Custom Center Channel speaker?

[westmcc]

So I stumbled upon a speaker that I feel like would definitely enhance my home theaters LCR but I'm not exactly sure how to make it work or if it's even possible. I feel like there must be a way to do it but would love some input/advice on how to go about it if I decided to go this route and buy the speaker.

I'm currently running all Atlantic Technology speakers with the exception of my 4 subwoofers in my 7.1.4 system from my Denon X3800H. I love the sound I'm getting in my MLP but my seats to the left and right could definitely benefit if my Center channel had a more wider dispersion. I haven't tried to change it out for another speaker mainly because I don't want to loose the great timber I'm getting from it now.

The speaker I found though is a Atlantic Technology LCR all in one and after digging into the specs it should timber match with my current LR. The problem I'm seeing though is how to wire it so that my receiver sees it as just one single center channel. It's has 2 internal dividers that separate it into 3 different enclosures for each channel L-C-R and of course that means 3 separate connection points with their own crossovers and nominal impedance values of 8 ohms each.

I'm all about DIY and I'm completely comfortable with reconfiguring this thing and im sure im capable of doing what needs done to make it work I'm just not sure what's the best way of doing it. Ideally I would want the receiver to see the same impedance it sees with my LR so that it doesn't play louder or quitter correct?

Am I on the right path of thinking or am I way off and trying to do something that's not worth the headache or even possible?

Thanks for any help or input with this

I've attached 3 photos of the speaker I'm talking about possibly doing this with.

 

[Peter Loeser]

Wiring in parallel will decrease the impedance the amp sees, and wiring in series will increase the impedance the amp sees.

I'd be concerned that running your CC signal through three speakers distributed horizontally will upset your imaging at all seating positions.

Which model speakers are you currently using as mains and CC?

 

[VJM]

I agree with Peter, do you have a AT center now?

AT centers are pretty good and they normally don't suffer from off-axis lobing because of their design

 

[westmcc]

I am currently running

Front Speakers Left and right
Atlantic Technology, FS-3200

Center Channel Speaker
Atlantic Technology, FS-3200

Side Surround Speakers
Atlantic Technology SR-2200 Dipole/Bipole

Surround Back SpeakersAtlantic Technology LR-2200

 

[westmcc]

Current layout

 

[VJM]

That's a nice setup, the front speakers are matched and should sound good including center channel, even off axis.

I looked over the manual for your speakers and it's recommended to use an 80Hz crossover for those speakers, I'd make sure that is currently set.

There are also switches on the back of the speakers, including the center to adjust the tone of the speaker depending on the acoustics of the room, you might want to try the different settings and see if any of them make any difference.

 

[Peter Loeser]

If possible, as an experiment, position your current CC vertically and see if that makes a positive difference. As VJM mentioned, AT speakers are well designed, so I wouldn't expect a gross discrepancy in performance between the two positions.

Another question... what acoustic treatments have you done to your room? I see curtains on at least part of the right side. If your walls (and ceiling) are un-treated, I'd consider starting there. There are economical options depending on your budget, and even some creative ways to arrange furniture or decor you may already have to improve the room's acoustics. If your room is contributing to the problem, changing speakers likely won't provide the improvement you're looking for.

 

[westmcc]

To VJM.
Thanks! They most definitely sound good and I honestly don't have any REAL complaints. To answer your question about trying the different settings on the the back of the speakers, I have indeed played with them. I've tried many different combinations between all 3 and even the side surrounds. I found that the manual actually gave more info than most do even at today's standard. I even experimented with trying each speaker with different settings than the other as the manual suggested. I definitely noticed a few differences and finally settled on what I thought sounded they best.

As for the crossover I did take the the advice of AT and set my crossover at 80Hz in the beginning but after a few weeks I bumped that up to 90hz to take some of the stress off them do to the fact that I'm guilty of being that guy that enjoys listening at reference volume for most every movie.

Just to be clear, the sound Imaging I'm currently getting is not at all in any way bad. And the off axis is at worst satisfactory. I just thought if I was able to find something that would expand on its off axis response a little bit more without negatively impacting its current sound stage or timber it might be worth giving it a try.

 

[westmcc]

To Peter
I did not honestly think about turning it vertically. As you said, AT did a very good job with designing their speakers but unfortunately due to my situation I am unable to give that a try. The speaker is already dangerously low now and if I go any lower I fear my two-year-old daughter will have her way with them. She has already pulled the cover off once and began trying to dig her fingers into the left passive radiator while standing on her tip-toes. ‍ Thankfully I was sitting right there with her and was able to get to her before any damage was done. The look on my wifes face when she pulled in the driveway and seen our daughter standing in the front yard with a For Sale sign taped to her almost made it worth it though.

As for room treatments I do have a few thinks but definitely not treated the way you should be. The photo I attached is a few months old and since then I have hung up a few shelves and a wall mounted movie rack I built and a few other decorative canvas pieces have been hung. I'm currently working on another project to put on the back wall in a attempt to help with reflection.

Another note to add is I am also in the beginning stages of self learning REW. I purchased the umik-1 and mini dspHD a few weeks back and when I have time I've been reading, watching, and doing some hands on with it all trying to get to a point that I'm comfortable enough to try and start taking real measurements and begin truly EQing my home theater.

 

[Gerry Iaria]

Current layout
View attachment 68834

Can I ask why most you folks in the US have the tv set up so high up? here in Europe it's more like keeping it lower as not to give a neck strain, just asking

 

[westmcc]

Can I ask why most you folks in the US have the tv set up so high up? here in Europe it's more like keeping it lower as not to give a neck strain, just asking

Well speaking for myself it is up high for two reasons. 1st and most important reason I mounted it up high is because my two youg children just love to put their dirty little finger all over it and to lesson the chances of them accidentally damaging it with a toy or some other object. My son already broke one TV about 2 years ago with a toy car. Literally had to throw away a $1400 TV that we had less that a year because the screen wasn't fixable and the warranty didn't cover kids throwing a fit. 2nd reason is because 90% of the time we are watching the TV we are reclined back in our chairs and it works out better for the viewing angle. I will admit that is not very comfortable if i am just sitting straight up.

 

[Gerry Iaria]

Well speaking for myself it is up high for two reasons. 1st and most important reason I mounted it up high is because my two youg children just love to put their dirty little finger all over it and to lesson the chances of them accidentally damaging it with a toy or some other object. My son already broke one TV about 2 years ago with a toy car. Literally had to throw away a $1400 TV that we had less that a year because the screen wasn't fixable and the warranty didn't cover kids throwing a fit. 2nd reason is because 90% of the time we are watching the TV we are reclined back in our chairs and it works out better for the viewing angle. I will admit that is not very comfortable if i am just sitting straight up.

ok, two good reasons there, but could you lock your kids away??Just joking

 

[westmcc]

No......but I do currently have two kids on the market. Both are as good looking as there dad, potty trained, low miles. . If they aren't gone by next week I'll be having a BOGO sale. .

But on a more serious note. Kids definitely bring a complete set of different obstacles to hurdle. My current HT was built from start to finish, top to bottom, inside and out with one main question that had to be answered before making a decision on every single task that needed to be done.

"How do I do this and make it so that the kids can still be in the room at any given time and I don't have to worry about them hurting themselves or damaging something". It definitely opened up my imagination on how to do things and improved my problem solving skills. It even helped sharpen my carpentry skills.

Secretly can't wait for them to be old enough that I don't have to worry about that anymore or better yet they have moved out and it's just the wife and I and I can enjoy a movie without some sort of major meltdown happening. .

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

There are already a lot of great thoughts in this thread geared towards what I agree should be the priority - working more effectively with what you have now.

But if you do get to a point where you feel the need to use this center speaker, I believe the only effective way to run it off an AVR would be to get a 3-channel amp, use the center channel line output and power each section of this center off its own amp channel. Your AVR, however, does not have a line output for the center channel, which brings us back to working more effectively with what you have.

 

[westmcc]

There are already a lot of great thoughts in this thread geared towards what I agree should be the priority - working more effectively with what you have now.

But if you do get to a point where you feel the need to use this center speaker, I believe the only effective way to run it off an AVR would be to get a 3-channel amp, use the center channel line output and power each section of this center off its own amp channel. Your AVR, however, does not have a line output for the center channel, which brings us back to working more effectively with what you have.

Thanks for the input. The fact that my AVR does not have any pre outs is definitely a large downside to the project. This is why i was leaning more on finding a way to wire all three "LCR" in a way that the AVR is presented with a 8-6 ohm load but so far its looking like a dead end project.