To center channel or not to center channel that is the question

ok I'm up late and was thinking "I wonder how many of the people in here use a center channel and how many don't".Personally I do not use a center channel ......... I have one and used it off and on for over 2 years(paradigm cc350) but more times than not I would turn it off because it just didn't sound seamless with my other speakers and I couldn't use a normal speaker (paradigm monitor3's aren't shielded).But the paradigm's image so well I'm pretty satisfied with the sound.So chime in and lets here whether your running a center channel or not lets just say I'm curious.

Center channel here.

Center channel aye.
I'm runnimg Polk RT2000s so the center imaging from just the mains needs a little help, especially for movie dialog.

Center channel here too. It's matched to my mains, so it integrates well.

Center channel here also. I started in stereo with just the Kef 107's. The XQ2c is a good match and meshes well with the midrange/high frequency of the mains.

By the way; shielding on the speakers is only necessary for a CRT display and I see you're using a plasma. These aren't affected by the stray magnetic fields of a speaker.

Experiment: Take a strong magnet (one from an old disk drive is ideal) and, from about 3 feet away, approach a CRT display slowly. Notice the color distortion as the magnet approaches. Be careful not to approach too closely, as it is quite possible to magnetize the grid behind the screen, leaving semi-permanent color distortions. On a old black and white set this is not a problem and you can safely induce huge distortions in the picture.

Repeat for a flat panel or rear projection. No effect, as there's no electron beam to distort.

Center Channel

Center channel

Center channel...can't do home theater properly without it.

Center channel intended this year but not at the top of my priority list. My Maggies image so well I don't miss it when sitting near the middle listening to music but from an off-center position the displacement of the sound image is too obvious for my taste when watching TV or DVDs. I hope the MMG-C will solve the problem but of course that means another amplifier.

Center channel here also

Center channel here too.

Center here as well

Yes I know this.I started with a sony 36"crt TV so I couldn't use a monitor 3 for a center and now my fireplace is in the way so I'll be doing without the center.

As another Magnepan owner, I use an Eminent Technology LFT-XII for my center. I demoed Magnepan and Martin Logan centers with my IIIa but the ET integrated the best for me. Because it is not only me listening to my home theater, the center channel is necessary, I think, for all to enjoy the movie experience.

Slbenz

Center here - matched to my mains. Essential to HT viewing for me, not essential to music.

No center channel for me. My fronts are Acoustat 2+2s and the rears are 1+1s. I am thinking about making a center channel speaker out of extra Acoustat parts I have.

Paul
the1derful1

Center that uses the same HF horn, but I rarely use it.

Another maggie user with no center. As the others noted, the image definitely floats off to one side if you are not seated centrally, and I will eventually get one, but with the pulldown screen and the RPTV, nowhere for it to live in the system right now. So I'd say if you can have one, get one. Unless you always listen alone.

BB