Center Channel Distortion

[Olivertmc]

Hi all,

I have a Kef Q95c center channel speaker hooked up to a Marantz SR5000 a/v receiver. For the most part, I'm pretty happy with my system - it sounds great for 2 channel listening and multi-channel SACD. However, I notice that when watching movies there is some distortion coming from my center channel - particularly when there is loud male dialogue (e.g. yelling). What can be causing this? The speaker gets decent reviews and handles multi-channel music pretty well. Is this a receiver issue, or a speaker issue? Thanks.

- Olivertmc

[kexodusc]

It could be a combination of both. Is the center channel rated a nominal 4 ohms?
How loud is it when you notice this distortion?
I'm hesitant to think it's a receiver issue if it's fine during SACD playback at the same volume levels.
You should be noticing the distortion then, too.

[swgiust]

Is your receiver setting for your center channel set to small? I would doubt
too much bass information would cause the distortion, but it's a good place
to start.

[Olivertmc]

Thanks for the responses. I have the speakers all set to "small" on the receiver. I don't play my movies at ear splitting levels, so I don't think I'm pushing the speaker to hard. However, I will check the impedence ratings. If it is the speaker, would it be that there is a problem, or is it an inherent flaw in the speaker's design and/or capabilities? I'll check all my settings again tonight to make sure I'm not the one causing the problem (it wouldn't be the first time . . .).

[Woochifer]

Try plugging one of your main speakers into the center channel and see if the distortion is still audible. If so, then I would lean towards something going on with your receiver or the connection. If you don't hear any distortion after swapping out the speaker, then you probably got something going on with the center speaker itself, either with a driver or the crossover.

[paul_pci]

Try plugging one of your main speakers into the center channel and see if the distortion is still audible. If so, then I would lean towards something going on with your receiver or the connection. If you don't hear any distortion after swapping out the speaker, then you probably got something going on with the center speaker itself, either with a driver or the crossover.

What if he was also to plug the center speaker in one of the L/R main terminals and playback something in stereo that would cause distortion during regular center channel playback. Would that narrow it down to the speaker itself?

[kexodusc]

What if he was also to plug the center speaker in one of the L/R main terminals and playback something in stereo that would cause distortion during regular center channel playback. Would that narrow it down to the speaker itself?

This might work as well, but not necessarily all the time. Sometimes distortion is caused by the way the receiver and speaker work with (or against) each other. It might just point out that there is a problem again, but not give a clue as to which unit is more or less responsible. We could say it was the speaker because the the problem follows the speaker from channel to channel, but perhaps the speaker is operating fine, and just has some nasty impedance dips that are stressing the receiver at those frequencies.