Opinions on omnidirectional speakers for center channel in Home Theater.

[Grayson Dere]

I had an idea recently of trying out an omnidirectional speaker for use as a center channel in my HT setup. By doing so I was hoping I would get a more expansive sound compared to a conventional direct radiator.
Does anyone have experiences they would like to share on whether or not this is a good idea? Thanks a lot! : D

 

[Todd Anderson]

I've never tried this, but I'd imagine it would backfire on you. Voices are meant to be centered... I think the omni-directional speaker would negatively impact the sense of centrality (or movement across the front soundstage as they pass from center to left or right).

 

[Grayson Dere]

I've never tried this, but I'd imagine it would backfire on you. Voices are meant to be centered... I think the omni-directional speaker would negatively impact the sense of centrality (or movement across the front soundstage as they pass from center to left or right).

Thank you for your thoughts, Todd. I think you're right...if my mains are direct radiators but the center an omnidirectional, the soundstage might sound a bit strange...

 

[Todd Anderson]

What kind of center are you using right now? Horizontal or tower?

 

[Tony V.]

Im in agreement with Todd, the omnidirectional idea may have worked back in the day of Dolby Pro-logic but given that all channels are discrete mixes now the intention is that the sound comes from the location intended and by firing the sound and using a reflective surface to get that sound to you would likely wash it out too much and loose its imaging.

 

[Grayson Dere]

What kind of center are you using right now? Horizontal or tower?

I'm using a horizontal type center channel....Atlantic Technology. Perhaps it's the room that's causing the sound to be a little 'small.' My ceiling is the 12 foot vaulted type. The ceiling is actually the largest dimension in the room. Would acoustic absorbers at the first reflection points make things a bit better in your opinion?

Im in agreement with Todd, the omnidirectional idea may have worked back in the day of Dolby Pro-logic but given that all channels are discrete mixes now the intention is that the sound comes from the location intended and by firing the sound and using a reflective surface to get that sound to you would likely wash it out too much and loose its imaging.

Ah! That makes sense...the intention of localized sound. Thanks, Tony.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I'd reach out to GIK for advice on treatments... not really a field of expertise for me. Although, some folks on here know quite a bit!

Sound issues could just be the speaker design itself...Depending on where you sit, some center channel designs can start to sound collapsed and thin.

As an experiment, try flipping it to a vertical orientation and see if you hear any difference.

 

[Grayson Dere]

I'd reach out to GIK for advice on treatments... not really a field of expertise for me. Although, some folks on here know quite a bit!

Sound issues could just be the speaker design itself...Depending on where you sit, some center channel designs can start to sound collapsed and thin.

As an experiment, try flipping it to a vertical orientation and see if you hear any difference.

Thanks for the advice! : )

 

[Todd Anderson]

Let us know what happens!

 

[Grayson Dere]

So the other day I decided to re-install my 'Direct Acoustics Silent Speaker II' speakers for an experiment since they were readily available. I'm not so sure if they're considered a true omni-directional speaker but I thought they were close enough for my purposes. I unplugged my direct radiating center channel and in its place setup the Silent Speaker (just one out of the pair) and performed channel balancing via my receiver's test tones.

Okay, so I'm super excited now!...I fired up a couple of movies, starting with Blade Runner 2049 and then Casino Royale. At first I really liked the larger soundstage the silent speakers provided as a center channel but as soon as the dialog heavy scenes came in I noticed it was a bit tough to clearly discern what the actors were saying. There was also a strange side-effect of the main speakers now sounding too pronounced and calling a lot of attention to themselves even though the speakers were all previously calibrated to the same SPL level. I'm thinking the mixing of speaker types isn't really going to work out. It's a funny thing, though, because when I'm listening to 2-channel material I don't find singer's voices tough to hear at all with the silent speakers.
I wonder if they're meant to be used as a stereo pair and not singly?

After a little while I couldn't stand the diffuse sounding dialog and in the end I reverted back to the direct radiating center channel.
...now starts the fun of searching for a speaker upgrade : )

 

[Tony V.]

Yup, this does not surprise me. In recent years each channel is mixed as a dedicated source meaning that the so called omni-directional speakers that try to throw sound around rather than directly at you, this will change the imaging. In music this may not be a bad thing but with discrete mixing of the movie soundtracks this dose not work.