Center Channel Speaker Help
 

Hi everybody.

I'm looking to upgrade my center channel speaker (currently KLH Platinum 525). I've heard that a center speaker needs to be soundmatched with the fronts. My Fronts are JBL HLS610.

Does that mean that I should go for a JBL center speaker? HLS, S or N series? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Additional Info:
Rears are: AR 215 PS
Sub is: Infinity BU 120
Receiver is: JVC RX 888V
My budget for this upgrade is $200
My HT is used 66% TV and 33% DVD

Thanks in advance for any help

your center speaker should be a JBL HLS series model, this will make a nice smooth transition between all front speakers.

so you think I should get HLS Center even though it is discontinued?

The HLS Center is going to be the best match for your mains.

I seem to recall reading the the HLS Center had a design flaw in that the horn was mounted incorrectly, as in sideways, causing the horizontal dispersion to be poor. It seems that a number of people just rotated the horn 90 degrees to solve the problem, I suppose it depends on how wide your listening area is. I'm sure a google search might turn up some usenet articles on the issue.

The HLS series from JBL used a horn style tweeter so to match the sound charateristics of your mains it is best you use a center speaker with the same voice. I have older JBL main, TLX181, so I use an older FLIX20 center speaker because both use a 1/2" dome tweeter. By matching the speakers voice the front sound field flows smoothly between the mains and the center channel with no tonal differences.
Greg

Thanks...

I'll start looking for HLS Center and for ways to rotate the horn.