Which Center to choose
Options
I'm just someone who loves to feel like they are in the movie, and doing some upgrades after moving into a place with bigger bonus (25x20 with a stairwell going off the side). Because of that and my aging ears my older polk system is getting lost in the space. I have recently upgraded several components and now need the center to help hear the voices better. My watch list is either the Legend L400 or LSiM 706C. I know the L400 is the center to have, but also a needle in the haystack kind of item. Is it "that" much better than the LSiM 706C? I'm based in NC, and have found MarketPlace offerings in TN and VA running from $400 - $650. I have a post in WTB section and someone shared another from e-Bay but think that was higher. The only L400 is $1,200 and all the way down in TX. just trying to decide if the L400 is worth the significantly higher price tag and what appears to be a much longer wait to come available.
These are the centers recommended by ChatGPT based on my current set-up for best match. To help as I think it will help. My current set-up is:
Onkyo TX-RZ30 receiver
SVS PB 3000 sub
RTi70 front towers
CSiA6 center (new a few weeks ago as an opportunity great deal until i can find the bigger one)
SVS Prime Elevation Atmos front high
FXi30 surrounds
RTi A3 rear surrounds
Really appreciate any advice from those who have experience with either of the mentioned centers, or if there's another option i haven't considered (I really like the sound from the older Polks). Thanks, Herb
These are the centers recommended by ChatGPT based on my current set-up for best match. To help as I think it will help. My current set-up is:
Onkyo TX-RZ30 receiver
SVS PB 3000 sub
RTi70 front towers
CSiA6 center (new a few weeks ago as an opportunity great deal until i can find the bigger one)
SVS Prime Elevation Atmos front high
FXi30 surrounds
RTi A3 rear surrounds
Really appreciate any advice from those who have experience with either of the mentioned centers, or if there's another option i haven't considered (I really like the sound from the older Polks). Thanks, Herb
Best Answer
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Try a handheld Sound Pressure Level (SPL) meter to verify Dirac is getting the relative speaker volume levels correct. Increasing the center channel speaker level isn't necessarily a bad thing. I usually bump mine a dB or two above the SPL measured levels. Going above +3dB manually may be too much and is best corrected in the receiver.
Running a center speaker that's not closely tone or timbre matched with the main speakers is almost as bad as using two different speaker models as the main front speakers. The Polk L speaker lines are a mismatch with the RT speaker lines.
Special effects sound don't usually come from the center channel. That speaker channel is mainly for center screen dialog and panning across the front soundstage.
Answers
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I missed a word in there. The first couple of prices listed $400 - $650 are for the LSiM 706C
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CSiA6 is a fabulous center.
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CSiA6 is a fabulous center.
^THIS^
In addition, neither the L400 or the LSiM706 are a timbre match to any of your current speakers.
If anything you should consider replacing the RTi70 with the RTiA7 or RTiA9. It's really important to have, at a minimum, the front 3 timbre matched for the best results.
Last comment, it's bloody obvious that ChatGPT is clueless and should never be used for audio related info...or anything else for that matter.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
I think it's stemming from the fact that I sit 17' away from the speaker due to the design of the room and my sectional. Paired with my hearing starting to fail, it thinks i need to have a the three way design of the LSiM 706C (it's pushing me here) and a L400 as the perfect solution to help carry voices so that I can hear. I end up turning up the volume on the center and then special effects are incredibly loud. I rant Dirac with the new receiver and then did a +3.5 on the CSiA6 to help, but it's still lacking. I really don't understand all the terms it spits out, so I thought I might come here for assistance and to keep me grounded. There is a chance that I'll end up with a pair of LSiM 705's too, but i think the old RTi70/s are doing much better now that I have added the SVS PB 3000 and calibrated. They seem to have come to life more than ever before.
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I should also add that this is a theater room, and I do not play music through them. Is that where timbre comes in? I'll research that word so I understand better. It had mentioned the timbre mismatch, but then said the Dirac calibration would smooth that out?? I really appreciate the feedback!!
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Timbre in this case means the speakers are voiced the same. Dirac cannot make different speakers sound the same.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
If you have trouble hearing with the CSiA6 those other centers are not going to help as both are voiced softer.it thinks i need to have a the three way design of the LSiM 706C (it's pushing me here) and a L400 as the perfect solution to help carry voices so that I can hear.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Sit closer, 17' jeesh do you have like a 120" screen?
A.I. is a joke on many aspects, yes it works on some stuff but really screws the pooch on a multitude of others.
A.I. doesn't listen with your ears.
$1,000 is a steep price to find out that we're correct here and AI is wrong. -
Sit closer, 17' jeesh do you have like a 120" screen?
A.I. is a joke on many aspects, yes it works on some stuff but really screws the pooch on a multitude of others.
A.I. doesn't listen with your ears.
$1,000 is a steep price to find out that we're correct here and AI is wrong.
I wish I could, but there's two walk in dormers between me and the entertainment center. Massive room, just not a great layout. I just upgraded from a 60" to a 77" and its so much better. I really appreciate the help! -
The positioning of the center speaker could be an issue. Is the center speaker sitting inside a cabinet, on a shelf, or on a speaker stand? Sometimes a center speaker has to be placed physically too low to sound its best in a system. Any obstacles between your ears and the speaker and is it aligned so it's drivers are pointed directly at you?
The dormers could also be causing acoustic interference problems with the speakers that are not correctable. -
The positioning of the center speaker could be an issue. Is the center speaker sitting inside a cabinet, on a shelf, or on a speaker stand? Sometimes a center speaker has to be placed physically too low to sound its best in a system. Any obstacles between your ears and the speaker and is it aligned so it's drivers are pointed directly at you?
The dormers could also be causing acoustic interference problems with the speakers that are not correctable.
That was my first attempt to solve the issue. The Center is on the top shelve of a lower entertainment center, which had them basically pointed at my knee's. A quick solution was to add 8" by placing yoga blocks under them and it is now firing at my chest. Room layout really sucks, but it is what it is.
I have 9' of wall space with dormers on the left, then a door way to upstairs hallway and laundry room to the right. Then the right side opens up but has a half wall where the stairwell goes down to the kitchen (over the garage bonus). I sit most of the way to the back (just past the second dormer) and the backwall is 25' acrost. sectional wraps around causing a walkway between the back of sectional and half wall for the stairs...
This is why i am considering a wider sound stage up front. Keep the surrounds in the same tonal family, but update my fronts to LSiM (706C and eventually 705 towers). I have read that they provide a wider sound stage and fill the large space better. I can't afford the Legend front end, just heard the L400 was the best center Polk ever made and wasn't sure how far off the sound would be from mixing my other speakers in. -
Last comment, it's bloody obvious that ChatGPT is clueless and should never be used for audio related info...or anything else for that matter.
Don't sugarcoat it Jesse, tell me how you really feel!
Marantz AV10-Emotiva ERC3-Denafrips Venus-Panasonic UB9000-AudioQuest Power Quest 707-Emotiva DR3, DR2, XPA2, XPA6-Focal Kanta No2, Sopra Center-PolkAudio RTiA9, RTiA3, LSiM 702F/X-Epik Empire-11.2 -
I would caution you against the LSiM, there is no longer parts available for them. The Legend has also been discontinued. The Reserve series are very good and Polks TOTL at present. Many folks who have bought the Reserve series have made mention of the wide soundstage they throw. Something to think about.This is why i am considering a wider sound stage up front. Keep the surrounds in the same tonal family, but update my fronts to LSiM (706C and eventually 705 towers). I have read that they provide a wider sound stage and fill the large space better. I can't afford the Legend front end, just heard the L400 was the best center Polk ever made and wasn't sure how far off the sound would be from mixing my other speakers in.
On your current center channel, IF it is sitting back on the top shelf bring it forward so there is none of the the top shelf below the front of the speaker cabinet. I have found that to really mess with projection on many center channels. In other words bring the drivers to the front edge of the shelf, see if that helps.
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My watch list is either the Legend L400 or LSiM 706C.
Your RTi70's have a silk dome tweeter, same as the CSiA6. The L400 and LSiM706 both have a ring radiator tweeter. Your timbre match is much closer with your current set up and is especially important for movies. Your front stage should be timbre matched as mentioned before, I think F1 pointed this out. Also mentioned was placement and set up and that's where your focus should be.
If ChatGPT advised you to mix tweeters for your front stage, I'd look for advice elsewhere.Marantz AV10-Emotiva ERC3-Denafrips Venus-Panasonic UB9000-AudioQuest Power Quest 707-Emotiva DR3, DR2, XPA2, XPA6-Focal Kanta No2, Sopra Center-PolkAudio RTiA9, RTiA3, LSiM 702F/X-Epik Empire-11.2 -
Perhaps I'm missing something, but why do the dormers on the left keep you from sitting closer? 17' is not a theater experience on a 77" TV. I have a 100" projector screen and sit about 10' from it. A 77" screen should have you at 10' or closer. I don't think going to 3-way design is going to magically help your perceived weakness in mid-range. It's not like the CSiA6 has a dip in the response curve, nor do the 3-way designs have a peak in the mid-range. Sound disperses the further you are from the source and that will always make it weaker. Get up there closer! Try sitting at 10' as a test, and re-run the calibration for that position.Post edited by billbillw at
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Perhaps I'm missing something, but why do the dormers on the left keep you from sitting closer? 17' is not a theater experience on a 77" TV. I have a 100" projector screen and sit about 10' from it. A 77" screen should have you at 10' or closer. I don't think going to 3-way design is going to magically help your perceived weakness in mid-range. It's not like the CSiA6 has a dip in the response curve, nor do the 3-way designs have a peak in the mid-range. Sound disperses the further you are from the source and that will always make it weaker. Get up there closer! Try sitting at 10' as a test, and re-run the calibration for that position.
I can't move the sectional closer for many reasons. The dormers are walk in, not just a dormer window above a partial wall. In the walk in dormer are games and DVD storage, so access can't be blocked. Bigger than that is the right side (from seated position) as that is where the sectional curves around. Moving any closer would close off the path to the stairwell on that right side.
The claim (online searches) is that the 706C or L400 have a much wider sound stage for off angle seating (those on the other side of sectional), and carries further (the 17' is what triggered the recommendation for those two centers). Since I'm just a novice who simply enjoys the theater experience at home, I came here for more expert opinions from humans as I know AI is regularly wrong :-) I had to go back and see how it worded it when comparing the A6 to 706C "due to its dedicated 3-way driver design. It provides clearer dialogue and wider dispersion, preventing vocals from sounding muffled or strained as the sound travels to the back of the room" I know it's not a perfect match to the RTi70's, but i'm also looking at replacing those with LSiM 705's. The total cost would be about $1,400-$1,500 for that replacement of the front stage, so wondering from those with experience if that money spend is going to produce a valuable "wow" factor going from CSiA6+RTi70's to the 706C + 705's.
