Affordable center channel to match Sophia's?

Tonyptony : tangent? How about a new thread?

Well, I'm going off on a tangent here, but I bought a pair of Swans M200s from John at Gustosounds when he listed recently on the 'gon. Figured I'd try them as cheap self powered surrounds. Yeah, I know they're not dipoles or bipoles, but I figured for the price I could try and offset them a little bit from the listening spot.

After about 60 hours of break in I can say I'm reasonably impressed that such an inexpensive speaker sounds as good as it does. Piano sounds like a piano, guitar sounds like a guitar. High end is clear and not harsh, low end (for its size) is not bad. It plays louder than I need it to without obvious distortion. There's a small range in the vocal area that sounds a little boxy, but I haven't gotten them off the floor yet. It makes pretty nice music; nice enough that if I can be satisfied with their placement as rears I think I'll like them!

I've heard that speakers have gotten better, for the money, over the years. While I've heard that being true with more costly models, I guess it's also true for low priced jobs, if the manufacturer cares to do it.

Steuspeed: I agree... unless you sit off axis the Wilson 2 channel will re-create the center...

There is a Caveat! - You make no mention of your surround processor... Meridian, Theta or something is required to try to get some fidelity out of music sountracks..

If the music/soundtrack is too loud and voices are recessed then check these things..
If you aren't using a surround processor you are losing the dialog information from most DVD players (check to make sure they are outputing in 2 channel stereo). Even if you are using a surround processor make sure that is has an option to set no speaker for the center or has a specific phantom mode. Check with AVIA test DVD to setup audio.. Digital Video Essentials might help but the old version wasn't as good.

Hey Bob,
Wow thanks for the kind words, I am really glad it worked out as good as I figured it would.

Hooray! I picked up a Genesis 750 center from a fellow Audiogoner and my system is singing now! My friend Chadnliz pointed this one out by scanning the classifieds and WOW is it a good choice. The dialog in movies is now clear and powerful. Tonight I watched two episodes of Band of Brothers with my amps turned up and it was off the charts awesome.

Does not Wilson use off the shelf drivers. Try to find a center channel that uses the same brand of drivers that Wilson uses. Look for a center that has the same dB rating as yours. Try to match it spec-wise and you might find one that blends well without breaking the bank.

Avguy nailed it, I am glad I am not the only one who feels this way!

George, I have a very similar problem, but in my case rears and matching (I'm using that term loosely) my Shahinian main 2CH speakers. I know the "right" answer in my case is Shahinians for the back (NOT cheap) and an amp. I'm not that much into MC, and even a reasonable tonal match would be good. And in my case if they can be self powered all the better.

I'm not worried about a center. My speakers are "polyradial" to begin with (think omnidirectional), so a phantom center though my MC controller would probably be good enough.

This very subject has come up a time or two in the past. I got the Soph.2's.-- HT just ain't as important to me so the price of their center is much more than I want to spend. It would be nice to know of a brand that would blend in,ya know, kinda like,for many of us less demanding HT folk. I have given a bit of thought to picking up a pair of regular speakers and maybe turning one of them sideways. Right now I'm using a Lowther center because I had 2 horn systems in the past. The dialog is quite good but that's about all.

If you cant afford a Watch, look for a Cub2?

I'm running phantom mode and I'm not satisfied with the dialog from movies. I can't afford a Wilson center channel (not even sure what they cost, model # etc). THere's got to be a cheaper alternative that gives satisfying results. JM Labs/Focal?

Wilson or nothing and run phantom mode. Anything else will be a dissapointment. Matching speakers, amps and cabling is the key to a seamless presentation which is the goal. If your Wilsons image well then you may actually like it better with out a center channel. Search forums under phantom center.