Hi All,
I'm a brand new ML owner, and am very excited even though my system is not yet setup. I'm building a home theater in my basement, and had originally budgeted 1000-2000$ for an 11.2 speaker system. That is before I auditioned the ML Source. I was blown away (despite the very narrow sweet spot), and immediately dropped 3000$ on a pair of brand new Source with an Abyss sub. On top of that, I lost 2000$ on misc govt fees/taxes/etc (don't ask). Point being, I am way over budget.
Now, my question is, which Center channel would best match my setup. I was initially going to get whatever I could as cheaply as possible to make up for my over-budget. However, doing some reading, I realised the importance of having matching speakers for sound/movies (timbre matching). Thus I thought it best to stay within the ML family. The Encore is cheap, but does not seem like the sound would match an electrostat. Vignettes and Fresco's are a closer match with their ATF, and so I was leaning toward getting a Vignette. But then I was reading rave reviews of even some of the older electrostat centers like the Cinema or Theater (someone said this was the best center ML ever made, current lineup included), and thought this might be the way to go. And then there are the newer Matinee, Motif, etc. So now I'm lost again.
My setup will be almost 90% movie watching I expect. It will be powered by Yamaha's flagship RX-Z11 (yes, I figured out too late that separates would have been the way to go, but this is brand new, and I'm not about to spend more in this area). Ideally, I would like to keep all my equipment (speakers, reciever, etc) as long as possible, so I don't have to upgrade later, hence I'm willing to spend a little more now to get longevity and sound satisfaction. In this setup, what center speaker would you recommend? I don't have the luxury of auditioning anything based on my location. Would a used Theater be overkill to match the source, especially without a separate amp?
Anyhow, any and all suggestions are more than appreciated. Thanks!
I'm a brand new ML owner, and am very excited even though my system is not yet setup. I'm building a home theater in my basement, and had originally budgeted 1000-2000$ for an 11.2 speaker system. That is before I auditioned the ML Source. I was blown away (despite the very narrow sweet spot), and immediately dropped 3000$ on a pair of brand new Source with an Abyss sub. On top of that, I lost 2000$ on misc govt fees/taxes/etc (don't ask). Point being, I am way over budget.
Now, my question is, which Center channel would best match my setup. I was initially going to get whatever I could as cheaply as possible to make up for my over-budget. However, doing some reading, I realised the importance of having matching speakers for sound/movies (timbre matching). Thus I thought it best to stay within the ML family. The Encore is cheap, but does not seem like the sound would match an electrostat. Vignettes and Fresco's are a closer match with their ATF, and so I was leaning toward getting a Vignette. But then I was reading rave reviews of even some of the older electrostat centers like the Cinema or Theater (someone said this was the best center ML ever made, current lineup included), and thought this might be the way to go. And then there are the newer Matinee, Motif, etc. So now I'm lost again.
My setup will be almost 90% movie watching I expect. It will be powered by Yamaha's flagship RX-Z11 (yes, I figured out too late that separates would have been the way to go, but this is brand new, and I'm not about to spend more in this area). Ideally, I would like to keep all my equipment (speakers, reciever, etc) as long as possible, so I don't have to upgrade later, hence I'm willing to spend a little more now to get longevity and sound satisfaction. In this setup, what center speaker would you recommend? I don't have the luxury of auditioning anything based on my location. Would a used Theater be overkill to match the source, especially without a separate amp?
Anyhow, any and all suggestions are more than appreciated. Thanks!
