# Peterman's Unofficial Surround Speaker Evaluation Thread



## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

Long story short - I'm in the market for some relatively inexpensive, low profile, wall-mountable surround speakers to replace the Definitive Technology Studiomonitor 350s I am currently using for all of my surround channels.

A little background... I originally chose the Def Techs for their cost, size, and specs, and they are great little speakers for under $200 a pair. I currently use them for surrounds, rears, and front wides. I have been bothered for a while by the fact that they stick out quite from the walls, several inches beyond the 6" deep GIK panels I have mounted adjacent to them. It's not uncommon for me to almost knock them off the wall moving around the edges of the room, and to my eyes they just look a bit goofy sticking out.

More specific requirements... They must be no more than about 6-6.5 inches deep, compact/light enough to be mounted to the wall, bass response down to at least 80Hz, lower is better, and relatively inexpensive. I'm thinking under $300 a pair.

What I've found so far... Lots of options that are either too expensive (price range I'd consider for mains, not surrounds), not shallow enough, or need to be crossed over to a sub above 100Hz. I have discovered a couple of very promising options though.

First option: Chase HT M1 MTM monitors. They are pretty much the perfect size, have decent bass response, and Craig is practically giving them away right now. He has graciously offered to lend me a group of them to evaluate. (reference this thread) Consider this an unofficial review of the M1, and expect participation from Craig.

Second option: BIC America FH6-LCR. These are also perfectly sized for my application, with decent specs. Despite their MSRP of over $300 a piece, they are available for a little over $100 a piece.

So, where do I go from here?

1 - Craig will be sending me some M1s next week which I will immediately install in place of my existing surrounds and begin evaluating with the rest of my system. Rather than a typical review format where I compile all of my findings into a single post, I will post regular updates and impressions as I throw new material at them and possibly try some different configurations. Again - you'll hear from Craig, who has personally compared these with many other speakers.

2. I will most likely order at least one pair of the BIC speakers to be integrated into the system as surrounds, and possibly compare the two speakers in a separate two-channel setup.

3. I'm not opposed to suggestions from the forum regarding other speakers that meet my requirements, and I may be willing to toss some others into the mix for the purpose of comparison.

4. Another thing I've been wanting to experiment with is using three identical LCR speakers to see what kind of improvement I can get for imaging on multichannel tracks. Questions, suggestions, etc. on this topic are welcome here too. The idea here is that if I'm super impressed with the surrounds I'd consider just replacing the whole lot with identical speakers. If this subject gets enough attention, I may spin it off into another thread.

5. If you're expecting pics of steaks, sausage, or brisket, and a world-class analysis and write-up like Wayne and the gang are doing out in Alabama, you'll be disappointed. I'll do my best to be objective and answer questions.


----------



## Fatcat (Aug 17, 2008)

Looking forward to reading your impressions Peter. I'm currently using 2 pairs of M-1s for side and rear surround use and they've really done an excellent job completing the sonic picture. At the price that Craig is letting them go at, it's too good a deal to pass up.

Best....Carlo.


----------



## craigsub (Sep 9, 2006)

Hi to everyone that ventures into this thread. 

First, Thank you to Peter Loeser for his thoughtful introduction with this thread. He was kind enough to spend a couple of hours on the phone with me this week, and after we talked it over, he came up with this idea of his testing our products and also welcoming me back as a hobbyist. 

There has been so much that has happened in both my personal and professional life that now seems as good a time as any to update and hopefully clarify things. If this post is "too much", let me know, and it will be edited.

1. Chase Home Theater: Chase Home Theater is now dormant. When I started the company in 2010, there were two reasons for doing so - love of the hobby and a chance to help my brother build something special for himself. It became increasingly clear in 2012 and 2013 that he really was not showing anything close to the level of commitment needed to make this business work. 

While Chase Home Theater is "no more", my love of this hobby is still there. We will continue to offer close out deals on M-1's, Theater-10's, SBE-118 subwoofers and MQ-600 amps. 

2. Personal stuff - the loss of a young man and its effect on our home: In February, 2014, the son of one of our closest friends passed due to hypothermia. He was a senior in college, and also our oldest son's best friend from the age of 4. This young man was 21 years old, and words cannot express the depth of this loss.

Our friends - his mom and dad - are still in the healing process, which will never end. My son is now working for the young man's father - he and this young man were planning on partnering in the dad's auto dealerships - and the dad has graciously accepted my son into his organization and is mentoring him.

It's been a long year - when one has something like this happen to a close friend - and the loss of a child this way is such a shock - the best way I can says this is a lot of the past year has seen me "pinch hitting" in his organization, working to keep things going, while the mourning is occurring. 

Everyone is in a better place now - there are still moments of sadness, but also fond memories. This young man was an extraordinary personality, and is missed ... a LOT.

3. The hobby - and getting back to the fun stuff: Over the next few months, we will be selling off all the remaining products. Warranty issues have been considered, and I am keeping in reserve several MQ-600 amps, and 12 of our 18 inch drivers, for future repairs/replacements.

The M-1's are covered by our OEM, as are the Theater 10's. 

For the fun stuff, over the next few months, I will be going back to the reviews as we used to do. The products will be purchased, and the review done as an "interactive" thread with a lot of involvement from forum members. 

We will be having the occasional "speaker fest" .. or GTG .. where guys like Fatcat/Carlo and others can listen to speakers and post impressions. 

I am looking at a variety of subwoofers over the next couple of weeks - and am planning on buying a few for review purposes. 

As much as I like our 18 inch subwoofers, I also know there are a BUNCH of great products out there. I am not here to "sell" the Chase products. If our products are something someone wants, great. We only have about 50 subwoofers left ... enough M-1's for about 25 five channel systems ... and enough Theater 10's for 6 five channel systems. 

Considering a 5.0 system of M-1's is $500 plus shipping and a 5.0 of Theater 10's is $1250 plus shipping, this sell off will pretty much take care of itself.

The goal in 2015 is to transition back to having fun in the forum world - testing speakers/subwoofers - meeting new friends - and perhaps being a "support person" in this hobby.

Here are a list of subs I am eyeing to test out ... 

1. Hsu VTF-15 Mark II
2. Powersound S-3000i
3. XTZ ... they have several models that look compelling

Suggestions are appreciated! If there is a subwoofer someone would like tested, please post your thoughts.


----------



## Fatcat (Aug 17, 2008)

Hey Craig,
Looks like a few pages have definitely turned over the past few years. Glad to hear that you are planning on reviewing equipment again. I really enjoyed reading your impressions and always admired your testing methodology. I believe I owe you a phone call as well. Looking forward, as always, to what comes next.

Best....Carlo.


----------



## Bruce Fisher (Nov 24, 2007)

I'm looking forward to hearing others thoughts on these speakers. I have 6 of these in my theater and have been very pleased. Looking forward to hearing other's opinions...


----------



## craigsub (Sep 9, 2006)

Carlo - Thanks for the kind words. It will be good to talk to you again, and yes, you owe that phone call. :foottap:

Bruce - Peter will give the M-1's a thorough break down ... and probably a beat down, too. 

It should be mentioned that Peter referred to this as an "unofficial" review. This means no one is getting paid to do the review. There will be no advertiser qualifications for reviews, nor will there (for my reviews) any manufacturer "loans" on product. The products tested will be purchased, reviewed, then either kept here or sold.


----------



## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

I can't imagine the BIC's can keep up with the M1's. I suspect there will be rears, surrounds & possible front effects in the near future!!!:bigsmile:


----------



## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

Yes - as Craig said, this is more of a "for-fun" evaluation, partially for my own purpose and decision but partially to inform our members. Since Craig and I had already discussed the review, and considering the changes at Chase HT, we felt this would be the best approach. Looking forward to getting started.


----------



## craigsub (Sep 9, 2006)

Peter - I think you will have a lot of fun with your audition of the M-1's. I just fired up a pair in our "basement theater". For comparison purposes, I have the following speakers available for a quick swap:

1. Ascend 340's
2. Rocket 760's
3. Bose 301's (honest - they sell a LOT of these)
4. Custom rebuilt Electrovoice Georgian corner speakers - essentially Klipsch corner horns. Electrovoice made all the drivers for Klipsch for years (they now use Eminence) - these speakers were complete "retooled" by a high end store in Florida. 

Here is a pic of the room - it is a wonderful place to do some serious listening:


----------



## craigsub (Sep 9, 2006)

kylegor said:


> Looking forward to hearing other's opinions...


Make sure you put the pressure on Peter to do a serious beat down on these as the front three "LCR" speakers in his theater. :devil:

His current mains are Paradigm Studio 100's and matching center channel - about $4500 worth of three speakers in Paradigm's current line up. That's some serious stuff against which to compare.


----------



## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

Will do Craig. I'm fortunate to have some high end receivers in-house for the next couple months as well, so I can expose the M1s to several amps in the process.


----------



## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

craigsub said:


> Peter - I think you will have a lot of fun with your audition of the M-1's. I just fired up a pair in our "basement theater". For comparison purposes, I have the following speakers available for a quick swap:
> 
> 1. Ascend 340's
> 2. Rocket 760's
> ...


Those Electrovoice speakers just look cool. Not to mention they coordinate nicely with your room!


----------



## sbdman (Dec 21, 2008)

Craig,

Loosing a son or daughter has to be one of the most tragic and impacting events I can imagine. I pray for everyone's healing.

But, great to hear you stepping back into this enjoyable hobby. It was the craigsub list that first intrigued me into getting deeper into this hobby, and having many of your products, I've been enjoy movie watching to a new level. I still am surprised all the products you've had, have never received the credit they deserve, but it looks like now the consumer will be heavily rewarded with these prices and performance.

I look forward to some spirited banter again with all things audio. Business keeps us going, but music and movies make it fun!

As to sub reviews, I'd like to also hear a review on one of the Rythmik subs. And the 3000i looks very intriguing as well. Good hunting.


----------



## craigsub (Sep 9, 2006)

Sbdman - Good to see you posting here. It would be great if we could get a lot of the old gang back here over the next few months, and also make some new friends.

I am looking into several products for possible tests - all which will start after Peter gets his review done on the M-1's. Part of the review process is to continue something that the M-1's were aimed at - "Affordable High End Sound". 

Peter's review should give people a real idea how good the M-1's are - especially for the $100 per speaker - but we only have about 110 remaining, and I expect they will go fairly quickly.

One challenge (and some fun, too) is to find a 5.1 system for under $500 that's a worthy entry level system for people thinking about getting into our hobby, and who want more than a "soundbar". 

The Rythmik sub is also a good call in the "high end". 

For our basement theater - I am kicking around a few ideas for a "standard bearer" speaker against which to test others. Sierra towers are in the short list, as are some speakers from XTZ. The Home Theater Direct Level 3 Towers make some pretty high claims for a speaker that sells for under $1000 per pair.

This is going to be a lot of fun!


----------



## Fatcat (Aug 17, 2008)

If I could add some ideas to your standard bearer list. I got a chance to hear the new GoldenEar Triton 5 tower speakers and the Revel F208 towers at CES this year and both sounded pretty exceptional. 

Best.....Carlo.


----------



## craigsub (Sep 9, 2006)

Carlo - Those are some good suggestions, thanks! The GoldenEar speakers sure make some bold claims - and the Revels are one good looking loudspeaker! Legacy has also made the list. I had a pair of their original "state of the art" speakers, purchased in 1988. They were called the Model 1, and had an 8 and a 10 inch subwoofer, ported, tuned to about 25 Hz - and were amazing.

The current speakers from Legacy which are the closest would be the Signatures. 

My bride gave me the nod to "go wild" for the "standard bearer" speakers earlier today. 

I will be reaching out to GoldenEar, Legacy, Revel, Magnepan and Martin Logan over the next few weeks.


----------



## Fatcat (Aug 17, 2008)

It's very nice to have such an accommodating spouse in these matters!  I've never had a chance to hear the Legacy speakers in a proper setup up but all the write ups have been very favorable. Magnepan and Martin Logan are excellent choices too. GoldenEar definitely has some aggressive PR but the Triton Sevens that I reviewed last year were a great pair of speakers in my house. The Triton Fives were the same but bigger and "more." At CES they also unveiled a new sub with dual, opposed 12" drivers and dual passive radiators. It sounded pretty solid with the demo material that they were playing. 

Best......Carlo.


----------



## craigsub (Sep 9, 2006)

Briefly returning to the regularly scheduled programming ....

PETER ... The M1's did go out yesterday! I am anxious for you to get them.

Back to trolling with Carlo ... GoldenEar has some info about the new sub in their blog, but nothing on the main site yet. It does look interesting, for sure.


----------



## Glock3540 (Sep 12, 2013)

Hi Craig,
I finally got my new MQ-600 hooked up last week. I was running my existing MQ-600 powering my
pair of SS18.2's and had my four new SBE-118's powered by just one channel of my new MQ-600.
Now I have two each of my SBE-118's for each channel on my new amp. 
I watched the movie Fury this past weekend. The word that keeps coming to mind is "INCREDIBLE"!
The movie itself is a very realistic depiction of war and can be a little disturbing at times but the LFE depicts 
the most realistic gun fire that I have ever heard anywhere outside of an actual firing range (and you and I have talked at length about my knowledge of firearms. I KNOW what a wide variety of firearms sound like).
I'm extremely pleased with having eight 18" woofers in my room. Although they do take up some real estate,
they are not as intrusive as one might imagine. But the sound!, Oh Man Do They Sound Great!
I cannot imagine needing any more subs ever.

I'm sorry that you are idling your sideline business but I do understand. As I told you on the phone, I'm truly
sorry for your loss for one that I believe you thought of as a son.

I'm glad you will still be reviewing products as your Craigsub rankings was one of the main reasons I became interested in a DIY sub and eventually to your products. CHT/Chane subs are preassembled products at near DIY prices. 
I'm also indebted to you for encouraging me to purchase the sealed subs. Coming from 3 vented enclosure
subwoofers to the sealed, it took me awhile to appreciate what true accurate bass sounds like. After getting used to it, and really LISTENING to music and movie sound effects, all I had to do was add a few more subs to get the best of both worlds. Tight, accurate bass and also incredible output.!

I look forward to your reviews/comments and getting back to having fun yourself.

Thanks Again Craig.

God Bless,
Brian

P.S. I also hope all of our friends from CHT/Chane come over to this forum.


----------



## craigsub (Sep 9, 2006)

Brian (Glock3540) ... Thanks for the update! It's good to see you are loving the subwoofers!

And Peterman got the M1's today! He is also going to test an MQ-600, which should arrive his place next week.


----------



## jamesfrazier (Jul 24, 2011)

craigsub said:


> Brian (Glock3540) ... Thanks for the update! It's good to see you are loving the subwoofers! And Peterman got the M1's today! He is also going to test an MQ-600, which should arrive his place next week.


Hey Craig! 

Sorry about your loss.. I recently lost my grandmother, I feel your pain. It's never easy to understand the fact that they're actually gone..

I sold my brother some Polk monitors for his lcr and he is using some of my old Yamaha thib speakers as rears. I want to get him some m-1s as rears as j know he will be blown away by the sound quality, compared to what he's using.. Are you still doing the special on them? How do we go about this ?


----------



## craigsub (Sep 9, 2006)

James - Thanks for the great post! Ordering is pretty simple ... and the $100 per speaker (plus shipping) is still in effect. All you need to do is send funds via Paypal to: [email protected] ... figure $25 per speaker shipping, and if it comes to less than that, we will refund the difference. 

When ordering, please put your full name, shipping address and phone number in the "notes" section on Paypal, or send a separate email to the [email protected] with this info. 

Thanks!


----------



## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

Just posted this over in Craig's clearance thread, but meant to post it here so I'll just copy/paste:



Peter Loeser said:


> I unboxed a pair of the M1s yesterday. My initial impression is that the build quality is excellent for a sub-$200 speaker. Quality materials and consistent finish and texture. The drivers look nice, and the weave on the woofers give them a high end appearance. The grills and cabinets feel nice and study, and fit together snugly.
> 
> I neglected to plan ahead for wall-mounting hardware, so I haven't installed any of them yet. I will say that based on my requirements (see first post) these are perfectly sized for my application. Flush mounted on the wall they will not protrude past the front of my acoustic panels as my current speakers do, which is exactly what I needed.
> 
> I'm looking forward to getting a pair hooked up and seeing what they can do. I have some Fluance speakers on hand as well as the Def Techs and Paradigms I already own. I will probably still pick up a pair of the BICs for comparison, as they are similar in dimensions and price, but with horn tweeters. I also have a decent variety of receivers and amps laying around. Plenty of opportunity to put these to the test. I'll be looking for clarity and dynamics from these. Bass response is not critical as they're designed to be crossed to a sub below 80Hz.


----------



## jamesfrazier (Jul 24, 2011)

craigsub said:


> James - Thanks for the great post! Ordering is pretty simple ... and the $100 per speaker (plus shipping) is still in effect. All you need to do is send funds via Paypal to: [email protected] ... figure $25 per speaker shipping, and if it comes to less than that, we will refund the difference. When ordering, please put your full name, shipping address and phone number in the "notes" section on Paypal, or send a separate email to the [email protected] with this info. Thanks!


You the man Craig! Thank you.


----------



## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

Quick update. I have 6 of the M1s mounted in the HT now (front wide, surround, and back). I also picked up a pair of the BIC speakers for comparison. I will probably do an A/B setup in another room for that, along with some other bookshelf speakers I have on hand. I'll hopefully be doing some critical listening with the M1s in the HT this week/end while I have the Anthem MRX-710 setup for review. Should be a good test. In terms of looks/size/proportions, these are exactly what I was looking for. They fit nicely between my panels on the side walls, and although they feel nice and solid, they are not too heavy for wall mounting. They don't protrude past the panels on the side walls, except where I have angled the wides in toward the MLP. It just gives me a much cleaner look than what I had with the Def Tech monitors, and there is much less risk for knocking these off the walls. I'm anxious to get the MRX-710 calibrated and see what these can do. I'll most likely be using the Denon X4100 or a Pioneer Elite SC-89 for comparison of the M1 to the BIC and some other speakers I have on hand. Craig has spoken very highly of these and I certainly trust his ears. But it's still fun to hear it for myself! Stay tuned. Here are some pics (with and older one for comparison)

   

P.S. for others looking for wall mounting hardware suggestions, I used these Z-clips from Amazon.


----------



## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

Nice improvement, can't wait to read how they sound to you! The extra panals really finish the room.


----------



## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

Tonto said:


> Nice improvement, can't wait to read how they sound to you! The extra panals really finish the room.


Thanks man - I agree the updated acoustic treatments have resulted in much better aesthetics as well.

I ran ARC last night and I'm fairly pleased with the results, so I'll be giving these a good test over the next few days hopefully. I have a friend staying from out of town this weekend so it will be a good excuse to push the system and show it off.

Although the sweeps are certainly not a reliable indication of a speaker's performance, during the ARC measurements, the sound of these M1s was pretty similar to my Paradigms, at least to my ear. Much more so than the Def Tech monitors I had up previously. With those there was a distinct difference in timbre even during the little chirps or pink noise used by most room correction programs. Hopefully the M1s are a good match.


----------



## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

Couldn't agree with tonto more. Looks great. I'm at home sick but drug myself out to the couch. The healing power of music you know! I always lay a blanket over the back of my leather couch, and it is amazing, the difference this simple thing can make. To my point. First, the room looks great. Second, when I see it, as I listen to my own, I find myself imagining the sound as if I were listening in your room. (Rons impressions of his room do the same thing) Some day I'll be able to have a room that's treated. 'Til then , I'll listen vicariously through yours. Great job, look forward to your impressions. Your friend is in for a great ride.


----------



## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

willis7469 said:


> Couldn't agree with tonto more. Looks great. I'm at home sick but drug myself out to the couch. The healing power of music you know! I always lay a blanket over the back of my leather couch, and it is amazing, the difference this simple thing can make. To my point. First, the room looks great. Second, when I see it, as I listen to my own, I find myself imagining the sound as if I were listening in your room. (Rons impressions of his room do the same thing) Some day I'll be able to have a room that's treated. 'Til then , I'll listen vicariously through yours. Great job, look forward to your impressions. Your friend is in for a great ride.


Thanks for the comments Willis. It has been a process over the course of 5-6 years, since I first ventured into surround sound and eventually had the luxury of a dedicated room. The HTS forum has been an invaluable tool throughout the process. Lots of time and money spent but all worth it IMO. Hope you are feeling better soon!


----------



## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

Another quick update and some initial thoughts about the M1 setup. I had family in town over the weekend and we watched Edge of Tomorrow and U-571. Both great movies in terms of surround effects and LFE. Although I wasn't sitting in the sweet spot (gave the honor to my sister!) I can say the experience was extremely good. Probably as good as any setup I've had so far. Even though they won't likely see the demands of main channel placement, the M1s have performed surround duties very well.


----------



## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

Had a rather satisfying moment this weekend with more family in town. On Saturday night we watched _Shooter_ with Mark Wahlberg via Netflix. Streaming audio quality was good but we didn't have it cranked. After the movie my wife wanted to play some fun demo clips for them, since they hadn't been in our HT for a while. I pulled out the Atmos demo Blu-ray and played a clip with some nature sounds and a bird flying around the room. My brother-in-law jerked his head back and to the left as soon as we heard the wings start flapping. He followed the sound around the room with a big grin on his face. Needless to say, they were impressed, and I was smiling too. These M1s have done an excellent job of disappearing into the background and blending together into a seamless soundstage.

Quick update on the BIC speakers as well. I've been noticing some distortion from my CC and I'm trying to figure out if it's my speaker or the receiver. I threw one FH6 LCR in place of my CC v2 before we started the movie and was very pleased with it. We didn't listen at the level I was getting distortion before, so I've still got some investigation to do there. Until then, my initial impression of the BIC is that it provided excellent dialog clarity and definition, and blended very nicely with the Paradigms, without having re-run ARC (currently running the Anthem MRX-710). I'm in the process of trying a few different CC options, so I may include more details about that process in this thread too.


----------



## craigsub (Sep 9, 2006)

Peter - Thanks for the update. When you have time, could you please post your thoughts regarding the value of the following system for a total of $1100 plus shipping for the entire 5.1 set up?

Five M-1's
One SBE-118
One Dayton SA-230 amp (Sounds identical to the SA-1000, and perfect for driving a single SBE-118). 

Thanks!


----------



## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

Hey Craig, sure thing.

If I'm looking to set up a 5.1 system for around a grand, I'll likely want to commit about $500 toward a sub and $500 toward speakers, since there are lots of good speaker options for $100-$150 each, but good sub options below $500 are harder to find. And that's where I see the real value of this package - The $1100 system with an excellent sub, but without sacrificing quality of the speakers. 

The Sub
To anyone considering DIY to save money I'd say do yourself a favor and try Craig's SBE-118. It definitely performs above the asking price. I'll quote the "value" section from my review of two SBE-118s and three Theater Tens:



> The word "value" is often used as a sort of disclaimer for cheap construction or compromised performance when it comes to home audio electronics. Although I consider the Chane speakers and subs to be a great value, their design and performance are far from cheap or compromised. They have taken advantage of simple aesthetics and internet-direct sales to reduce the cost of these models, and passed that savings on to their customers. They have certainly not skimped on performance though, and I would call this system an excellent deal. Sure, $2400 for the whole package might seem like a lot, but $300 a piece for the Theater Ten? That's what I call a bargain. Advanced DIY-ers might say "I could build my own sealed passive 18" sub for less than $500" and it's possible. Not much of a deal though, in my opinion, when you add labor and other factors to the DIY cost, and the years of R&D that Craig Chase has poured into these monsters.



The Speakers
It's hard to critique the M1 considering its price. Sure, it's a plain-looking conventional design we've all seen before. Pair it with the SBE-118 though and the word "satisfying" comes to mind. Again, we are talking about DIY speaker cost here but let's be honest, the performance of the M1 goes far beyond what I'd expect from anything I could build for $100. It is perfect for HT use in just about any configuration. Wall mount, stand mount, table top, etc - it is very versatile. So far I've been pleased with dynamics in a surround system (something I felt was lacking in my HT before). If you have a modest budget and want a perfectly matched 5 channel speaker system, the M1 fits the bill. Keep in mind that in my system these are being paired with mains that cost 8x as much, and I'm still completely satisfied with them.


----------



## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

As I mentioned, I'm also trying a few options for a center channel to replace my Studio CC v2. I used a BIC FH6 for a bit and was pretty pleased. I will probably revisit that to see how well I can get the horn loaded HF driver to blend with my Studio 100s. I was very impressed by the clarity of dialog presented by the BIC.

Mostly out of curiosity, I took a chance on something a bit unusual and currently have a Mirage Omni 350 in the CC position. I introduced the Mirage to the system last night and did a manual calibration on the Arcam AVR I'm about to review. I played through a few movie clips to get initial impressions. The omnidirectional sound is a bit different, but it's hard to put my finger on exactly how I'm perceiving those differences. I'm hoping to run room correction on the Arcam this weekend. I'm noticing a definite timbre mis-match between the Mirage and Paradigms, so we'll see what EQ does with that. In terms of dynamics, the Omni 350 seems quite good. It has very good bass response too, which gives it a nice full sound even with a 80Hz crossover. My hope is that the omnidirectional dispersion will improve imaging for seats other than the MLP. I have not yet tried the Chase M1 at the CC position, but probably will, at least for comparison sake. I'm expecting the M1 and Omni 350 to be a better timbre match to the Studio 100s than the BIC, but we shall see.


----------

