Video Asylum

Posted by woodduck on March 21, 2002 at 19:32:48

In Reply to: Don't do this on the cheap posted by Lasermeister on March 21, 2002 at 17:40:47:

Agreed! When I obtained a HT receiver, I used it as a preamp with matching stereo amps in front, using one for the left and right channels and one channel of the other for the center channel.

However, I did not have a third speaker that timber-matched the other two speakers. I tried one from each of three other pairs that I have, but none were close. The "phantom", "ghost", or "virtual" center channel obtained by selecting "no center speaker" was far superior to using the center amp with a non-matching speaker. I finally purchased for the center channel a pre-owned speaker of the same manufacture that does timber-match the left and right speakers.

Although matching the rears to the front speakers is not as critical, it is generally best to do so if possible. And yes, receiver quality is important, especially with regard to the DAC and the preamp sections.