Stereo Setup Using Two Center Channel Speakers

[Sir Lemon]

Hello gents,

This is my first post, I registered for the purpose of asking this question, which sprung to mind after I read the Focal SM9 review posted earlier today. It's a dilemma from way back that I haven't quite settled through reading and (casual) dialog on HiFi topics. I'll try to be concise but explicit, so please bear with me.

So, call me kinky, but I like horizontal speakers, which is a problem when speaker design orthodoxy dictates the opposite approach. So much so that you'd be hard pressed to find a pair of horizontal HiFi speakers in the endless see of vertical boxes, eggs, spikes, etc. However, the exact opposite is true for center channel design, and quite many of those products are being turned on their central axis and used as left and right channels in stereo setups (Amphion Argon 5C and Helium 520C, Raidho C Centric, Focal Viva Utopia, just to name a few), which is quite straight forward since most of them are two-way bookshelf designs with a second mid-bass driver. However, I am concerned with using them horizontally in stereo mode, and not only the two-way boxes, but more complex designs as well. Which brings me to my question. Is there any fundamental reason why something like this (Aurum Titan Base) shouldn't be used in a stereo setup? Or is there a fundamental reason why it would provide inferior sound to this (Aurum Titan VIII, an identical kit in a different form factor)?

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Have a great weekend!

 

[Sir Lemon]

I apologize for the wall of text, the board appears to be uncooperative.

 

[Al ears]

Hi. Regarding the Aurum Titan Base I can see no reason why they should not be used in a stereo setup, in fact the description even suggests it should be, but there is one qualifier I feel.

The suggested set-up of 3 Bases is for an AV / home cinema setup. I would assume for a good stereo situation you might find getting the speakers to the correct height difficult. Ideally a stereo pairing should have the tweeters at approximate ear-level when you are seated.

You would have to have quite tall stands to do this with any horizontal layout speaker, making them quite unstable.

 

[steve_1979]

Some (but not all) home cinema centre speakers are 'voiced' to sound different to the stereo speakers by having less bass which can help make the dialogue in films sound clearer. They often have two mid/bass drivers to increase the efficiency and dynamic range rather then the amount of bass. I suspect that two bass drivers is often for aesthetic reasons too because it looks symmetrical.

I think that some centre speakers would work well as a stereo pair though. But you'd be best off auditioning them for yourself first to see how they sound. If you do give it a go I hope you post your findings on here because I would be interested to hear about your findings.

 

[ID.]

Interesting. I know many professional monitors are set up like the following.

http://www.adam-audio.com/en/pro-audio/products/a77x/description

http://www.adam-audio.com/en/pro-audio/products/s3x-h/description

http://www.eventelectronics.com/2030

I've owned speakers with a similar driver layout to these

http://www.krix.com.au/acoustix-mk2.html

http://www.fostex.jp/products/GX102MA

And although I never tried them on their side, I suppose it could be possible. I've never owned nor auditioned any center speakers, so I couldn't even begin to comment on their hifi performance and I can't say I've ever been tempted to put my current speakers on their side, but I'm interested to hear your impressions if you try either using center speakers for a stereo pair or just toppling over some regular speakers, you kinky bastard

 

[Sir Lemon]

Thank you for replying!

@ Al ears,
That's pretty much what I though. The Titan VIII is a fairly tall speaker at 140cm, to get the tweeter at the same hight for a the Titan Base, one would need ~ 100cm stands. However, most floor standing speakers (including those in the Aurum lineup) are not that tall, in fact the tweeter sits in-between 90cm and 130cm from the ground, so I think even 70-80cm stands would do quite well for a stereo setup with Titan Base centers.

Of course, most horizontal speakers are not that tall , but that isn't necessarily a problem, it opens the door for out of the box solutions, like wall niches or positioning them on spikes on top of functional furniture (of course, the speaker's desing will dictate what can and can not be done, vented boxes are different breeds with different needs from sealed ones, just one example).

@ Steve_1979 and ID.
The voicing is one of my main concerns also, along with spatial focusing. I'll try to schedule an audion next week, I'll let you know how it goes (if it does).

 

[andyjm]

Hello gents, This is my first post, I registered for the purpose of asking this question, which sprung to mind after I read the Focal SM9 review posted earlier today. It's a dilemma from way back that I haven't quite settled through reading and (casual) dialog on HiFi topics. I'll try to be concise but explicit, so please bear with me. So, call me kinky, but I like horizontal speakers, which is a problem when speaker design orthodoxy dictates the opposite approach. So much so that you'd be hard pressed to find a pair of horizontal HiFi speakers in the endless see of vertical boxes, eggs, spikes, etc. However, the exact opposite is true for center channel design, and quite many of those products are being turned on their central axis and used as left and right channels in stereo setups (Amphion Argon 5C and Helium 520C, Raidho C Centric, Focal Viva Utopia, just to name a few), which is quite straight forward since most of them are two-way bookshelf designs with a second mid-bass driver. However, I am concerned with using them horizontally in stereo mode, and not only the two-way boxes, but more complex designs as well. Which brings me to my question. Is there any fundamental reason why something like this (Aurum Titan Base) shouldn't be used in a stereo setup? Or is there a fundamental reason why it would provide inferior sound to this (Aurum Titan VIII, an identical kit in a different form factor)? Thanks for taking the time to read this. Have a great weekend!

You could use a pair of centre speakers in a stereo config if you so wished, but I see no real reason why you couldn't take a pair of 'vertical' speakers and simply lay them on their side. At a pinch I could come up with some frequency dependent stereo image stability argument against it if the drivers were widely separated, or perhaps a tendency for the speaker to 'beam' at the crossover frequency, but I would guess that both effects would be negligable.

Have you tried it?

 

[Sir Lemon]

Hi andyjm,

I haven't tried it, and honestly I can't think of a single floor stander which would look good on its side (also, they're taller than most center channels are wider, and indeed driver spacing/arrangement would impact imaging), though there are a number of large standmounters that would suit this approach (PMC comes to mind).

 

[Al ears]

Hi andyjm, I haven't tried it, and honestly I can't think of a single floor stander which would look good on its side (also, they're taller than most center channels are wider, and indeed driver spacing/arrangement would impact imaging), though there are a number of large standmounters that would suit this approach (PMC comes to mind).

I think andyjm meant standmount speakers when he quoted 'vertical'

Voicing of the Titan Base should be just fine as they are designed to be used as a front left/right as well as a centre. However I am pretty sure other pure 'centre' speakers would pose a problem if used as a stereo pair.

Also with noting is those Base speakers are very heavy - suitable stands might be hard to come by., and I would recommend proper stands of some sort rather than plonking them on some furniture.

 

[Sir Lemon]

Indeed, if I do end up getting them, I'll most likely approach a specialist shop for a pair of custom stands. However, at this point in time I'm trying to get a better grasp on things and properly define my reference points. That's why I'm bouncing ideas such as this one.

While far from cheap, the Titan Base (like the Titan VIII, which I've heard and liked) it's a good value proposition, but I haven't even defined my budget yet, and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the idea of spending this kind of money on speakers alone. The Titan Base is sort of a top reference point, that I would not exclude as a future purchase, but if I were to buy right now, I'd be more comfortable with something cheaper (and easier to integrate/build a system around), like the Focal SM9s.

Again, thanks for your input, gents!

 

[steve_1979]

The Neumann KH310A monitors may interest you.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct13/articles/neuman-kh310a.htm

 

[Alantiggger]

Why would anyone WANT two centre speakers to begin with exactly ?

Seems silly !

 

[Dave_]

Silly is not bothering to read the OP before commenting...

 

[KevH]

I'm sure I've read somewhere that there are issues with horizontal speakers, and the only reason centre speakers are this way is because few people can afford audio transparent screens so the speakers have to be squeezed into the space above or below the screen. Certainly I have a Radius and AE centre and both sound better (to my ears) mounted vertically.

Having said that, most professional speakers are horizontally mounted so who knows.

I have to say the voicing of the AE centre speaker is very different to the stand mounts, which throws a big question mark over the whole sound stage cohesion thing.

 

[andyjm]

Hello gents, This is my first post, I registered for the purpose of asking this question, which sprung to mind after I read the Focal SM9 review posted earlier today. It's a dilemma from way back that I haven't quite settled through reading and (casual) dialog on HiFi topics. I'll try to be concise but explicit, so please bear with me. So, call me kinky, but I like horizontal speakers, which is a problem when speaker design orthodoxy dictates the opposite approach. So much so that you'd be hard pressed to find a pair of horizontal HiFi speakers in the endless see of vertical boxes, eggs, spikes, etc. However, the exact opposite is true for center channel design, and quite many of those products are being turned on their central axis and used as left and right channels in stereo setups (Amphion Argon 5C and Helium 520C, Raidho C Centric, Focal Viva Utopia, just to name a few), which is quite straight forward since most of them are two-way bookshelf designs with a second mid-bass driver. However, I am concerned with using them horizontally in stereo mode, and not only the two-way boxes, but more complex designs as well. Which brings me to my question. Is there any fundamental reason why something like this (Aurum Titan Base) shouldn't be used in a stereo setup? Or is there a fundamental reason why it would provide inferior sound to this (Aurum Titan VIII, an identical kit in a different form factor)? Thanks for taking the time to read this. Have a great weekend!

No prob with using them as left / right. Equally no real problem with buying 'normal' vertical speakers and laying them on their side.

You could argue that at crossover frequency when both drivers are radiating, line array effects may cause issues, or given the spatial separation of drivers that image stability may suffer. My guess is that neither effect will be noticable.

 

[Dave2860]

I think this is a great idea? 2x full range centres would probs be more expensive but it would look great? If I could do my set up again I would definitely buy 2x centres and a subwoofer

 

[skippy]

Focal twin 6be are highly regarded by the pro's.
Less expensive than the SM9's and similar to the Adams.
http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/9403/dustudio.jpg