2. home-theater
  3. 190110-176497

What is the Current Guidance on Stereo and AV Configurations

Hi,

I would really appreciate anyone's guidance and council on as to how you have your stereo and AV setups configured. I am particularly looking at the options from Primare as they seem to have a solution that can fit both use cases in a single system (SP25 Prisma + a35.8).

I have two primary questions:

  1. Knowing that perfection is never going to be achieved, can a single configuration be damned good enough for both use cases?
  2. How much of a difference does a center channel make for video?

 

My needs are best summed up as follows:

  • 80/20 use split (80 video (mostly streamed) and 20 music).
  • Currently running a NAIM integrated amp, paired with Vienna Acoustic speakers (simple, minimal and I like the sound, and the look, a lot).
  • My room space is open-plan, concrete floors and two walls of glass (yup -not exactly idea) and room treatment is going to be minimal. The two of us like the minimalist aesthetic.
  • IF the center channel makes enough difference I would like to flip between 2.0 (audio) and 3.0 (video) configurations.

 

Thank you.

kaizen28

Showing 1 response by hartf36

hartf36's avatar
hartf36
216 posts
 

I have a dual HT/2.2 system running eARC from a Sony Bravia OLED to a Marantz SR8015 AVR, Parasound P5 preamp, B&K Sonata amp (mains) and Adcom GFA6000 for the center and rear Energy surround speakers (Rythmik F12G main sub up front and small M&K K-10 in an opposite corner).  Quick thoughts:

1.  I recently went BACK to a center channel after using phantom mode for a couple years.  The center speaker definitely makes a difference for HT applications and I've determined that I like it much better.  Dialog is definitely sharper.

2.  Yes, matching the center speaker to your mains is clearly preferable, but not entirely necessary.  IMO, one of the most important things is to NOT buy a two-way center speaker with the standard MTM (midrange/tweeter/midrange) configuration.  Find a decent 3-way speaker.  I stumbled onto a low-cost Elac 3-way center channel speaker that matches very, very well with my Magnepan MMG mains and was very inexpensive.  In fact, I like the sound of it better than the Magnepan MMG-C center speaker I used to have (and sold....).

3.  HT bypass on a preamp/integrated for a system that is 80% HT is pretty much a "must have".  Make life easier for yourself and make sure your new component has it.  

FWIW.

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