On the lookout for a budget centre speaker

[Mutt]

I've read many times that you should always match your centre speakers with your fronts, which obviously makes perfect sense but would mixing brands still be a no-no for a first HT setup? Would the difference between the fronts (which are Mission 702e floorstanders) and something like the Polk Audio CS2 Centre be enough to be a distraction to the average listener, as opposed to a HT/Hi-Fi buff?

Assuming it would be ok to mix speaker brands on a first surround system can you give me some ideas which budget centres I should be looking at? The floorstanders are from the early-mid 90's so I don't mind if the centre is of a similar age. I'll definitely be wanting to buy secondhand and I've only got about £50 to play with.

Would adding a centre speaker help to bring the dialogue in a movie to the fore? Whilst watching a movie at night I'm having to keep the remote control in my hand so I can quickly turn down the sound effects or music when they kick in.

A little additional info ... The speakers will be hooked up to an Onkyo 309 and for now there's no rears and no sub (will need to save some more pennies for those).


Cheers for any forthcoming help.

 

[Mutt]

I think I'll have to choose a centre which is angled upwards otherwise the sound will be optimized about knee level ... or get a rectangular one and prop up the front end with rubber feet. With regards to impedance and sensitivity, when I do buy the centre I'll have the specs of my fronts on hand so I can best match them.

With the Onkyo 309 being a budget AV receiver I doubt there will be a lot of scope for fine-tuning the balance between fronts and centre but then I'm not looking for perfection just a tad more volume/impact to the dialogue.

A Mission centre would be preferable if I can find one at the right price and subject to positive opinions from owners. It's my birthday in a couple of weeks so I might have a few quid extra to be able to put towards the £50 to get something better.

Thanks for the useful information so far chaps.

 

[Mutt]

Until a few days ago I only had my computer speakers hooked up to the 309 so I didn't really have the option to tinker with the settings much on the receiver. I'll have a good read of the manual to see how best to configure fronts and centre.

Something like a Mission 75C should be available quite cheaply and is a good centre, if it matches your fronts.

The Mission 75C is 6ohm isn't it? My fronts are 8ohm. If the receiver can handle the difference they might be worth looking at.

Kef or mission are good - also Acoustic energy.

check my MM thread Got a Kef Q95c (8 Ohm, Bi wireable) going

I'm not sure I qualify for the MM yet. What are the requirements again for getting access?

 

[Mutt]

1000 posts? I'll never do it. I haven't got enough of value to say!

If possible I'm going to stick with Mission although I'm watching about 20 different items on the popular on-line auction site with the hope of grabbing a bargain.

 

[Mutt]

I went for a B&W CC6 S2 in the end. It doesn't match my fronts and it doesn't get the greatest reviews (although some people love it) but I got it for a good price. It'll be adequate for now until I can afford something better.

Rather than start a new thread with another one of my daft questions I thought I'd ask here ... Regular speaker cables are far too thick for the spring clips on my Onkyo 309. Would anyone know of an adaptor that can be used or if thinner cables are available which can match the quality of the thicker cable? Ideally I'd like to be able to buy 2 x 2m bi-wire cables for the front and 2 x 1m bi-wire cables for the centre.

 

[Mutt]

Thanks for the insight and suggestion lucid. The price seems fairly reasonable for the Chord Carnivals. Might be worth considering if it'll fit in the spring clips. Talking of which, would there be any loss of sound quality if I was to snip away any of the copper/silver cable in an attempt to make it fit?

 

[Mutt]

Some really useful info there mate. Thanks for that.

I've heard Van Damme Blue mentioned a few times on here. I can get 2 x 1m cables (1.5mm) for £1.52 delivered. Would they be worth going for?

Cheers for the tip about not twisting the cable and the soldering. I'll be sure to try your suggestion.

 

[Mutt]

I don't know. I need to give this some serious consideration. It's nearly the same cost as half a pint of beer!

Just bought them. I'm sure they'll be fine although I've got nothing to compare them to. I've only ever used computer speakers and the cheapo cables that come packaged with them.