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Center for the ELAC DBR-62? (for home theater)

SynthesisCinema

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Sure, but it's trash.

Not likely if listeners sit fairly center to it and not further on the sides where the issues arise.

Third DBR-62 vs. DCR-52 if just one listener dead centre? Wouldn`t you gain some advantage sharing the load to two slightly smaller drivers also?
2x 5,25" vs. 1x 6,5"? And 1db bump in sensitivity.
 

Dougey_Jones

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Sure, but it's trash.
I highly doubt it’s more “trash” than the outcome would be if OP bought a center channel from a completely different brand with completely different drivers and crossovers, like some in here are suggesting.
 

sword

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@Sancus So what would be the easy way then? Start with an Emotiva center and find something to match it? Or try to match a center to the DBR-62? I'm not sure these would play well together. I remember reading that the ELAC has a cloth dome tweeter and the c2 has a folded ribbon tweeter and thus could have very different sounds, though I'm not sure how that plays into dispersion. I'm still learning audio. Browsing this forum has been eye-opening.

Is there a good combination of L/R/C that you guys commonly recommend here? Or should I explore the idea of getting 3 DBR-62's and just sticking one under my tv? A little below ear level albeit.
Don't worry about trying to "match" the speakers. Unless you listen to a lot of multi-channel music, any good center will work. I know this from experience. It's surprising how everything blends together once proper levels and distances are used in an AVR.
 

sword

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I highly doubt it’s more “trash” than the outcome would be if OP bought a center channel from a completely different brand with completely different drivers and crossovers, like some in here are suggesting.
Have you ever tried it? There is a thread on AVSforum with links to 80+ users who posted their positive experiences using a good center and different brand fronts. Unless you listen to a lot of multi-channel music, it doesn't matter very much with a modern home theater AVR.

The DCR-52 probably isn't trash, but it's still a 2-way MTM design, which will have narrow horizontal dispersion and comb filtering. For most people that just sit dead center, that may not be an issue.
 
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sword

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The Monprice THX-365C center is a good deal right now at Target.com for $400 plus a free 30-day return at any Target store. I just set one up this weekend with JBL Studio 580 fronts and it sounds great. Good sensitivity, 3-way design, and it playes loud without breaking a sweat.
 
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sword

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Yes, some are fine. The rule of thumb is basically that 2-way MTM(midwoofer-tweeter-midwoofer) centers are always pretty bad. Basic 3-way centers like the Emotiva C1+ or Monoprice THX-365C are usually good.

The Emotiva C2+ is a weird one since it has two midranges and no one has measured it. I don't know if it's good or not.
The C2+ was reviewed by Erin. It's good for output, but has a couple other issues. It's also huge in my opinion. The Emotiva C1+ would probably be good.
 

Sancus

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I highly doubt it’s more “trash” than the outcome would be if OP bought a center channel from a completely different brand with completely different drivers and crossovers, like some in here are suggesting.
Matching those things is irrelevant compared to matching dispersion, and those centers don't even have anything remotely like matching dispersion with any normal 2-way, regardless of brand.

Not likely if listeners sit fairly center to it and not further on the sides where the issues arise.

People keep clinging to this "off-axis doesn't matter" thing but it contradicts all speaker research so.... I'm going to keep saying off-axis does matter, whether or not it's a center.

If you have a very limited budget and you are stuck with a 2-way MTM center then that's fine, you did your best. But pretending it's good compared to other options is another story. This forum, last I checked, is about finding the best options, not merely the "ok" ones and then repeating to ourselves over and over how "ok" is good enough.
 
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