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Post by sahmen on May 23, 2020 17:46:50 GMT -5
Are there any advantages in driving a Center channel speaker, with a monoblock amplifier? I think this question is worth asking in the light of the often heard axiom according which the center channel speaker is the most important one in a home theater setup (whether that is indeed true or merely mythical).
My two fronts are Polk Audio LSIM 707s, and I am using the LSIM 706 as my center, with the rest of the speakers in the HT system being LSIM 702 f/xs. I have had 2 XPA-1 Gen 2 monoblocks driving the two fronts for a long time, and they work very well for two channel (set to large for Reference stereo), as well as for HT listening, of course.
Until now, I have had the XPA-5 driving the remaining speakers, and I have not really found it to be wanting in any way for HT duties, or for music (in the relatively few times I listen to Multi-channel music).
The XMC-2 drives the entire system, and so far I see no downsides in the performance of this system, whether performing in 2.1 stereo or 5.1/7.1 modes.
The only reason for this post is that I have an XPA-100 amp that has been sitting idly by since I purchased it about 4 years ago, and I have been wondering whether it would make any difference to place it on the Polk 706 center channel speaker, as the third monoblock amp driving the frontline of speakers. The center channel speaker is currently being driven by the XPA 5, and it does not sound lacking in anything to my ears so far. However, I wouldn't hesitate to drive it with the XPA-100 if that would add some kind of enhancement which the XPA-5 is not providing.
The short version of this question is: is driving a center channel speaker with a monoblock amp (as opposed a 5-channel amp) worth the difference in SQ, generally speaking?
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Post by Gary Cook on May 23, 2020 17:55:06 GMT -5
I have tried exactly that swap, XPA-5 to XPA-100 and the sound quality difference for movies was indistinguishable. So back to sub woofer duties for the XPA-100.
Cheers
Gary
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Lsc
Emo VIPs 
Posts: 3,343
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Post by Lsc on May 23, 2020 18:33:29 GMT -5
If the monoblock is a substantially better amplifier then it would be worth your while, but if not then improvement may be nominal.
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Post by sahmen on May 23, 2020 18:39:53 GMT -5
I have tried exactly that swap, XPA-5 to XPA-100 and the sound quality difference for movies was indistinguishable. So back to sub woofer duties for the XPA-100. Cheers Gary Thanks, Gary: I sort of suspected that might be the answer. Still, I wonder whether you did some multi-channel music listening with that setup (three frontal monoblocks) and whether you heard any difference. I do like the way the center channel sounds already, especially for HT, when driven by the XPA-5, so I wouldn't really want to go to the trouble of doing the swap if it will not bring any enhancements for music listening either. |
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Post by sahmen on May 23, 2020 18:50:54 GMT -5
If the monoblock is a substantially better amplifier then it would be worth your while, but if not then improvement may be nominal. I have never listened to the XPA-100, and so I do not know how to weigh it against the XPA-5, but my guess is that the XPA-100 might not be classifiable as being substantially better in this role (of course, I could be wrong) The interesting question though is this : will another XPA-1 gen 2 offer a substantially better performance driving the center channel speaker, as opposed to the XPA-5, for either music or HT listening? I also have a couple of XPA-1L's I am not currently using. Might one of them do a better job on the center channel speaker than the XPA-5? I think such differences are probably harder to discern with amps in general. The difference is much clearer when it comes to monoblocks driving the two fronts for stereo music. I noticed that when I upgraded from the XPA-5 to the 2 XPA-1Ls, and again when I went from the 1Ls to the XPA-1 gen 2s. |
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Lsc
Emo VIPs
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Post by Lsc on May 23, 2020 19:19:30 GMT -5
If the monoblock is a substantially better amplifier then it would be worth your while, but if not then improvement may be nominal. I have never listened to the XPA-100, and so I do not know how to weigh it against the XPA-5, but my guess is that the XPA-100 might not be classifiable as being substantially better in this role (of course, I could be wrong) The interesting question though is this : will another XPA-1 gen 2 offer a substantially better performance driving the center channel speaker, as opposed to the XPA-5, for either music or HT listening? I also have a couple of XPA-1L's I am not currently using. Might one of them do a better job on the center channel speaker than the XPA-5? I think such differences are probably harder to discern with amps in general. The difference is much clearer when it comes to monoblocks driving the two fronts for stereo music. I noticed that when I upgraded from the XPA-5 to the 2 XPA-1Ls, and again when I went from the 1Ls to the XPA-1 gen 2s. When I sold my XPR5 and bought the Sherbourn 7/2100, my home theater sound took a dramatic turn for the worse. My XPR2 was still around and it was great for 2 channel so music was fine but movies sounded flat. I had to do the unusual configuration of putting the XPR2 powering my left and center...this made my home theater sound better than ever. Since then I sold the XPR2 and now I have the ATI 4003 and my music and movies have never sounded better. I would think the XPA1L sounds better than the XPA5 but I’m not too sure. |
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Post by Gary Cook on May 23, 2020 19:35:26 GMT -5
I have tried exactly that swap, XPA-5 to XPA-100 and the sound quality difference for movies was indistinguishable. So back to sub woofer duties for the XPA-100. Thanks, Gary: I sort of suspected that might be the answer. Still, I wonder whether you did some multi-channel music listening with that setup (three frontal monoblocks) and whether you heard any difference. I do like the way the center channel sounds already, especially for HT, when driven by the XPA-5, so I wouldn't really want to go to the trouble of doing the swap if it will not bring any enhancements for music listening either. I didn’t try multi channel music as I knew the sub woofer would be deficient without the XPA-100 running it. Not so noticeable for movies with my DIY amp running it in lieu of the XPA-100, but with music definitely a difference. I did try an XPA-1L running the LF and the XPA-5 running the RF for stereo music. Hard to really pick a difference until I switched to mono and then listening really closely the XPA-1L was just a bit cleaner, a tiny bit more balanced in overall frequency response and a very small amount more “dynamic”. But not remotely close to night and day in any way. If you have an unused XPA-1L available then I would most definitely use it for the centre channel. Cheers Gary |
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Post by sahmen on May 23, 2020 20:58:32 GMT -5
Okay, i shall swap in one XPA-1L when I get the chance, and see what difference that makes.
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Post by 405x5 on May 23, 2020 22:43:09 GMT -5
Are there any advantages in driving a Center channel speaker, with a monoblock amplifier? I think this question is worth asking in the light of the often heard axiom according which the center channel speaker is the most important one in a home theater setup (whether that is indeed true or merely mythical). My two fronts are Polk Audio LSIM 707s, and I am using the LSIM 706 as my center, with the rest of the speakers in the HT system being LSIM 702 f/xs. I have had 2 XPA-1 Gen 2 monoblocks driving the two fronts for a long time, and they work very well for two channel (set to large for Reference stereo), as well as for HT listening, of course. Until now, I have had the XPA-5 driving the remaining speakers, and I have not really found it to be wanting in any way for HT duties, or for music (in the relatively few times I listen to Multi-channel music). The XMC-2 drives the entire system, and so far I see no downsides in the performance of this system, whether performing in 2.1 stereo or 5.1/7.1 modes. The only reason for this post is that I have an XPA-100 amp that has been sitting idly by since I purchased it about 4 years ago, and I have been wondering whether it would make any difference to place it on the Polk 706 center channel speaker, as the third monoblock amp driving the frontline of speakers. The center channel speaker is currently being driven by the XPA 5, and it does not sound lacking in anything to my ears so far. However, I wouldn't hesitate to drive it with the XPA-100 if that would add some kind of enhancement which the XPA-5 is not providing. The short version of this question is: is driving a center channel speaker with a monoblock amp (as opposed a 5-channel amp) worth the difference in SQ, generally speaking? Matters not where the power comes from so long as it’s powerful enough to deliver proportional to the mains. FAR more important is the center channel driver configuration and the height relative to the mids and tweeters of the left and right main speakers to get the best pan possible. Bill |
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Post by leonski on May 23, 2020 22:53:44 GMT -5
Major differences will show up at the amps 'limits'. Some are less capable into certain loads than others. The '707 looks to be an HT oriented speaker and as such, should not be a difficult load.
Specs are fudged with '8 ohm compatible' not really saying anything. Sensitivity is, if as advertised, not bad at all and a GOOD 100 watts and change will get you booted from your city. Don't forget
you are running multiple speakers, not just a single mono unit.
Unless you are willing to really pony up, don't worry about nickel and dime 'improvement' which might be different but long term, hardly any better.
I'm glad you went ALL one-brand for your HT setup. People mix stuff which IMO sound enough different as to clash. I hope Polk went to the trouble of making ALL in the series timbre matched.
And YES, #405 is correct. SETUP is key. I'd go so far as to say that the room is your current limit. A better room will benefit everything your system does.
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Post by sahmen on May 24, 2020 10:07:21 GMT -5
Yes leonski, all the speakers are timbre matched. |
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Post by leonski on May 24, 2020 14:43:17 GMT -5
Good on Polk
Some combinations I've see or read about here leave me with a 'head scratch'........and more questions....
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