Question about a new center speaker

[Paul.n3w]

I recently got my first stereo equipment, which is not the best, but I am really happy with it for the price I paid I got the JBL ProPack II, which included a reciever, DVD player, and 5.1 speakers. Like I said, I'm loving it, but I think that the center channel could be improved. Plus, I'll only have to buy one speaker and it won't cost too much! But I was wondering, since I have these little satalite speakers, will a big center overpower everything else? Or will this not be a problem, since all the speakers wil have the same (100w) to them?

For reference, here are the speakers that came with the HTIAB

and here is the JBL S-Center that I was looking to buy (only $129 on etronics.com)

Also, the reciever can set each individual speaker as 'large' or 'small'. I assume if I was to replace the default center with this new center, I could change it to 'large'? Or is this still relatively small compaired to other, better things?

I'm really new to this, so sorry if these are stupid questions!

[chlngr1970]

Well, what you can do is upgrade slowly starting with the center, then pick up Mains, and use the satalites for the rears. You could also pick up that 12" sub that JBL makes, and use the sub that comes with the Pro Pack as a Sub-Sat rear setup. Of course this can all be done over time as funds allow.

To your question...

Will the center overpower the satalites?

Not if you set up the system with a SPL meter. Then all the levels should match. The center may have more bass, but you can set all of the speakers to small and use the internal crossover for that till you get some better mains to match the center. There lies what could be a problem tho...

The center will no longer be timber matched like the stock speaker.

If it were me, I'd save up the cash to get the mains with that center you want, then it will all match up.

j

[I 8 Piglet]

I have to agree, with chlngr1970, save up and get matching northridge satalites to use as your mains, they really arent that expensive anyway.

http://www.bestbuy.com/Detail.asp?m=...=16&e=11099607

[sub780lime]

if your looking at that JBL center it is pretty nice, i have that center and it sounds pretty darn good

[keiths]

the studio series in general is a nice setup for a low price

I have to agree, with chlngr1970, save up and get matching northridge satalites to use as your mains, they really arent that expensive anyway

If you are going to pick up the S-center, pick up the Studio series as they were intended (timber matched) to be used with the s-center.

the tweeters on the s-center match the studio series(s-26, s38, s310, etc..) .

if you want to go a little lower in price go with with the Northridge series (I have the N-Center and a pair of N-38's for my mains and they sound pretty good for my non-golden ears)

the big question will be how good is that reciever that comes with the HTIB and what can it power.

[palebluedot]

As long as your on a continuing upgrade track, I'd say get it if you can afford it. I took a similar upgrade route as you. I started off with a Yamaha system much like your JBL's. It was a cheap way to get 5.1 sound right away.

I upgraded the center first to a Polk Audio CSi30 , which really made me want to go out and buy the rest of the speakers that night. I think you will notice immediate improvements in dialogue clarity and presence. However, in my case it did sound a bit empty around the rest of the room comparatively. Especially when things in movies pan from Left to Center to Right or vice versa. However instances like that are nice in that they show you just how much better your system will sound when everything is upgraded.

But you gotta start out somewhere unless you're rich and can afford to buy everything at once. Not a bad speaker to start out on tho.

My Home Theatre
http://www.dvdfile.com/interactive/f...threadid=24525

[Paul.n3w]

wow! Thanks for all the advice!

I picked this HTIAB because it was able to be added to. Some of the cheap ones looked like you could only use the speakers provided, and like palebluedot was saying, I wanted this to be something I could upgrade, and eventually grow out of. When I have the money that is! What I'll probably do is upgrade my center channel, then mains, and the rear speakers, then by the time that's all finished, I'll be out of my college dorm and will be able to get a better sub

chlngr1970 - You could also pick up that 12" sub that JBL makes, and use the sub that comes with the Pro Pack as a Sub-Sat rear setup.

That would be amazing

keiths - the big question will be how good is that reciever that comes with the HTIB and what can it power.

How can I find this out? I know it can put out 100 watts to each channel, including the sub, but what else do you rate a reciever by? I was surprised to see that there really are no settings for each individual speaker (other than volume and delay times). I was expecting some kind of equalizer thing... Would something like this only be available on a processor that goes in between the reciever and the speakers? I am such a newbie when it comes to audio

Thanks again for your help, maybe I'll hold off on buying the center until I have moeny for the mains as well. But, I'm more likely to spend all my money on new DVDs before that happens

[Paul.n3w]

Ok, one more stupid question...

When you get a seperate amplifier to power bigger and better speakers, how do you connect the 5 channels from the reciever to the amp? I'm guessing this is why you would buy a better reciever, one that has some sort of direct-outputs to go to the amp? Like the LFE output but for the other 5 channels?

[keiths]

My concerns relate to how true the specs are on the reciever (numbers bloated or not). My Onkyo SR500 is rated at 65 watts by the Manufacturer. But in 5 speaker usage its more like 35 watts per channel.

Also many higher priced speakers have scores of different options for speakers settings and outputs which some/many lower priced recievers don't.

My reciever has a 80 - 100 - 120 frequency cutoff setting for all speakers but nothing for each individual speaker.

And I only have multi-channel input not output

Time to upgrade and grab that Kenwood vr-6070 at work

how do you connect the 5 channels from the reciever to the amp?

Most recievers over the $500 mark come with whats called PreOuts (preamp-level signal outputs). These bypass the internal amps and are used to reroute the signal to external amps. Whether or not sub-500 dollar recievers carry this, I could not say. But give a look-see and check.