Center speaker help

[Dave5210]

I've got a situation I'd like some advice on. I have purchased a Paradigm cc-370 but have since decided to upgrade to Studio 40's for the main speakers. Is it worth the extra $315 to upgrade to cc-470's? This is the first piece of the puzzle I've purchased and I want to make sure I start off the right way. Thanks in advance......

[Leef DaLucky]

Absolutely!
I don't have a lot of experience with the 370 (i've heard them a couple times), but i have the 470 along with the 40v3's in front and i can tell you its a perfect match.
same drivers, even the same cabinet size and volume for timbre matching.
From the research i've done on the 470, by all accounts, its superior to the 370.
If you have the means, i'd highly recommend switching before its too late.
Some will even say go for the 570. I think the 470/40 combination is about perfect for the price, however.

cheers, good luck,
Mikey

[cuda65]

I saw a cc-570 on e-bay you might check out.

[ajpoe]

I have the CC-470 and I have absolutely no complains. If I could do it again, I probably would have spent the extra money on the 570 just because the center is so important, but I was still kinda new to this game. I have 60s v3 for my fronts. Just out of curiousity... why did you guys go with the 40s over the 60s? Did you prefer the sound or was it for price? I'd think the 40s plus the cost of stands would put them pretty close to the cost of just getting the 60s, but again, speakers (mains and center) were the first things I bought in my setup and I was kinda new to all of this.

AJ

[Leef DaLucky]

Heya AJ,
there were a number of reasons.
a) i always thought that bookshelf speakers imaged a little better then floor standers.
b) when i auditioned them, there wasn't that much more bass pronounced by the 60's (and these will always be in use with a sub)
c) i already had a few low budget speaker stands kicking around, so it wasn't even taken into consideration.
d) i wanted complete, i mean COMPLETE, timbre matching this time around. This included cabinet volumes, drivers and physical dimensions as this system would be 90% HT and 10% music.

theyre basically the exact same speaker. But it mates with the 470 a little nicer.
I'm still a 470 fan. I've heard the 570 on numerous occasions, but i keep smiling at my 470. just something about it. Ht Addict upgraded to the 570 from the 470. He'd know better than i would about the differences. IMO, the 470 is all the centre i'll ever need. Unless of course, i hit the 649 lotto, then its C5 time


cheers, mikey

[Dave5210]

I have the CC-470 and I have absolutely no complains. If I could do it again, I probably would have spent the extra money on the 570 just because the center is so important, but I was still kinda new to this game. I have 60s v3 for my fronts. Just out of curiousity... why did you guys go with the 40s over the 60s? Did you prefer the sound or was it for price? I'd think the 40s plus the cost of stands would put them pretty close to the cost of just getting the 60s, but again, speakers (mains and center) were the first things I bought in my setup and I was kinda new to all of this.

AJ

Thanks guys, I'm sending back the 370's today and getting the 470's. I don't think I'd be as happy starting out with the first purchase in question. AJ, I've got an easier answer....I'm going with the 40's because they're going to be housed in a HT cabinet. After the wife let me know how much she disliked my speakers(?) sitting on stands beside the TV, it's my goal for this project to keep everything out of sight as much as possible.

Thanks all for the good advice!!!

[ajpoe]

dave: you want to be careful sticking speakers in a cabinet. i don't know if you've considered the extreme downside in sound quality by doing so, or even knew it makes a difference. putting the 40s on stands or getting the 60s and keeping them in open air is going to far outplay speakers in a cabinet. i understand that sometimes the WAF is in full force, but i'd really fight to keep them in open air or you may destroy the effort your putting into getting nice speakers.

mike: i agree the 470 is awesome and probably all i'll ever need. i am blown away every time i watch a new movie... just watched Saw last night and the sound rocked! i was just saying that if i were starting from scratch i would have probably gotten the 570 just b/c the center is so important and why not? :rofl:

[gd]

Dave: let me loudly second ajpoes's warning about sticking any speakers in a cabinet!... this will necessarily inhibit any speaker's performance... your WAF is duly acknowledged, but so is your attention to quality sound.

If 'keeping everything out of sight' is the prime consideration, I'd suggest re-thinking the entire speaker array... there are a few manufacturers (sorry, don't remember them) who claim their sealed bookshelves will work in a cabinet, but I'm skeptical... fortunately, at this time, many mfr's - including Paradigm - make a wide array of in-walls and on-walls... whether any of those compromises will meet your sonic standards can only be resolved through trial and error, $adly.

It's difficult enough to get drivers and crossovers to perform from within a box (speaker cabinet)... putting them inside yet another box (HT cabinet) can only make it worse... generally, loudspeakers work best in a free space with a solid wall a few feet to their rear.

I've said it before on this forum and I'm happy to repeat it: the most dreaded phrase in the world of audio is: HT cabinet.

[Dave5210]

Well.....I guess the best thing is that I haven't built anything yet. I may have to eventually take this to "Spaced out" but while we're here, I'd like some more opinions. Nothing is written in stone as of yet except my speakers (Paradigm). I have a whole wall to work with and a budget of around $10,000, of which roughly $3000 is going to the custom HT/shelving. I thought about housing the speakers in a cabinet, then pulling them out and placing them on stands, but I think that would get old. I was also thinking that maybe the builder and I could come up with a sliding base that would allow the speakers to come our slightly when in use, but would it make that much of a difference? I dunno, but the "deal" is I have to make this stuff disapear. What am I, the Amazing Kreskin?

Also, you gotta tell me what "WAF" stands for....Thanks!

[jimmyp58]

Wife Acceptance Factor, Dave.

[ajpoe]

May be towers would be more acceptable to your wife than 40s on stands. I have 60s and I think they look nice and sound awesome. I don't think you're going to really get away with having both great sound and making it invisible. Your speakers are going to sound best if you can have them about a foot or so out from the wall behind them too so just sliding them partially out of a cabinet i don't think will do much for them. You could probably get away with some in walls for surrounds whether they go into the wall or ceiling. If it were me, I would beg and plead to be able to keep your mains in the open air, or if you must, may be design a cabinet that can house some nice in walls for your fronts. On that note, may be you can just make a DIY project and turn the cabinets into speakers by mounting drivers on the front and throwing a grill over them. I don't know if there are drivers that would be made for that type of setup but i'm sure the guys in the DIY section could help or at least let you know if something like that would sound nice.

[Dave5210]

May be towers would be more acceptable to your wife than 40s on stands. I have 60s and I think they look nice and sound awesome. I don't think you're going to really get away with having both great sound and making it invisible.

AJ,
Your observation was right on! After more discussion, we came to a sort of compromise. She never did like the 60" screen I originally had chosen, so in the intrest of sonic justice, I went down in TV size to a 50-52" unit. (Believe me, it hurts to type that) I went back into Illustrator and cut the cabinet width slightly. With that, and the space I saved with the smaller TV, I was able to place speakers at the ends of the cabinet. I decided to show her the 60's, thinking that maybe it was the stands.

Well, it looks ALOT better now. A much stronger design. She likes the new layout and I get to feature my speakers...not hide them. Well worth the trade IMHO. One thing that helped convince her was the posts in this forum "pleading" me not to put the speakers inside the box.(haha) I owe you guys one! :T

[gd]

One thing that helped convince her was the posts in this forum "pleading" me not to put the speakers inside the box.

I'd like to think I've made a difference today.....

[basementjack]

Dave, have you considered a projector?

You could further scale down your screen size for day to day viewing while going to 100+ inches for movies.

Since screens take no floor space, WAF is usually pretty high. Plus, I found a strange behavoir from my wife - she likes to roll her eyes when I talk about home theater, as if I'm nuts, but when her friends come over, she's the one who's gotta show off the big screen...

[ajpoe]

I'd like to think I've made a difference today.....

Me too! Congrats on the setup Dave! (and winning the WAF battle)

[Dave5210]

Dave, have you considered a projector?

You could further scale down your screen size for day to day viewing while going to 100+ inches for movies.

Since screens take no floor space, WAF is usually pretty high. Plus, I found a strange behavoir from my wife - she likes to roll her eyes when I talk about home theater, as if I'm nuts, but when her friends come over, she's the one who's gotta show off the big screen...

Basementjack,
I never considered a projector, just because the wall to the left is a bank of 4 good-sized windows and there's alot of light coming in. It's the main room in the house and the widows provide a good view, so we wouldn't want to cover them. I'm locked into a monitor I guess. I've got some time to figure it all out because I've decided to wait and make my TV and DVD player the last piece of the project to purchase. With all the hype about the crop of TV's slated for release later this year, IMHO it's worth the wait to see how 1080p plays out.

[Mukaudio]

CC-470 vs. CC-570 dilemma

Hi,

I'm wondering the same thing about the center channel (whether to get a CC-470 or CC-570).

Currently I have Studio 20s up front and a CC-370 for my center. My dealer has a 1 year speaker upgrade program, so I'm considering replacing both the Studios and the CC-370.

I have to make a decision on the CC-370 6 months before the Studios, so I'm trying to plan ahead and figure out which front speakers I want (as that will probably drive my center decision).

Anyway,

1) If I stick with the Studio 20s, will getting the CC-470 be sufficient? What does the 570 really gain me? Is it just more bass from the center channel?

and

2) Since the Studio 60 and CC-570 both have bass drivers in them, does the 570 match up better with the 60 than the 470?

Thanks!

Mark.

[JDH]

Is the Paradigm cc 570 rear ported or is it in a sealed box?

[Mukaudio]

Is the Paradigm cc 570 rear ported or is it in a sealed box?

Good question. I didn't see anything in the Paradigm Reference catalog that said either way?

What is the effect of ports? I noticed, for example that the Mini-Monitor is rear port while the Studio 20 has a front port.

Mark.

[JDH]

Good question. I didn't see anything in the Paradigm Reference catalog that said either way?

What is the effect of ports? I noticed, for example that the Mini-Monitor is rear port while the Studio 20 has a front port.

Mark.

A sealed box or front firing port rather than a rear firing port would be my preference for a centre speaker as my intention is to place it on a shelf within an AV cabinet, the back of the cabinet shelf is removed, however a rear firing port can make speakers sound boomy if to close to a rear surface/wall. The cc470 seems to have a front firing port but not sure from the paradigm web site whether cc570 is rear port or sealed box. I'm also considering the Paradigm Studio 100's as the mains. The mains will be powered by a Rotel RB-1080 and the matching centre by 2ch's (bi-amped) from a Rotel RMB-1075.