6 replies to this topic

[kingbaz]

My old man is in the market for a new centre. Using a set of Jamo floor standers as main fronts and only has a mini centre from some old speaker set he had.
Timber does not need to be matched just after a half decent centre in this price range.
Any help would be appreciated
Cheers

Edited by kingbaz, 15 May 2012 - 12:29 PM.

[euro73]

These are about $800-900 locally.  Buy from the US and pay shipping of @ $180, and you're way ahead.

fantastic centre speaker.   http://www.ebay.com/...=item19d017a278

Just be sure to check that a centre speaker of this size will fit your dad's space.

Edited by euro73, 15 May 2012 - 02:42 PM.

[Robbks]

Personally, i like to match the centre with the floor-standers.

i.e I have Klipsch RF15 towers and RC52 centre.
the front imaging is seamless from one channel to the next as teh sound moves across the sound-stage.

previous to buying the RC52 i too had a dodgy HTIAB centre channel and the whole imaging was out the window. all three speakers sounded very separate and un-natural as the audio moved across the soundstage.

obviously a decent speaker like the ones mentioned "should" be better than the mini that's there

does his receiver/ processor have any correction program installed (Audyssey/ YPAO, etc) to try and match the frequency responses of each speaker?
if not, there's no guarantee that a better speaker that's wildly different to the mains will give teh desired results.

just My 2c on the subject

[kingbaz]

Robbks, on 15 May 2012 - 04:59 PM, said:

Personally, i like to match the centre with the floor-standers.

i.e I have Klipsch RF15 towers and RC52 centre.
the front imaging is seamless from one channel to the next as teh sound moves across the sound-stage.

previous to buying the RC52 i too had a dodgy HTIAB centre channel and the whole imaging was out the window. all three speakers sounded very separate and un-natural as the audio moved across the soundstage.

obviously a decent speaker like the ones mentioned "should" be better than the mini that's there

does his receiver/ processor have any correction program installed (Audyssey/ YPAO, etc) to try and match the frequency responses of each speaker?
if not, there's no guarantee that a better speaker that's wildly different to the mains will give teh desired results.

just My 2c on the subject

I 100% agree on the matching but the HT setup i put together with an old set of Jamo floor standers he had downstairs and some mini speakers from some old setup he had for the rears and the centre.
He was using a soundbar before this so you get the picture.

The Jamos actually pump and provide a really nice soundstage and are perfect for HT (not sure what models). This is a fairly open plan room and not dedicated to HT so i don't think the matching will matter too much.

Just after a decent centre for decent dialogue to be heard in movies.

They are running a Pioneer amp which he picked up from JB, not sure if it has an Audessey equivalent

[kingbaz]

euro73, on 15 May 2012 - 02:30 PM, said:

These are about $800-900 locally.  Buy from the US and pay shipping of @ $180, and you're way ahead.

fantastic centre speaker.   http://www.ebay.com/...=item19d017a278

Just be sure to check that a centre speaker of this size will fit your dad's space.

Cheers Euro, funny enough i was looking at Paradigm's . Was looking at the SE centre earlier.
Have you used these guys before?

[euro73]

Have I purchased from that particular eBay seller before?  Nope

I bought my CC290 @ Eastwood Hifi last October.  I got a great deal on it- $399.  They had a sale on the CC190 at the time and I had emailed the owner, Steve to tell him I wanted one. When I drove out later that day they didn't have any left in the colour I wanted so they gave me the 290 for the same price-ie $399.  I'm not sure you'd get one quite at that price, but if you could pick it up for $500ish it would probably be better than purchasing from the US and not getting an Australian warranty.  The US price on the link I posted is $299 plus $180 shipping, so you're getting close to $500 anyway. Wouldn't hurt to call or email Steve @ Eastwood Hifi and ask what he can do on the price, I guess.  I cant speak highly enough of Eastwood. At the end of the day they will match or better just about any legitimate offer you can get anywhere else, and usually they are already pretty competitive.  They do a lot of great package deals and specials and have a great reputation on here. They are a major Paradigm seller so I'd be surprised if you couldn't get a pretty good price from them.

I spent a few minutes trawling online for some current offers from other hifi stores- DigitalCentre has them for $799, and the 190 for $599- although they dont have a great reputation on here as a reliable hifi retailer. I cant comment- never dealt with them

They CC290 is still priced at $499USD  on US Amazon, and up to $599USD at some other US retailers I just googled, so if you cant get close to the eBay price with Eastwood hifi I guess it looks like a pretty great deal.

One other option that I can think of- Big Picture People have a pretty strong Paradigm sale on at the moment, but centre speakers don't appear to be in the mix. Again- wouldnt hurt to call them and ask whether they sell CC290's and what they can do on a price.   http://www.bigpictur...adigm-specials/

Edited by euro73, 16 May 2012 - 02:50 AM.

[mmu16]

If you are looking for a matching centre for your mains, I saw a sale on Jamo speakers at graysonline. dead cheap prices so go check it out.