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Listening Room<br />
Choosing a Centre Speaker<br />
There is a widespread suspicion<br />
among (possibly) paranoid<br />
consumers that surround<br />
sound was, all along, a plot<br />
to sell more speakers. And <strong>the</strong>re has<br />
been plenty of resistance. DVD players<br />
can feed a two-channel system, after all,<br />
with or without a subwoofer. And even<br />
in full Pro Logic surround systems, you<br />
could do without <strong>the</strong> centre channel, by<br />
simply selecting “ghost” centre. In many<br />
cases, Pro Logic actually sounded better<br />
that way.<br />
Some 5.1 channel systems can also<br />
run a phantom centre, but in most<br />
cases you’ll be missing something. A<br />
centre speaker now looks pretty much<br />
unavoidable. How important is it? Try<br />
unplugging it on a 5.1 channel system,<br />
and you’ll probably notice that no one is<br />
saying a word. Important? It may be <strong>the</strong><br />
most important speaker of <strong>the</strong> five.<br />
And don’t be misled by <strong>the</strong> fact that<br />
its main role seems to be to reproduce<br />
voices. The fact that cassette tapes are<br />
often classified as “voice” or “music”<br />
quality has always suggested that<br />
reproducing <strong>the</strong> human voice must be<br />
a piece of cake. It isn’t. Not only does<br />
<strong>the</strong> human voice have an astonishingly<br />
wide range, as opera fans know, but of all<br />
<strong>the</strong> musical “instruments,” it is <strong>the</strong> one<br />
most familiar to us. We may hear live<br />
bassoons, double basses and guitars only<br />
now and <strong>the</strong>n, but we hear live voices<br />
many times a day.<br />
Two more questions before we move<br />
on to <strong>the</strong> tests <strong>the</strong>mselves.<br />
Must <strong>the</strong> centre speaker be of <strong>the</strong><br />
same brand as <strong>the</strong> two o<strong>the</strong>r front speakers?<br />
Ideally sure, why not? Is it essential?<br />
Well, <strong>the</strong> central channel, as noted, carries<br />
mainly voices, which is why it is often<br />
referred to as <strong>the</strong> “dialog” speaker. Most<br />
modern film sound tracks are mixed with<br />
nearly all of <strong>the</strong> dialog in <strong>the</strong> centre, with<br />
Got home <strong>the</strong>atre?<br />
Got SACD surround?<br />
One of your speakers<br />
will be front and<br />
only a few “off screen” voices sent to <strong>the</strong><br />
left and right front channels, or of course<br />
to <strong>the</strong> rear. Insofar as <strong>the</strong> centre speaker<br />
is handling material different from that<br />
handled by <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs, exact matching<br />
is not important. Still, some filmmakers<br />
will pan <strong>the</strong> dialog across what is<br />
expected to be <strong>the</strong> width of <strong>the</strong> screen.<br />
That means a voice may be reproduced<br />
by both <strong>the</strong> centre speaker and one of<br />
<strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r front speakers. And some older<br />
films contain actual stereo dialog. Ah,<br />
<strong>the</strong> good old days!<br />
But a speaker of <strong>the</strong> same brand, or<br />
even <strong>the</strong> same model designation, is not<br />
necessarily a speaker that sounds <strong>the</strong><br />
same. The main channel speakers are<br />
designed to be tall and narrow, to place<br />
<strong>the</strong> tweeter at approximate ear height,<br />
and to afford optimum stereo imaging.<br />
Centre speakers, on <strong>the</strong> contrary, are<br />
made wide and low, so that <strong>the</strong>y don’t<br />
hide <strong>the</strong> screen. In many cases <strong>the</strong> two<br />
are of radically different design. Even<br />
in cases where <strong>the</strong> centre speaker is<br />
simply <strong>the</strong> main speaker turned on<br />
its side, <strong>the</strong> acoustical placement will<br />
pretty much guarantee that it won’t<br />
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY <strong>Magazine</strong> 31