Collection: Center Channel Speakers

Centre Channel Speakers Bring Dialogues & Vocals to Life

A centre channel speaker is an essential component of any home theatre system, ensuring that you don't miss crucial dialogues from your favourite movies or TV shows. Centre speakers for home theatres are typically installed directly above, below or behind the visual source (such as a TV or projector), and they are available in a variety of sizes and styles to fit any room.

In the absence of accompanying visuals (for example, music), the centre channel simply reproduces sound that is intended to come from directly in front of the listener. This includes the lead vocals that are rarely panned hard left or right.

Acting as an anchor for the sound field, the centre channel plays a key role in removing phantom images, something that plagues quadraphonic (4.0 surround) sound when the speakers are imprecisely placed. Owing to its image-stabilising effects, it is considered the most important channel in filmmaking.

Find a wide range of centre speakers for home theatres from top brands only on Ooberpad. Our dedicated team can help you find the right combination of speakers for your home cinema or hi-fi stereo setup so you can enjoy the fullest soundstage and precise imaging in the comfort of your home.

The Most Important Piece of the Home Theatre Puzzle

Centre speakers are arguably the most crucial component of a home theatre system. But if you’ve found yourself asking the question, “Do I really need one?”, allow us to explain its significance in slightly more detail.

Strictly speaking, the answer to the question above is a fairly simple one. People can most definitely consume music or movies without a dedicated centre speaker. In the absence of a centre speaker, a receiver routes the centre channel to the left and right channels. This can result in muddier sounds in dialogues and other sounds in the vocal range as the centre gets mixed with the left and right.

So let’s assume you’ve decided to spring for a centre speaker to enjoy better audio separation and more immersive overall sound. Where do you start?

Choosing the Right Centre Speakers

One of the most practical strategies we recommend when building a home theatre system is to begin by picking the best centre speaker your space and wallet allow. The rest of your speakers can then be matched to it. Comprising just one large horizontal arrangement of woofers and tweeters, you may be forgiven for thinking there isn’t much to choose from when it comes to purchasing one. However, just like most speakers, centre speakers also come in a variety of different configurations. Here’s what you need to keep an eye on:

Woofers & Tweeters – Since centre speakers don’t produce a lot of low-end, you can get away with smaller woofers. Tweeter type and deployment also make a huge difference in speech clarity. Horned tweeters provide improved dispersion of sound and focus output much better.

Size – While the smallest centre speakers come with two woofers, larger ones can have as many as six. The only constraints here are price and available space. More woofers generally increase the width of the acoustic sweet spot allowing more people to fully enjoy the mix in its full glory.

Compatibility – It is highly recommended to match all three front-stage speakers to avoid jarring differences in the sonic signatures of the centre, left and right channels. This kind of tone matching is best achieved by sticking to the same brand of speakers for the centre and stereo speakers.

Positioning – Centre speakers are found above, below or behind the viewing screen in a home theatre setup. As their primary purpose is to reproduce midrange frequencies and accentuate human voices, they should be positioned to throw sound directly at ear level when seated.

Materials – Woofers and tweeters in centre speakers feature different materials that provide them with a unique sound profile. Vocal clarity is better with hard-dome tweeters. Metallic ones have a bright and crisp sound compared to their fabric-based counterparts which provide smooth sound.

Sensitivity – Speakers with a high sensitivity rating are generally louder at the same power levels and a difference of even a few decibels can make a big difference. For low-powered receivers, it is generally recommended to look for centre channel speakers with a sensitivity rating > 90 dB.

Power – It is extremely important to ensure that your receiver’s RMS wattage is within the recommended power range of your centre channel speakers. A mismatch here can result in malfunctioning speakers and may cause irreparable damage.

Impedance – The impedance rating on centre channel speakers represents the amount of resistance it presents to an amplifier. Low-impedance speakers are generally rated at around 4Ω and should only be used with receivers that can deliver a large amount of current continuously.

Our team of experts is always available to guide you through your purchase and can help you match components appropriately for the best possible performance. Ooberpad has a large selection of core and auxiliary components that you may need to build the rest of your hi-fi stereo or home theatre system.

• Tower Speakers
• Network Music System
• In-wall Speakers
• Bookshelf Speakers
• Ceiling Speakers

Shop for Centre Speakers Online at the Best Prices on Ooberpad

Ooberpad is one of the leading marketplaces offering high-end centre channel speakers for home theatre and hi-fi stereo setups from a wide range of premium audio brands. Our curated range of centre channel speakers comes in a wide range of sizes and offers numerous features for the perfect fit. This allows you to build a capable audio system designed around your listening preferences.

Our collection of centre channel speakers in India consists of leading global brands such as B&W, Sonus Faber, Focal, Elac, KEF, Polk Audio, Monitor Audio and many more.

Shop for centre channel speakers in India at the best price online with enticing discounts, free shipping, and 0% financing only on Ooberpad.

We offer authentic products and a team dedicated to answering any product clarification or after-sales queries to ensure 100% customer satisfaction.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q. Can I use TV speakers or a soundbar as my centre channel speaker?

A. Generally speaking, no. However, a very small number of TVs support centre speaker input terminals allowing you to seamlessly connect them to your receiver’s centre speaker output and turn the entire screen into a giant speaker. While active soundbars cannot be configured as centre channel speakers, some passive ones have dedicated terminals for each of the three channels and incorporate L, R and centre speakers into one speaker cabinet. For most home theatre setups though, we would recommend a standalone centre speaker for the best results.

Q. How high can I mount a centre speaker?

A. Owing to the highly directional nature of centre speakers, they should be placed at ear level when seated upright in order to avoid sounding boxy and unintelligible at mid to high frequencies. With that in mind, they should ideally be placed between 30 and 50 inches off the ground for optimal sound quality.

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Do you really need a centre channel speaker in your surround sound setup?

Learn more about the difference between centre and stereo channel systems, the purpose of centre channel speakers and lots more in this short explainer