Re: two questions regarding Sierra 2ex speakers
Originally Posted by
Linda
Right now we are running a phantom center. I tried using the Sony A90J’ television as a center and it’s usable but it really shows its warts next to the LX fronts. Right now I’m not missing an actual center. We don’t really have a good space to put one and the phantom center seems to be fine from where we sit. I’ll need a bit more time with movies to really make a decision there but right now all seems fine without the center.
I spent years without a center speaker. Just a 2.0 system for TV. It was my upgrade of my L/R pair to the original Sierra-2s (well before the EX came out) that made me think about having a center, because they sounded so good and I was wondering what I was missing.
And it turned out I was missing quite a bit. A physical center speaker really grounds the dialog and really improves dialog clarity, and it does the heavy lifting for the front stage which takes the work off the L/R pair to the point that they actually sound better -- cleaner, crisper, less distortion? IDK why exactly but it sounds so good I'll never have another system without a center. I just wish I could get those years back.
If you've got a difficult location for a center channel, look at the Duo V2. It's an excellent center, and very small. Can't keep up with the ELX towers apparently, but certainly better than a phantom center even if the Duo isn't the Horizon. I've used a Duo at center for years and loved it.
And I should point out that Ascend Acoustics does in-home speaker auditions...
"If it sounds good, it is good." -- Duke Ellington