How to Choose the Best Center Channel Speakers

How to choose the best center channel speaker:
When you have a surround-sound home stereo system then it must also have a center channel speaker. It is necessary for availing the true potential of this mesmerizing and captivating technology. They reproduce the dialogues, music, and sound effects which the director and production engineers intended for them to produce. It is important to accentuate that about 50% of a sound track is produced by these speakers. These speakers have a huge and enormous responsibility in providing you with that marvelous and outstanding surround sound experience which makes you forget about the world you inhabit and disappear into the one you’re watching or listening to. When you are watching a movie normally a lot of sound just isn’t clear enough and thus you only get to listen to the main or primary dialogues and all the other important sounds are completely wasted. A center channel speaker reproduces those seemingly trivial and unimportant sounds and you get to experience a lot more than you’d even imagine. These sounds are of such delicate nature that they’d normally go unnoticed but with the help of a center channel speaker they are no longer tarnished by the background noise and you notice the little trivial details. When selecting a center channel speaker you should practice extreme caution because you don’t want to choose a center channel speaker which is incompatible with your other systems. Here we enlist all the factors for which you have to keep an eye out for in order to avoid any unnecessary frustration later on when putting it all together.

Compatibility:
You need to buy center channel speakers which are compatible with your other speakers. This is important because when sound will travel from one speaker to another, it will do so smoothly and because those speakers will be acoustically similar to yours. You will feel no difference between the sounds emanating from different speakers.
We strongly urge and recommend you that you buy the center channel speaker from the same manufacturer from whom you bought the rest of your speakers. You might think that because you have ordered from the same company, you have nothing to worry about and everything will work perfectly and flawlessly. This is not always the case and you should check the series of your speakers before deciding on a particular center channel speaker. If you can’t discern what center speaker will work with your surround sound speakers then you can always contact customer service and explain them your whole situation. They’ll guide you about what to do.

Technical Specifications:
There are many technical specifications which are to be taken into account before buying a center channel speaker. Here we list some of the many which you must be sufficiently acquainted with so that you make an admirable decision.

Configuration Ratio:
Buyers might encounter ratios like 3:1 , 5:1 , 6:1 or 7:1. These ratios apprise you of the configuration of your surround sound system. The first number indicates the surround sound speakers and the second number indicates the number of subwoofers.

Bi-wire Capability:
This capability is possessed by some high end speakers. They have two sets of female connectors, one for the tweeter and one for the woofer. This enables the speakers to produce better bass definition.

Cross-over frequency:
Cross-over frequency refers to the process in which the signal is segregated into different portions and sent to the different speakers where it is interpreted as sound. This splitting and redirection is done dependent on the frequencies, the signals with the higher frequency are sent to the tweeter, the ones with lower frequency are sent to the woofer and the one with middle frequencies are directed towards mid-range speakers. A higher cross-over frequency is usually desirable since the switch is undetectable and hence the whole collective experience is splendid and remarkable.

Frequency Response:
Frequency response is the range of frequencies the speaker is capable of producing without any blemishes and with perfection.

Impedance:
Impedance is the capability of the electric circuit to resist the flow of alternating current. This resistance is produced by a voice coil.

Magnetic shielding:
Magnetic shielding is done when the manufacturer’s of the speaker’s want to prevent the magnets inside the center channel speaker’s speakers from interfering with the electronic equipment lying in the vicinity.

Other Considerations: Size, Placement, and Orientation:
There are many other factors which are also very important to consider before buying a center channel speaker, some of which are size, placement and orientation.

Size:
A large size is ideal because the larger the speaker the more remarkable and wonderful the overall sound is. It is obviously dependent upon your budget but if you have a commodious room then don’t refrain from buying a smaller center channel speaker. A 38 inch or larger tower speakers are renowned and distinguished for the brilliant quality sound they produce. If buying them is not possible then you can also buy 12-15 inch speakers which also provide marvelous and robust sound. You should only buy 7-inch speakers if you have a scarcity of space because they take less space but at the cost of acoustical quality.

Placement:
Selection of a center channel speaker which is befitting and congruous with the spatial configuration of the room and the stereo system is essential and mandatory. No matter what the surround sound configuration, 3:1, 5:1 or 6:1, the left, center and right speakers should be placed in front of the listener. The center channel speaker should always be placed above or below the television screen in order to not disturb the surround sound experience. The tweeters of all three speakers should be at the ear level of the seated listener.

Here is a list of our top reviewed center speakers: