phantom centre speaker

[Tomas]

Hi,

I am using stereo set up Rotel & B&W for music and films. Musical performance is great, however dialogs (vocals) in films are a bit pushed back and hard to understand at lower volume levels. If I watch films loud than every action seen shake my house.

I don’t want to change my amplifier, neither speakers and I also do not want to by matching centre B&W cmc2(900EUR) + AV receiver(+1000EUR) if possible as I do not “need/want” 5.1 setup.

So far I have tried to change settings on my BD player with no success. The problem is when playing from TV or Minix Neo X8 as well. All connected via digital interface.

My question is:

If I buy second hand or lower end AV receiver/processor and use it only as preamplifier connected to my system will I be able to set “phantom centre speaker” to improve dialogs (vocals) in films? Or Is there any “universal” BD/CD player with possibility of sound settings that would solve my problem?

Thank you for any suggestions...

 

[fr0g]

See if you can find a Yamaha DSP E-800 second hand on Ebay. You should not pay more than about £50-£80 (They were £300+ many years ago)

I have one unused, but I'm in Sweden...

Essentially it takes care of rear, centre and sub for you and leaves your stereo amp to do the front 2.

*You will need a centre speaker by the way. Although you *don't* need to buy the matching one, although it is preferable. But if you're mainly interested in stereo, a cheaper centre will still give you a far better, clearer dialogue.

* It obviously doesn't do all the modern tricks either. Basic Dolby digital/ DTS.

If I was still using a stereo amp, I'd still be using it for AV...

 

[richardw42]

It might be worth finding a cheap AVR to try as a preamp.

I use my Yamaha RXV3067 as a hdmi hub / preamp to active speakers (no centre) and it sounds superb. There might be a weakness with the out on your tv. Tbh, some tv manufactures are better than others. I'm not usually into audio voodoo, but if you're happy to do a cheap experiment, why not ?

 

[steve_1979]

The Yamaha RX-V667 has a phantom centre option and can sometimes be picked up for about £100.

It also has pre-outs if you want to keep using your existing amplifier.

 

[steve_1979]

See if you can find a Yamaha DSP E-800 second hand on Ebay. You should not pay more than about £50-£80 (They were £300+ many years ago)

I have one unused, but I'm in Sweden...

Hi fr0g.

If ever you want to sell that DSP E-800 (and don't mind posting to the UK) I might be interested. PM me on the AVI forum if you're interested.

EDIT - Actually forget that. I've just checked eBay and there loads of them on there. *fool*

 

[fr0g]

See if you can find a Yamaha DSP E-800 second hand on Ebay. You should not pay more than about £50-£80 (They were £300+ many years ago)

I have one unused, but I'm in Sweden...

Hi fr0g.

If ever you want to sell that DSP E-800 (and don't mind posting to the UK) I might be interested. PM me on the AVI forum if you're interested.

EDIT - Actually forget that. I've just checked eBay and there loads of them on there. *fool*

Not to mention, postage to the UK would cost as much as the going price.

Still, a great piece of kit and imo exactly what the OP could use.

I don't personally think a phantom speaker works particularly well. If music is priority, you own a stereo amp and you just want to get a proper centred dialogue for TV/films, a Yamaha DSP-E800 and a £100 centre speaker(say £50 second hand) are a very cheap option.

 

[Tomas]

Thanks for the reply, I'll have to have a look on ebay. The problem is tha I live in Spain now, so pstage from UK would be another 50 quit. I want to try first AV as preamp(for films only) with possibility of phantom center, if that doesn't do the trick I'll have to get center speaker I quess.

 

[Sliced Bread]

Sound bar perhaps.