Choosing a center channel: the dilemma...

Avidfan

Hey everyone, first post here. So here's my situation. I have Polk RT15's in front and R1's in back, and I'm happy with them. The center, however, is throwing my for a curve. I happen to have two centers in my possession, a Definitive Tech C1jr, and a Polk CS100. Now logic would dictate that in the interest of having a timbre matched system the Polk CS100 belongs as the center, but it's not that simple. First of all, the dual 4" in woofers in the CS100 do not share any similarities with the 5 1/4" woofers in the RT15's. I don't think they share a tweeter either. In this respect, the RT15's would seem to have more in common with the Def Tech, with it's single 5 1/4 in woofer and 1" soft dome tweeter. Not taking into account physical similarities, I've tried to determine which speaker best matches the RT15's sonically, not to mention which one sounds better. This is proving to be difficult however. With some material such as a female vocalist, the Polk CS100 seems to be a closer match, but the Def Tech seems to present the instruments cleaner, and less muddled, especially in the percussion. To compound this, I'm finding it nearly impossible to do a meaningful A/B comparison as this requires unplugging one speaker and plugging in the other, and then playing the same musical passage or movie scene. It's hard to judge whether one is actually better than the other because by the time I've switched them, I can't accuratly remember what the first one sounded like. Is the second one actually better, or just different? Is the sound affected because one speaker is sitting slightly higher than the other? Does one play louder than the other at the same volume setting? Am I inposing my own bias on the sound? You see my problem. Does anyone have some experience with these speakers? Does anyone have a better method for comparing two speakers short of a double-blind lab test? Any personal preference? Any help you guys could give would be appriciated.

Thanks,
Jason

dbournival

Hi Jason,

This is the problem many of us face when we cannot hear 2 speakers (or other equipment) as A/B. I always question which of my 2 systems sound better. Maybe try one for a week and then try the other. If the differences are so slight that you do not know if there is a difference just choose which one looks better...

mantis

Umm no,
using different brands is not Ideal for home theater.Mix and match id you must but I would never tell or do it myself.If the choice was made to use the rt15 main speakers, then the correct choice would be to get the Polk matching center.On this site is a matching chart.Use it and it will tell you the correct center for the system.
If you like DSef Techs sound then by all means use them....all of them.Def Tech's centerchannel will sound alot better using the correct speakers to go with them.
My opnion and I stick by it.

Avidfan

What about using a third RT15 as the center? Using the same speakers for the R/C/L would seem to be ideal, but would the horizontal placement of the speaker compromise the sound quality?

Jason

RuSsMaN

Actually, that will be the ONLY way to perfectly 'timbre' match your front stage. 3 indentical speakers.

Horizontal placement should not affect the sound. Just make sure to use the 'rubber feet' to somewhat isolate it from whatever it is set on.

Cheers,
Russ

Avidfan

Well, that's what I'll do then. I just won a single RT15i off Ebay, so I guess that's where the two other centers will go.

Thanks for your advice,
Jason