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Evshrug
3772
Community
Dec 24, 2019
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Argh! Christmas Eve is probably the worst time to put this up on Drop...
I have two Chane bookshelves that I use as my main stereo hifi, purchased here on Drop (when it was Massdrop), and I absolutely love them. Very smooth and unfatiguing (much nicer in this regard than the relatively thin Pioneer speakers designed by Andrew Jones), yet more detailed than my Polk Audio Monitor II’s. Don’t get me wrong, the Pioneer are a great value for the price, and the Cherry Polk Audios are beautiful, but these Chane are simply better sounding. I wish I had some comparable ELAC to compare, but even so there is a cool factor for having something with a Leaf Planar tweeter (and nice woofers) and a more unique brand.
Now, sometimes I wish for a little more dialog emphasis. That’s a center channel specialty, and I’ve been waiting for another Chane Drop of a center speaker for a long time now... last time I saw one, the site was still Massdrop, and I think it was over a year ago. If I had the money reserves, I’d even just buy the one speaker and hook it up as a center for my Mom in her condo, because (with her Apple TV), it would easily replace her Bluetooth speaker, Bose wave radio, and awful tiny speakers built into her TV that have us all going “What? Whaaaaat? Rewind that part please!”
However, after Christmas spending (and having some new jeans earmarked because my current nice jeans have a hole from dropping an open knife on my thigh... also cat claw stresses), my budget is tapped out!
So if you need new speakers or an upgrade from some of the popular entry level speakers (Or ANY small form factor Soundbar or home theater in a box I’ve heard), I can whole-heartedly recommend them after years of using the brand. PLEASE BUY THEM, so that another drop comes and I can buy a center then 😅 If these came in a cherry or mahogany looking cabinet... oh man, I might’ve had to put them on a credit card 😅
(Edited)
gstupak
66
Dec 26, 2019
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elauI have several of these along with several of the Chane smaller and bigger speakers.
The specialty of a 'center' speaker is to have the same sound characteristics as the main left/right speakers so that it doesn't sound different. This speaker works great as a full surround sound system, using 3 of these for 3.1, or 5 of these for 5.1, etc. Used as a center speaker, this A2.4 can be positioned horizontally or vertically. These speakers have characteristics that make for great movie listening and music listening. These speakers are very detailed (great for dialogue) yet are not fatiguing like many other detailed speakers. There is great sound separation, a huge 3D soundstage. They also play very loud with lower distortion than other speakers in it's price range.
These speakers are very neutral in which they don't favor the high freq or favor the low freq, they recreate the audio however it is presented to them.
(Edited)
Evshrug
3772
Community
Dec 26, 2019
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elauDialogue isn’t a problem with this speaker – my mom doesn’t have any speakers besides the bad ones built into her TV. If you look at the mix for a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker system, most movies and shows direct the dialog to play from the center speaker.
What’s funny is her TV’s built-in speakers are even worse than my TV’s. We both have Panasonic’s from the same year (when I used to do portraits at Sears), but my TV is a bit larger and a plasma. Both TVs lack in the lows (small speakers) and highs (they face out the back) like most TV’s, but her’s is a lower end model, and I guess they put even less clear speakers in that.
I still think it makes sense to get two speakers first, to hook up as a L/R pair. But before surrounds, I personally would get a Center as my third speaker and next upgrade, because it’s going to boost the vocals and dialogue. For my mom, who watches more standard TV and YouTube, even just getting the one center speaker would do a lot to help her hear words, because her current TV has horrible separation, resonance, and overall lack of clarity.
Evshrug
3772
Community
Dec 26, 2019
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gstupakAgreed, even with just a stereo pair of the Chanes, I was watching a scene in Birdman (with Keaton) where the camera was spinning around and the Chanes created an amazing sense that the audio was able to pan past the physical location of the speakers (further left-right than where the speakers were, it was kind of magical).
gstupak
66
Dec 26, 2019
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Evshrug"Agreed, even with just a stereo pair of the Chanes,..."
Yes, I set my mom up with a stereo pair of these for her condo TV use, no center speaker needed, the center imaging is great. And the bass response is perfect for apartment/condo use. Enough bass to feel it in the room but not too much to disturb the neighbors.
My friends always want to go ahead and get a full surround setup all at once but they can only afford a cheap set that way. I always urge them to start with a stereo set of these, then later buy one more for the center, then later buy the surround speakers. A stereo pair of these is much more satisfying then five cheap speakers.
Evshrug
3772
Community
Dec 26, 2019
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gstupakAgreed, “home theater in a box” setups are a pretty poor value! I also use my Chanes without a subwoofer in my townhouse (two shared walls), because I think it’s more polite. Just pull out the foam baffles from the rear bass ports to get a full but polite sound. For people that DON’T have a subwoofer or feel they can’t use one for their neighbors’ sake, these Chanes by themselves sound rich and very good, without rattling the windows or Fine China 😉
Sometimes though, with a great movie or song, in the middle of the day when everyone else is away at work (I work from home), I put the baffles in and turn on my subwoofer 😁
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