Soliloquy bad for HT?

I use a C3 with 6.3s for HT and I think Soliloquys are very good. I use an 8' Kimber Bifocal XL cable on the C3 and it sounds great.

I do want to mention an experience I had with the C3 though. When I first got the 6.3s and the C3 I had a Pioneer Elite VSX 49TX Amp. Everything sounded great (especially after 500 hrs of break in) but something happened. At a certain moderate to high volume level (not too loud though) the amp would suddenly shut it self off. This would occur consistently at the same spot in several DVD movies. It turned out that it was at a certain high frequency (ie: the clang of a chain). It drove me crazy! I messed with everything in the system for 2 weeks...changing cables, switching speakers 1 at a time, playing the same spot in the DVD over and over... I finally realized that the C3 was causing the shutdown each time. (I suspected a bad crossover) I returned the C3 to Soliloquy who replaced it within 2 days at no charge! (Their customer service is great by the way). UNFORTUNATELY...the replacement did the same thing. I brought the C3 to a local Sound Advice store and had them hook it up to their switchable system. Turned out the the C3 worked fine at any volume on every amp EXCEPT the Pioneer Elite VSX 49TX Amp and the next one down, the VSX 47TX. It shut both of those amps down at the same spot in the CD (this time I used an ELP tune "From the Beginning" at #26)! Less expensive Pioneer Elite amps did not shut down. I ended up returning the 49TX and going with B&K Ref 30 preamp and 7270 amp. Now everything sounds great. No shutdown either. I pass this info along just in case anyone else tries to use the C3 with either of these two Pioneer amps.

Good luck. Ken

I have heard from a reliable source that tweeter is a $10 item--check it out.
How about using the tv's speaker for the center speaker. My Pioneer allows for this. There are binding posts on the back of the set

bbroussard, the 5.3's from what I understand from soliloquy is the only speaker in the line that has the tweeter wired out of phase. These were designed by Dennis Had of Cary. If there is a significant matching problem this could have something to do with it. Check with Soliloquy.

I returned the C3. Later, I checked back with the dealer. He said it was a bad tweeter.

I have 2 HT systems w/ soliloquy. Most used is 5.0 w/ C3 and SAT5. (Also have 5.3). I noticed big change in dialogue in C3 by changing speaker cables. I was using Nordost Red Dawn but Tice 416a is a much better sound on C3. The analysis oval 9 work equally well. I was quite surprised the cable change was most remarkable on the C3 - the dialogue is much improved, which is most of what the center gets (may be the difference). I think the Soliloquy's sound really good in HT. I like better than paradyme and 600 B&Ws I have had in system.

checked the settings (speaker size and delay)and messed with them for a good 30 min. I know what your saying about what I'm used to, but I don't think it's my "untrained" ear. I have never heard a TV sound better than any center channel either, til now. For what it's worth, the Toshiba HX series is thier "cinema series" with upgraded audio componets in it. That probably means it's using $5 drivers instead of $3 drivers but I don't know.

The 5.3 mains do sound far, far better than the TV though. This leads me back to my first inclination that either this C3 is not the perfect match it's supposed to be, or the placement is providing very bad results. Problem is the placement is on the TV? Anyway, I'm thinking of returning the C3 and putting the money torwards an amp upgrade.

I absolutly love the 5.3 mains, but the fiance' doesn't like them because I won't allow them to be placed against the wall. Lots of things to be worked out here.

This may seem like a basic question, but have you changed the speaker settings and levels on your receiver to reflect the addition of center speaker? I have never heard a TV have "more natural" sounding voices than a quality speaker. It may be what you are accustomed to, and therefore sound "right" to you. Try going through your receiver set-up again and checking your settings.

The C3 was a demo so I assume it has been broken in. I'll check on that though. Right now, I'm just using some speaker wire (same for mains) hooked up to the same amp.

The 5.3s were my first upgrade and I just picked up this center because I knew I eventualy would and I saved a few hundred dollars on it because it was a demo.

I can't think of any reason for the drastic difference in sound. Yesterday, I put in Star Wars on DVD and found that the scene with the pod races was pretty good but voices were almost muted. When I switched back to using my TV's speakers I found that I had been missing alot of detail in the movie with the soliloquys. Now, my TV which a Widescreen HDTV has one helluva audio setup on it for a TV, but something has to be wrong here. The voices just seem to sound more natural comming from the TV than the center speaker. I'm not talking imaging here, I mean the tone of the voice.

I thought it may be that the center is sitting on top of a very large TV which places it probably 2 feet above the 5.3s? But when I stand far back to lessen that impact it doesn't change much.

I think I need someone smarter than me to come over and tell me what's wrong here.

I have used a C3 with a pair of 6.3s without any problems. You might need some more break-in time. Soliloquys really need a long break-in to sound their best. What were you doing before - no center or a different center?

I recently read some information suggesting that the best center channel speaker is none IF you are sitting in the sweet spot. Center channel speaker is supposed to enhance off-axis listening positions.

Are you using the same interconnects/amp/cables for all 3 speakers? Is everything wired in-phase?

Good luck.