Using TV combined with Speakers

[dlinfield]

I have:

Brand new LG OLED65C7D TV
Older Onkyo TX-NR609 AV Receiver
Two 20 YEAR old floor standing Mission speakers.
No rear speakers.

I am using an optical out from the TV to the receiver.

Even though speakers are old, they still sound great. However, I've been thinking of adding a centre speaker. What are the thoughts on this?

The TV has the ability to use the TV speaker at the same as the stand alone speakers. What about using this as the centre speaker?

Thanks.

 

[dlinfield]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from dlinfield : "Using TV speaker with Other Speakers"

I have:

Brand new LG OLED65C7D TV
Older Onkyo TX-NR609 AV Receiver
Two 20 YEAR old floor standing Mission speakers.
No rear speakers.

I am using an optical out from the TV to the receiver.

Even though speakers are old, they still sound great. However, I've been thinking of adding a centre speaker. What are the thoughts on this?

The TV has the ability to use the TV speaker at the same time as the stand alone speakers. What about using this as the centre speaker?

Thanks.

 

[Scottray]

I'd definitely recommend a center speaker. It will provide a better sound stage for tv and movies, because dialog will come from the center and background and directional sounds will come from floor speakers. If you use the TV's speakers, it will just duplicate the floor standing speakers, but doesn't create the sound stage effect.

 

[americanaudiophile]

The center channel speaker in a surround system primarily handles dialogue. Using one makes it easier to understand what is being said especially when there is a lot of other sound going on.
Using the TV speakers doesn't really do that and can't be controlled with the receiver so you would have to change the TV volume and receiver volume every time to keep the levels set correctly. TV speakers are usually pretty lousy sounding too.
It is important to match the sound of the center channel to the Mission speakers you already have. That might be a bit tricky as new Mission speakers won't sound like yours.

 

[dlinfield]

The center channel speaker in a surround system primarily handles dialogue. Using one makes it easier to understand what is being said especially when there is a lot of other sound going on.
Using the TV speakers doesn't really do that and can't be controlled with the receiver so you would have to change the TV volume and receiver volume every time to keep the levels set correctly. TV speakers are usually pretty lousy sounding too.
It is important to match the sound of the center channel to the Mission speakers you already have. That might be a bit tricky as new Mission speakers won't sound like yours.

I keep seeing the matching point. Don't really want to waste money on a centre speaker that might make things worse. If the centre is not matched to the other speakers, will it be "less good" or actually degrade the sound.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Scottray]

I disagree with the matching point, especially since the center speaker is mostly for dialog on TV and movies. It doesn't appear that you're trying to build a system for critical listening. You may want to try going to a local AV store and see if you can try out a couple of center speakers and see which sounds best with your system.

 

[americanaudiophile]

You want a center channel that is clear at low volumes. Tonally you want to come as close as you can to your Monitor Audio speakers. If you could find another Monitor Audio speaker with the same tweeter that would be best.
In most cases using a good center channel will be better than not using one at all. Using a bad one will be worse. As suggested use you own ears. There are a lot of used center channel speakers out there too.

 

[dlinfield]

You want a center channel that is clear at low volumes. Tonally you want to come as close as you can to your Monitor Audio speakers. If you could find another Monitor Audio speaker with the same tweeter that would be best.
In most cases using a good center channel will be better than not using one at all. Using a bad one will be worse. As suggested use you own ears. There are a lot of used center channel speakers out there too.

Thanks for the helpful answer. I think I take away from this that I should find myself a good quality centre. Period!

Regarding the advice "with the same tweeter" and "use your own ears" comments:

(1) I have no idea how to find the same tweeter for new speakers, let alone 20-year old speakers!
(2) To use my own ears, I'd have to get a selection in my home to see what actually suited. This is, of course, impractical. If I buy at my local shop, there's a 15% restocking fee. That will get expensive fast. If I buy used, I'm pretty sure I won't get to return.

Hope that doesn't sound snarky, as I do appreciate the core advice to get a good centre speaker.

 

[dlinfield]

You want a center channel that is clear at low volumes. Tonally you want to come as close as you can to your Monitor Audio speakers. If you could find another Monitor Audio speaker with the same tweeter that would be best.
In most cases using a good center channel will be better than not using one at all. Using a bad one will be worse. As suggested use you own ears. There are a lot of used center channel speakers out there too.

Thanks for the helpful answer. I think I take away from this that I should find myself a good quality centre. Period!

Regarding the advice "with the same tweeter" and "use your own ears" comments:

(1) I have no idea how to find the same tweeter for new speakers, let alone 20-year old speakers!
(2) To use my own ears, I'd have to get a selection in my home to see what actually suited. This is, of course, impractical. If I buy at my local shop, there's a 15% restocking fee. That will get expensive fast. If I buy used, I'm pretty sure I won't get to return.

Hope that doesn't sound snarky, as I do appreciate the core advice to get a good centre speaker.

 

[dlinfield]

I disagree with the matching point, especially since the center speaker is mostly for dialog on TV and movies. It doesn't appear that you're trying to build a system for critical listening. You may want to try going to a local AV store and see if you can try out a couple of center speakers and see which sounds best with your system.

Thanks for this. I think I just need a good centre. No idea how to get "matching" for 20-year-old Missions, in any event.

 

[americanaudiophile]

I meant that if you could find a used Monitor Audio speaker from the same series as yours that could be used as a center channel speaker even if wasn't made for that application. A single bookshelf speaker from the same series would fit in many cases.
As for trying different center channels some AV shops will let you borrow their demo speakers without a restocking charge since they are already being used.
You could also try contacting Monitor Audio to see if they could suggest one of their current center channel speakers as a good match.