Hello Fernando,
Thanks for your kind words. I had a great time meeting you and Kevin, and thanks for the Leonard Cohen disc!
Sound Lab's center channel speaker unfortunately isn't voiced the same as their big full-range panels. It works very well with the Dynastats, and I have a friend using one with his Newforms, but I'm not sure it's the best way to go if you have M-1's for your mains. You may not even need a center speaker, as the big Sound Labs can project a pretty good center image even from well off-axis due to their wide radiation pattern and line-source characteristics. Roger West recommends using the "phantom center channel" setting on your surround processor and forgoing a dedicated center channel speaker; however, he will also build a custom full-range center channel speaker to fit your application (large TV, projection screen, narrow or wide rooom, whatever).
As for rear channel speakers, I'd recommend Maggies - the voicing is surprisingly compatible with the full range Sound Labs. If you wanted to go with a box speaker for the rears, then maybe something by Vandersteen - at least they're voiced to be forgiving and unobtrusive.
In subwoofers for movie use, I'm not sure. Buggtussel makes a very good music sub in their transmission-line Tegmentum, but it's pretty big and for less money there are other subs that will move more air (for movie special effects). Disclaimer - I'm a Buggtussel dealer. The Hsu VTF-3 is a very good bang-for-the-buck sub; in a fit of insanity, you might even get a pair. You'd have to decide if the cosmetics are acceptable. That being said, it would be cool if the finish on the sub(s) and Sound Labs matched.
You know, a good two-channel system sounds great on movies. Not to say that the extra channels don't add to the experience, but that might give you a more logical upgrade path - at least by starting with the big main speakers, you could be sure that the other speakers you were adding later on blended well with them.
Needless to say, Brian and I both think you're barking up the right tree!
Cheers,
Duke
Thanks for your kind words. I had a great time meeting you and Kevin, and thanks for the Leonard Cohen disc!
Sound Lab's center channel speaker unfortunately isn't voiced the same as their big full-range panels. It works very well with the Dynastats, and I have a friend using one with his Newforms, but I'm not sure it's the best way to go if you have M-1's for your mains. You may not even need a center speaker, as the big Sound Labs can project a pretty good center image even from well off-axis due to their wide radiation pattern and line-source characteristics. Roger West recommends using the "phantom center channel" setting on your surround processor and forgoing a dedicated center channel speaker; however, he will also build a custom full-range center channel speaker to fit your application (large TV, projection screen, narrow or wide rooom, whatever).
As for rear channel speakers, I'd recommend Maggies - the voicing is surprisingly compatible with the full range Sound Labs. If you wanted to go with a box speaker for the rears, then maybe something by Vandersteen - at least they're voiced to be forgiving and unobtrusive.
In subwoofers for movie use, I'm not sure. Buggtussel makes a very good music sub in their transmission-line Tegmentum, but it's pretty big and for less money there are other subs that will move more air (for movie special effects). Disclaimer - I'm a Buggtussel dealer. The Hsu VTF-3 is a very good bang-for-the-buck sub; in a fit of insanity, you might even get a pair. You'd have to decide if the cosmetics are acceptable. That being said, it would be cool if the finish on the sub(s) and Sound Labs matched.
You know, a good two-channel system sounds great on movies. Not to say that the extra channels don't add to the experience, but that might give you a more logical upgrade path - at least by starting with the big main speakers, you could be sure that the other speakers you were adding later on blended well with them.
Needless to say, Brian and I both think you're barking up the right tree!
Cheers,
Duke