posted
i'm about to start a build on a 02 honda accord 4 door and i'm thinking about doing a center channel because she has the alpine 701 and the IVA-w200 double din. the center channel will be right below the radio where the factory pocket area is, right in front of the shifter.
i was thinking i could just do two 3-4" speakers and maybe a tweeter but i've never done a center channel and would like to know what you all have to say. and it will be getting about 75w rms @ 4ohms
here are afew i thought may work ok if you have any other speakers you think would work alot better let me know !
posted
i've been doing some searching and i can't find much info on what the center channel's main purpose is in a 5.1 system. i've always been lead to belive it is used mainly for vocals and to keep the listeners attention on the center and looking at the screen (monitor). And if that is the case what frequency should I focus the speakers on? I would guess the range being very wide. Maybe 300hz – 25,000
-------------------- I'm a Newb tell me how to win ! Posts: 329 | From: Green City MO | Registered: Apr 2004
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The mai thing about doing center channels is you want them to sound as much like your current front speakers as possible. Helps to ensure a seamless and even transition between all the front speakers when panning. Like if a jet flies across the screen left to right, the more uniform the sound, the more realistic it will seem.
Depending on the speakers used, you would probably want to concentrate on a range between say 200-20k. The larger the mids, the lower the frequency you can usually pass thru them under power without distortion and break-up.
i was thinking only one of the tweeters and two of the other. i'll also be building a passive crossover for them at a 12dB slope. and i belive i'll add in a zoble network and a L-pad to match them better. im still learning alot about this so my next question may seem newbish. what frequency's would you all set for the speakers if you was to use a 12 dB slope. i know you want the tweeter and midrange to overlap each other a little so there isn't a gap in sound and also i've heard a good rule of thumb for the tweeter is go about an octave above the FS.
And obviously the midrange and tweeter overlap each other a lot as far as the frequency range goes. That’s where I’m having the problem picking where to set the crossover points.
-------------------- I'm a Newb tell me how to win ! Posts: 329 | From: Green City MO | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
I would use whatever speakers you are using in the rest of the front stage. And if you are concerned with 5.1 sound, you need to use a larger speaker since the center channel is the main channel in those kinds of systems.
-------------------- Team Image Dynamics/Zapco/Werewolf/JK Lab Team Kinetik Sick Bastard Audio SQ Who feels it knows it Posts: 7996 | From: Charlotte,NC USA | Registered: May 1999
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posted
winslow dude your awesome thank you for the advice, so i ran what every one has said by her and she can't get the same speakers she has up front and doesn't want to switch them out for others (trust me i've tried lol) and the main reason she wants the center channel is because when she tries to play some of her music DVD's they sound funny and i suggested that it was prob because she didn't have a center channel and the way the dvd is encoded she will prob need the center channel.
and another thing about the alpine 701 and afew dvd's, the subs wont play unless you have a setting turned on i can't remember what it's called but once i turn it on the subs play but the rest of the speakers sound like azz. and i'm thinking the center channel will fix it. she really just likes loud and could care less about sound staging and SQ for that matter.
and i figued this would give me a great chance to teach myself more about speakers crossovers and how they all come together. i would like to learn how to match speakers together, and i figured you all on this forum would be my best bet ! i've also been studying the loudspeaker design cookbook it has helped me alot with the cross over designs and zoble networks and L-pads. but i still don't know how much of an overlap speakers should have, or a good rule of thumb any way.
i'm not looking to become a pro over night just afew points would be awesome ! or afew links to more sources that i can learn from.
thanks again !
-------------------- I'm a Newb tell me how to win ! Posts: 329 | From: Green City MO | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
YOu can give it a go...but IME (which isn't much with center channels and 5.1), you should have the same speakers for the center speaker as you do with the rest of the front...and you really need to be able to play to 100 hertz or so with them.
THE person to talk to would be Andy Wheymeyer at JBL. I'm sure if you went to Carsound and looked around, there are a few topics about this very same subject...and if you wanted more info, you could always email him...nice guy to talk to.
-------------------- Team Image Dynamics/Zapco/Werewolf/JK Lab Team Kinetik Sick Bastard Audio SQ Who feels it knows it Posts: 7996 | From: Charlotte,NC USA | Registered: May 1999
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posted
easy way is to have a louder center channel than other speakers lmao.. it's pretty easy imo, mine is getting less power but it's right in your face so it's pretty much all you hear besides bass... and it's a 5.25" comp set... on a old zed us acoustic 2075 I think it is... little amp like 7x10" or something really small... its under my dash above the kick area...
mine isn't running 5.1 just off regular stereo... I have a digital optical out, but don't care to use it.. I think I'd have to get a processor or something... and it's too much effort lol.. anyhow, its loud and so clean its hard to tell its playing loud besides the fact my kid is right behind me screaming and I can turn it up loud enough to not hear him ... he's 5 so I better get him some earplugs or headphones if I plan on doing that on the regular though... don't want to abuse his ears afterall.. just got it all installed yesterday.
a PG zeropoint 5.25" paired with MBQ discus tweets and xover... the MB mids are in the mother inlaws durango off her stock deck lol...
yeah, the pod is unfinished, I sanded it down to like 160 or something got lazy and painted some cheap paint over it ... I'm gonna redo it since it's not even symmetrical and vinyl it sometime in the near future.. I've been working on this project for a long time sadly and just wanted to hear it allready lol
-------------------- Posts: 2074 | From: Kailua-Kona, Hi | Registered: Dec 2001
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