Would lose ~ 1/2" in height, must account for the thickness of the wood (I've looked at this many times over the years) A slim WT/MW center with a ribbon tweeter just isn't possible.Quote:
Originally Posted by N Boros
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Would lose ~ 1/2" in height, must account for the thickness of the wood (I've looked at this many times over the years) A slim WT/MW center with a ribbon tweeter just isn't possible.Quote:
Originally Posted by N Boros
I really appreciate all the detailed feedback! I guess this makes me think I'll end up with the duo and maybe in my next home when I'm planning to have a more dedicated Home Theater setup I'll upgrade to a horizon!Quote:
Originally Posted by davef
That makes sense. It would require a new midrange driver being a bit smaller to make it work. Again, this all seems like a lot of work to shave off a few inches of height.Quote:
Originally Posted by davef
I used to be on of those concerned about lobing in an MTM center design. In fact, for my living room setup I knew that I wanted the CMT 340s for the fronts and HTM 200s for surrounds. I was just about dead set on getting an HTM 200 for the center speaker because, looking at the measurements it has more uniform off axis response. And in this living room setup I have very wide off axis seats. Basically my main seat is 10 feet from the center channel. But, the room is 17 feet wide and there is a couch on one side and a recliner chair on the other side, about that same 10 feet perpendicular distance from the center speaker. One seat on the couch is about 40 degrees off axis. The other two seats are even more extreme.
After talking with Dave and Dina, they convinced me to give the CMT 340 center channel a shot. In the worst case scenario I would be out the shipping charges to send the speaker back. I was hesitant, but it is absolutely fine. Dialog intelligibility is no issue at all in those seats that are extremely off axis. The main issue with those seats is that you can't really get surround effects and even left to right panning effects aren't all that convincing, which is to be expected. Also since those seats are on a couch right up against a wall, the bass is a little more pronounced than it should be. But, dialog intelligibly from the center channel speaker is not an issue. I was shocked.
Bottom line, if you can fit the Horizon center channel speaker in your setup, then great. By all means use it. If you simply can't fit the size, then the Duo LCR center channel speakers will be great too, at about half the height. Honestly, even off axis I'd be surprised if you can notice much of a difference. Obviously, if you have the Sierra towers for your left and right speakers, it is nice to have the Horizon to match the output. But, the off axis lobing drastically affecting dialog intelligibility seems to me as an overblown issue, as long as you have a competently designed speaker. No need to lose any sleep over this issue, from what I can tell.
For my home theater I spent many many hours try to play around with viewing angles and how close I can get the Horizon to the ground to try to fit it in my setup. Basically I am 8 or 8 and a half feet away from a 110" motorized projector screen. I like the width of my screen for movies to be the distance I am sitting from the screen. So it is quite immersive. But, in order to have comfortable viewing angles, you don't want your eye level to be lower than 1/3 the height of the screen. At 8 to 8.5 feet from the screen you tend to not want to go with an acoustically transparent screen, since it is close enough that you will be able to see the weave of the screen sometimes. A Horizon will not fit in this setup. Either the Horizon would be too close to the ground, where it is in a compromised position, or the screen would be too high and people get a stiff neck by the end of the movie. I really wanted it to fit, but it just doesn't fit. This is okay, since my front speakers are Sierra 2's. The extra 5 inches saved by going with the Duo are needed for me. I'm not concerned about off axis seats having dialog intelligibly issues either, from what I have seen with the CMT 340 center in my living room.
That's very reassuring. I really want the towers since music is what I care most about and I think a pair of RAAL towers will give me the best musical experience. But in reality I'm probably more like 50/50 Music/Movies and my girlfriend cares about aesthetics so I think the Duo is the best option for the space, looks, and still getting solid dialogue.
If you are 50/50 movies and music, then you might want to seriously think about one or better yet two subwoofers. I'd highly recommend Rythmik subwoofers, if you don't have one yet. You can get by with the bass from the towers, but the subwoofers are much more capable of producing bass, especially if you care about the sound reproduction from movies. Plus this allows the freedom to place the subwoofer or subwoofers, where they are best for bass and to keep your main speakers positioned where they are best for imaging, which are almost always in different locations. Something to consider while you are thinking about the budget of everything.Quote:
Originally Posted by kingcrowing
I was planning on getting a Rythmik F12! Right now I don’t have a huge space so I think one will be plenty, but I’m planning to have a more dedicated HT space in my next home and my plan was to add a second F12 if needed, and some Lunas for surround!Quote:
Originally Posted by N Boros
Sounds like you have a good plan. I bet it will sound great.Quote:
Originally Posted by kingcrowing
agree - sounds like a great plan.
WMT? (with sub)Quote:
Originally Posted by davef