Matching Center Channel?

[ElasticBuddha]

I recently got ahold of some older Technics speakers (SB-2825, 3-way) that I'd like to match a center channel up with. I realize that the closer I can match the sound of the front three speakers the better off I am, but can't seem to find any Technics center channels. Does anyone know of a comparable-sounding center I could buy for 200 or under? Any information would be great.
Thanks.

[hifitommy]

you can nearly use anything with satisfactory results as long as the tonality doesnt vary grossly from the front L/Rs.

getting into higher end territory may be more difficult to match L/R to centers. dont lose any sleep over this.

[Worf101]

I don't subscribe to the "must match at all costs" theory. I feel that with the thousands of stereo speaker combo's out there NOT specifically designed to be mated to a Center Channel, you're often better off just getting the "Best" CC you can afford and going from there. I use a lot of "vintage" speakers that predate the advent of HT. I currently use a Klipsch C-7 Center and it works fine with my Platinum Audito Studio 3's or the Ohm Walsh F's or my Epicure 202's. Long as you can hear the conversations clearly and concisely you'll be fine.

Da Worfster

[Florian]

Yeah, dont rate it too highly. Yes a matching tonality would be nice but its not a must have.

-Flo

[Woochifer]

You're right about the importance of the voice matching, but with your speakers the match will not likely come easily. Are these speakers floorstanding speakers with the 10" or 12" woofers? The Technics speakers I've heard along those lines are kind of a holdout -- trying to mimic the vintage JBL sound when the rest of the market has gone to less of the boom and sizzle approach. Going to be hard to find a center speaker that matches those tonal characteristics, since even JBL and to some degree Cerwin Vega have changed with the times.

Generally, you want something that matches the tonal characteristics of the main speakers as closely as possible. Any significant deviation between the speakers will be audible and disrupt the continuity of the front soundfield. Because of the horizontal dispersion pattern with most center speakers, they won't be an exact match to begin with, so any further deviations in the tonal characteristics will create more problems than you likely will want.

If you can get a reasonably close match, then it's better to go with a center speaker because modern 5.1 soundtracks use discrete center channels that do not always translate well when folded down to the L/R channels. But, if you cannot get a decent match, then you're better off going without the center speaker altogether because of the havoc that mismatches can cause with the front soundfield.

[Pyrrho]

You might want to try to find some more vintage Technics speakers that are similar to (or, better, exactly like) the ones you purchased. If you use a CRT type TV, you will need to concern yourself with possible effects of magnetism on your TV, though this may not be too much of a problem, depending upon your exact TV, the exact speakers used, and how far you can conveniently have the speaker away (above or more likely below) the TV.

I personally use a speaker for a center channel that was not designed to be used for a center channel, and it does not bother my TV with my setup. [Since it is exactly like my right and left channels (and my 3 rear surround channels in my 6.1 setup), I have perfect voice matching, which is a nice improvement over the near match I had previously.] But you could have problems depending on the various things mentioned above.