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Thread: Center 2Ex or Duo?

  1. #11
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    May 2016
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    Default Re: Center 2Ex or Duo?

    Quote Originally Posted by JustABrah View Post
    From my understanding if your S2 EX center is vertical then it’s the better speaker but if you need it horizontal than the duo is the better option. Depending how how you place your center should decide that for you.
    Not that I want to start a war but I can't see the slightest bit of logic to that. ;-)

    I'm sure many will swear their S2ex's sound diff on their side vs whether vertical. But other than the tweeter dispersion, which does make sense, and is why one reorients the ribbon, the idea seems silly to me.

  2. #12
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    May 2019
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    Default Re: Center 2Ex or Duo?

    Quote Originally Posted by Blingleberry View Post
    Not that I want to start a war but I can't see the slightest bit of logic to that. ;-)

    I'm sure many will swear their S2ex's sound diff on their side vs whether vertical. But other than the tweeter dispersion, which does make sense, and is why one reorients the ribbon, the idea seems silly to me.
    I believe that when the woofer and tweeter are inline horizontally, they can interfere with each other in the horizontal plane at shared frequencies (i.e. at the crossover). The result is that the dispersion is not symmetrical across the horizontal plane. How detrimental is this? I don't know.

    When the 2 way speaker is positioned vertically, this interference still exists, but it is in the vertical plane. So less variance seat to seat?

    -Tom K

  3. #13
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    May 2016
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    169

    Default Re: Center 2Ex or Duo?

    Maybe in certain setups, but I still find this sketchy in terms of actual physics. But I suppose I could try putting one of my S2Ex's into my cabinet - it might fit vertically if I remove the shelf. Then I'd at least get to hear a 2ex as a center.

    Having the S2 in the cabinet, rear port and all, just seems like there's a lot of space in there for the sound to bounce around.

    I have one of these with the center door having a steel grate instead of the glass.

    https://www.salamanderdesigns.com/av...rgy-model-237/


  4. #14
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
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    157

    Default Re: Center 2Ex or Duo?

    Quote Originally Posted by Blingleberry View Post
    Maybe in certain setups, but I still find this sketchy in terms of actual physics. But I suppose I could try putting one of my S2Ex's into my cabinet - it might fit vertically if I remove the shelf. Then I'd at least get to hear a 2ex as a center.

    Having the S2 in the cabinet, rear port and all, just seems like there's a lot of space in there for the sound to bounce around.

    I have one of these with the center door having a steel grate instead of the glass.

    https://www.salamanderdesigns.com/av...rgy-model-237/


    I was confused about the Duo vs S2 EX as a center debate as well and this is what Dave had to say about it.

    http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/sho...-Horizon/page5

  5. #15
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    Default Re: Center 2Ex or Duo?

    Quote Originally Posted by tkrae11 View Post
    I believe that when the woofer and tweeter are inline horizontally, they can interfere with each other in the horizontal plane at shared frequencies (i.e. at the crossover). The result is that the dispersion is not symmetrical across the horizontal plane. How detrimental is this? I don't know.

    When the 2 way speaker is positioned vertically, this interference still exists, but it is in the vertical plane. So less variance seat to seat?

    -Tom K
    It's not interference.

    It's because the size of the baffle to the left and right of the drivers is no longer symmetrical, so the dispersion to the left and right are not identical.

    if the driver layout is horizontal, and identical to the left and right of center, then the dispersion is identical up/down and left/right.

    That said, I don't have any issue with my S2 on its side.
    -curtis

  6. #16
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    Default Re: Center 2Ex or Duo?

    Quote Originally Posted by curtis View Post
    It's not interference.

    It's because the size of the baffle to the left and right of the drivers is no longer symmetrical, so the dispersion to the left and right are not identical.

    if the driver layout is horizontal, and identical to the left and right of center, then the dispersion is identical up/down and left/right.

    That said, I don't have any issue with my S2 on its side.
    Well, yes and no - there is some level of waveform interference because, for example, if you are off to the left and the tweeter is on the left side, the sound waves from the tweeter will reach you before the woofer, and if you are off to the right side, woofer sound waves will reach you first. This causes phase anomalies which is a form of waveform interference.
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    Good Sound To You!

    David Fabrikant
    www.ascendacoustics.com

  7. #17
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    Default Re: Center 2Ex or Duo?

    Quote Originally Posted by davef View Post
    Well, yes and no - there is some level of waveform interference because, for example, if you are off to the left and the tweeter is on the left side, the sound waves from the tweeter will reach you before the woofer, and if you are off to the right side, woofer sound waves will reach you first. This causes phase anomalies which is a form of waveform interference.
    Ahh...thanks Dave.
    -curtis

  8. #18
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    May 2016
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    169

    Default Re: Center 2Ex or Duo?

    Well I had a good morning today so I pulled the cord on a Duo center. Esp since we're spending so much time in front of the telly.

    If anyone's looking for a single S2 in Cherry PM me :-)

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
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    93

    Default Re: Center 2Ex or Duo?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Watson View Post
    I upgraded my S-2 center to a Duo. It's a marked improvement. The Duo center really punches above it's weight class. It's quite impressive, the Duo is.

    Search around the archives here -- I believe that Dave has said that the Duo is a better center than the S-2EX under most circumstances.

    That said, I'm also running with a pair of Rythmik LVX12 subs using 80 Hz xovers with everything. The subs also make an improvement in both dialog and L/R. Don't make the mistake of thinking that subs are only about the bottom two octaves or so. They also cleanup the midrange by doing the heavy lifting and therefore lowering the workloads on the other speakers.

    Back to the Duo, my wife gave me "that look" when I upgraded to the Duo. But she had been complaining a bit about not being able to understand dialog in some of the TV series she was following. Even with a +2dB bump on the center channel. But she immediately took to the Duo, cured all of her dialog intelligibility problems all at once, and restored balance to the system at the same time by returning to a 0 dB bump. And neither she, nor I, have felt any need for a better center since I dropped the Duo in place and re-ran Audyssey for it. It's so good that she now denies ever giving me "that look" in the first place.

    So... will it work for you? That's what the in-home trial period is for. What have you got to loose?
    How would you compare dialogue intelligibility of the Duo to a S-2 oriented vertically as the center? Sometimes I have issues understanding dialogue with my S-2 center but can’t tell if it’s just the British accents.

  10. #20
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    May 2016
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    169

    Default Re: Center 2Ex or Duo?

    I didn't try it. I could reorient the tweeter and try but I don't I'll notice any diff from the speaker on its side. I'd say I'm somewhat dubious of the differences described by others unless you're way off axis.

    Anyway, I should put the S2 tweeter back to normal anyway. I might give my old center S2 away, which raises the q, if anyone has a spare S2, PM me. I'd be happy to take it off your hands and give them to my brother!

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