Best center match for Energy C4s?

[audiofantoo]

I currently have Energy C4 fronts and a CC1 center but they don't match very well. The C4s are an older vintage Connoisseur line and center speakers were not available then. I can buy C2s off eBay for surround but I'm not sure what the best answer is for the center speaker. I'm considering a Veritas center but it's a big jump in price.

[Clive]

Welcome to the Guide Mr. Torello :welcome:

Have you looked at the specs of the C-C3? Should be cheeper than the Veritas I think. Of course it's a hard call if you can't audition them (from Ebay) before purchasing :scratchhead:

Good Luck! :T

[aud19]

My guess is if you want to get closer to the older model you'd probably actually want to go down a line not up.... However I'd recommend new C3's or C7 mains and move your c-4's to the rears Either that or scrap them all and upgrade the whole setup to the Veritas! :P

[Jeff Aguilar]

I would look at Ebay for an Energy AC-300, which is biwirable or the RVSS. Both of those would match your C-4's perfectly.

Here is an AC-300 on Ebay.

The Veritas is definetly a big step up. You can the non i versions on audiogon for around $400.

I would go after the AC-300. It should run you around $200 used. It is a great speaker!

Jeff Aguilar

[audiofantoo]

C-C1 vs C-C3

Thanks for the help! I thought the AC-300 might be worth a try but the last time I tried bidding on one the seller wanted too much. Guess it's worth another attempt.

If I can't get an AC-300, do you think the C-C3 would bring me closer to matching the C-4s than the C-C1?

[Jeff Aguilar]

I haven't listened to the C-C3, so I couldn't tell you. I have listened to the the old Connesuer line compared to the new one and they are VERY different sounding to me. They use much different tweeters. The new C line is suppose to have the same tweeter as the veritas line, but it sounds MUCH different. The Veritas is much more wide open and less compressed. I think the old C line sounds better to me than the new one. But that is just my opinion.

Jeff

[audiofantoo]

I agree, and a white noise tone test confirms this. Based just on white noise, the C-4s are much flatter and their highs extend beyond the C-C1. I don't have any DVD audio or SACD source so I bought a Diana Krall concert DVD to get a sense of what surround audio would be like and she disappeared when I switched from stereo to 5.1! I cranked the center up and turned down the fronts but the image didn't improve even at the most extreme settings. When I went back to using just the 2 C-4s there she was - right in the middle of the stage again :-)

I'm going to try returning the C-C1 today and take my chances on eBay.