioneer CLD-99 Elite LD, Panasonic DMP-UB900 UHD Blu-Ray
    Bedroom: Arylic Up2Stream AMPv3 driving Polk Monitor 4's w/peerless tweets
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  • ken brydson
    ken brydson Posts: 8,761
    edited September 2013
    jrdorst wrote: »
    Thanks for the info. Not necessarily against using them - it does seem a bit excessive, though as they are amazing speakers. It's mostly a space consideration. Thanks for the recommendation of the CS400 or CS400i. I'll take a listen to them.

    CS350LS is a decent match as well.
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  • Mystery
    Mystery Posts: 2,546
    edited September 2013
    jrdorst wrote: »
    Nightfall wrote: »
    Why split them up? :wink:

    So - did you just connect both of them to the center channel?

    Or has anyone tried any of the center channel speakers that Polk has on the market now? Or are they enough different that they'd be difficult to listen to?

    It'll be awfully difficult to have a pair of 10's as center channel just because of their size and weight.
    I won't go over 5's if using a pair on the TV stand.

    If you can use them on the floor with TV mounted on the wall, then no problem but a pair of 10's as center is overkill.

    Klipsch RB81, KG3.5, B&W DM602.5, Polk.
    Subwoofers: Klipsch RW10, Triad ProSub Bronze.
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  • westmassguy
    westmassguy Posts: 6,850
    edited September 2013
    You can always roll your own like I did:
    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?150760-My-Center-Channel-Project
    Home Theater/2 Channel:
    Front: SDA-2ATL forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/143984/my-2as-finally-finished-almost/p1
    Center: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/150760/my-center-channel-project/p1
    Surrounds & Rears: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/151647/my-surround-project/p1
    Sonicaps, Mills, RDO-194s-198s, Dynamat, Hurricane Nuts, Blackhole5
    Pioneer Elite VSX-72TXV, Carver PM-600, SVS PB2-Plus Subwoofer

    dhsspeakerservice.com/
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  • gmjungbluth
    gmjungbluth Posts: 232
    edited September 2013
    I used a recapped Series II Monitor 5JR as a center and was quite happy.
    HT System:
    Marantz NR-1403
    Front: Klipsch CF-4
    Rear: Paradigm Atom V3
    Center: Boston Acoustic VR12
    Sub: Bowers & Wilkins ASW600

    2Ch:
    Restored Fisher 500C
    Yamaha P-500 Turntable

    Living Room:
    Harman Kardon 3380
    Restored Polk Monitor 7B

    Bedroom:
    Harman Kardon VR-3750
    Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble
    Polk PSW10

    In and out of rotation:
    KLH Model 6,
    Polk LSI7
    NAD 7100
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