by Marc Phillippe Babineau

Created on: August 03, 2008

Other than the receiver, the centre channel speaker is the most important component of a home theatre system. The centre channel speaker delivers the spoken word, as in the actor's dialogue, and you want to have the vocals coming from where the actors actually are; right in front of you on the television screen, not behind you or to your left. Component systems, or home theatre systems that are bought by matching a receiver with a set of speakers, is the best way to buy a home theatre system. So, how to choose the best centre channel for your home theatre system?

It could become an exercise in futility if you have a home-theatre-in-a-box (HTIB) system, where everything from the wires, speakers and receiver are in one box, pre-set and ready to go. The only things that have to be done with an HTIB are to properly position the speakers, and then to calibrate them so that the sound is hitting your 'sweet spot' perfectly. There are no after-market components that will fit perfectly with an HTIB, as there is not enough power for a good centre channel speaker, and the receiver would be the bottom of the line of that respective manufacturer.

However, the centre channel speakers in an HTIB are always under-rated, and purchasing a better centre channel speaker will better than double your systems performance. The centre channel really is that important. This extra cost, plus the eventual replacement of the subwoofer with a better, powered one, and then upgrading the receiver, well buying an HTIB should only be for apartment dwellers and people who are not audiophiles. The cost of the updates on top of the HTIB would be less than a good component system ($2,000 to $6,000 USD).

The 'sweet spot' is the position in the room where you will be sitting and watching the television the most from. Whether it is your favourite recliner or the couch, the speakers must be pointed at where your head will be at most times, and calibrated so that you get equal volume from the 4 surround speakers. The centre channel speaker in an HTIB is not going to be a good one, and noise will be leaking into it from the other speakers, giving you more than just the spoken word. As you climb up in the monetary value for centre channel speakers, you will get better and better source audio from the speaker; meaning that the noise' that leaks into the centre channel from the other speakers is limited or completely gone, giving you clean, crisp voice audio, and the surround speakers then can concentrate

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