Affordable center channel to match Sophia's?

Wilson or nothing and run phantom mode. Anything else will be a dissapointment. Matching speakers, amps and cabling is the key to a seamless presentation which is the goal. If your Wilsons image well then you may actually like it better with out a center channel. Search forums under phantom center.

I'm running phantom mode and I'm not satisfied with the dialog from movies. I can't afford a Wilson center channel (not even sure what they cost, model # etc). THere's got to be a cheaper alternative that gives satisfying results. JM Labs/Focal?

If you cant afford a Watch, look for a Cub2?

This very subject has come up a time or two in the past. I got the Soph.2's.-- HT just ain't as important to me so the price of their center is much more than I want to spend. It would be nice to know of a brand that would blend in,ya know, kinda like,for many of us less demanding HT folk. I have given a bit of thought to picking up a pair of regular speakers and maybe turning one of them sideways. Right now I'm using a Lowther center because I had 2 horn systems in the past. The dialog is quite good but that's about all.

George, I have a very similar problem, but in my case rears and matching (I'm using that term loosely) my Shahinian main 2CH speakers. I know the "right" answer in my case is Shahinians for the back (NOT cheap) and an amp. I'm not that much into MC, and even a reasonable tonal match would be good. And in my case if they can be self powered all the better.

I'm not worried about a center. My speakers are "polyradial" to begin with (think omnidirectional), so a phantom center though my MC controller would probably be good enough.

Avguy nailed it, I am glad I am not the only one who feels this way!

Does not Wilson use off the shelf drivers. Try to find a center channel that uses the same brand of drivers that Wilson uses. Look for a center that has the same dB rating as yours. Try to match it spec-wise and you might find one that blends well without breaking the bank.

Hooray! I picked up a Genesis 750 center from a fellow Audiogoner and my system is singing now! My friend Chadnliz pointed this one out by scanning the classifieds and WOW is it a good choice. The dialog in movies is now clear and powerful. Tonight I watched two episodes of Band of Brothers with my amps turned up and it was off the charts awesome.

Hey Bob,
Wow thanks for the kind words, I am really glad it worked out as good as I figured it would.

Steuspeed: I agree... unless you sit off axis the Wilson 2 channel will re-create the center...

There is a Caveat! - You make no mention of your surround processor... Meridian, Theta or something is required to try to get some fidelity out of music sountracks..

If the music/soundtrack is too loud and voices are recessed then check these things..
If you aren't using a surround processor you are losing the dialog information from most DVD players (check to make sure they are outputing in 2 channel stereo). Even if you are using a surround processor make sure that is has an option to set no speaker for the center or has a specific phantom mode. Check with AVIA test DVD to setup audio.. Digital Video Essentials might help but the old version wasn't as good.

Well, I'm going off on a tangent here, but I bought a pair of Swans M200s from John at Gustosounds when he listed recently on the 'gon. Figured I'd try them as cheap self powered surrounds. Yeah, I know they're not dipoles or bipoles, but I figured for the price I could try and offset them a little bit from the listening spot.

After about 60 hours of break in I can say I'm reasonably impressed that such an inexpensive speaker sounds as good as it does. Piano sounds like a piano, guitar sounds like a guitar. High end is clear and not harsh, low end (for its size) is not bad. It plays louder than I need it to without obvious distortion. There's a small range in the vocal area that sounds a little boxy, but I haven't gotten them off the floor yet. It makes pretty nice music; nice enough that if I can be satisfied with their placement as rears I think I'll like them!

I've heard that speakers have gotten better, for the money, over the years. While I've heard that being true with more costly models, I guess it's also true for low priced jobs, if the manufacturer cares to do it.

Tonyptony : tangent? How about a new thread?