Centre Speaker for LSIM 705

PeterPiper wrote: »

Many thanks for your suggestions. The 706 is not on sale at present at Adorama but I'll keep and eye out. I have not heard of the Reserve R400 but it looks pretty impressive. I'd be all over the 706C at $399 so here's hoping @Rooftop59..sub in the master bedroom ??!! Very well done haha

shs wrote: »

The R400 is a 2-way MTM design. No way it can be as good a center channel as the 3-way 703 or 706c

shs wrote: »

Horizontal 2-way MTM designs inherently have a poor off-axis response for the critical upper midrange because of the beaming or lobing of the two horizontally spaced woofers. The physics is clear on that. I can see however, that sitting on axis, the limited horizontal dispersion might be experienced as an increase in clarity from the center channel. Not good however if you are sitting off axis. Even on axis, the sound field from the horizontal center might not blend well with the vertical left and right front speakers because of the different off-axis responses. No doubt a 2-way with good components may sound better than a 3-way with poor components, but that is not the case with the R-400 and 706c. The problems with a 2-way MTM center are well documented and discussed in many places.

Audioholics wrote:

A Compromise to Improve Horizontal MTM Performance
An interesting compromise is the approach that some companies take with their center channel box speakers. (See figure 4, an Atlantic Technology center channel speaker.) They use an “optimized” M-T-M-type of design, whereby the tweeter is raised well above the horizontal centerline of the two midranges. We’ll call this the “raised-tweeter” approach.




The raised-tweeter approach to center-channel design preserves the few advantages that a horizontal MTM has (higher sensitivity, increased power handling, etc), but significantly improves on a horizontal MTM center's greatest shortcoming—its very restricted horizontal dispersion. Raised tweeter centers are much better than a conventional MTM center in that regard, both because the tweeter is not in the same horizontal plane as the woofers and because elevating the tweeter allows the woofers to be brought in significantly closer together. (Remember, two identical drivers covering the same frequency range behave as if they were an oval driver of their combined outer distances apart. Driver directionality is primarily a function of the relationship of the radiated wavelength to the effective piston diameter of the driver. Other factors can also affect directionality, such as cone shape, cone stiffness, breakup modes, among others, but the first determinant of directionality is driver size.) Bringing the dual midranges in much closer to each other minimizes the distance between their acoustic centers, for an effectively smaller radiating dimension, which maximizes their horizontal dispersion.

It is true that that merely elevating the tweeter in a horizontal MTM center is nowhere near as good as a true 3-way with a tweeter above the midrange (with that array between two woofers) with the woofer-to-midrange crossover low enough so the woofers aren't directional in the horizontal plane—assuming the 3-way design uses components of at least the same quality as a 2-way center. This is critical—a “cheap” 3-way that uses inferior drivers and poorly-selected crossover points will sound markedly worse than a well-designed 2-way center that uses high-quality components.

But....the "counter-argument" article posited that a 2-way MTM horizontal center did have a few things going for it, like higher sensitivity and very good power-handling (and hence low distortion) because you had two beefy drivers handling the midrange as opposed to a single smaller midrange in a 3-way center.

Great Center Channel - Crystal Clear Dialogue
I was looking for center channel speaker to improve the loudness and quality of dialogue. I shopped these and equivalent from Martin Logan, Bowers and Wilkins and KEF at price points much higher than Polk. The clarity of dialogue, very clear and distinct. Sound Stage is very broad with a variety of sitting positions available and no loss of sound quality - some of the more expensive equivalents had a very precise sweet spot or sound stage, I found that objectionable considering their price. I have the black finish, which looks similar to a grey slate monolith - gorgeous. Speaker grills are magnetic, and I'm torn between leaving the grills on or off - they are beautiful. It's the perfect match for the movie genre I watch most. I have better sound vs. the competition and spent less. Can't beat that...

Incredibly good
I replaced my Polk LSIM 704c center channel with this one, and all I can say is WOW! The clarity of dialogue on this center is really, really impressive! And the thing I liked most was how it handles male voices, especially deeper ones. It sounded completely natural and accurate at all times, and sibilance with s and sh were perfect. For the money, you can't do better.

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing voice clarity at this price point
I have previously had the Polk LSiM 704c and also the Legend L400 center and to me, the R400 is the best price/performance center that Polk makes. I am just blown away by how crystal clear the dialog is when watching movies in my home theater. The pinnacle tweeter in this center channel is just awesome! I do have it paired with an Outlaw Model 5000 amp so it's getting about 125 watts, and it totally rocks! I also like that I can get it right up against the wall without any boominess. Just perfection to me!

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfection at under $600🔊
Massive Size and Sound, but Beautifully delivers music and movies with accurate detail. Coming from a Polk Signature Series S30, the R400 is breathtaking in its delivery. It brings everything to life

Dialogue in the scenes leading up to the main Godzilla vs. Kong bout—which takes place on an aircraft carrier at sea, no less—had consistently good clarity. I also had no complaints about tonal shifts in human voices when sitting off to one side of my six-foot-wide couch. And while I had no issues with dialogue sounding strained in my medium-sized home theater, I also wondered if the Reserve series' R400 "Performance" center speaker would do better justice to the titanic roars of Godzilla, Kong, and crew, especially in a larger room.

mrloren wrote: »

rooftop59 wrote: »

Is your center stuffed inside a cabinet @mrloren?

Yes, full open back cabinet