An experienced Maggie reviewer, Michael Trei, Sound + Vision, November 2010 said it best—

“No matter what type of movie I played, dialogue clarity was always exemplary. I would rate the CC 5 as the most focused and transparent center channel speaker I’ve yet encountered, with none of the off-axis frequency response anomalies you hear with some dynamic models. The CC5 was able to lock the dialogue to the center of the screen with razor-sharp precision over a wide arc of listening positions, and it made even voices buried way down in the mix easy to comprehend.”

This was no easy task. All speaker companies must deal with the same issues for home theater. The space and height available for the center channel speaker is dictated by the video. For a speaker designer, it is the equivalent of “tying one arm behind their back.” The center channel speaker does approximately 60-70% of the “heavy lifting”. It is ironic that the most important speaker for home theater has major design constraints. Most ribbon and electrostatic speaker companies employ a dynamic midbass coupler to cover the range between the subwoofer and the ribbon or electrostatic driver. In our opinion, that is an unacceptable compromise for the most important speaker in the home theater system. Magnepan employs the front left/right speakers or the DWM Bass Panels to achieve full range Maggie sound for the center channel (See the CC 5 or CCR manuals).

Achieving center channel bass

Since the CC 5 is a “small” center channel speaker, special precautions must be taken to achieve full-range Maggie center channel performance without sacrificing sound quality. Please see the CC 5 manual.

Is home theater a high priority to you?

Many of our customers indicate that home theater is of less importance than music. We understand because we are the same. However, if you have a dual-purpose music/home theater system, Magnepan has an option that will improve your 2-channel playback as well as home theater. Visit our Tri-Center webpage.

Trouble finding a place for a center channel speaker?

Wall mounting– The CC 5 has provisions for wall-mounting below a video monitor, using a small omni-mount cantilever. See manual for installation instructions.

Dual Center- The photo below is of a demonstration in a hotel during a Consumer Electronic Show. A pair of Magneplanar on-wall models immediately flanking a video monitor provide a dual center channel array which has advantages over a single center channel speaker.

A pair of our on-wall speakers achieves a center channel image in the same manner as a stereo system achieves a center image. By angling the speakers approximately 30 degrees to the wall, the center channel speaker on the left of the video monitor is on-axis with the viewer off to the right — and consequently is louder than the center channel speaker on the right of the monitor (which is closer to the viewer). This “pulls” the audio image to the left and keeps the dialog centered on the screen better than point source speakers.

Ask about our Disposable Speaker Stand. This speaker stand allows you to easily move our on-wall models about the room to determine the best location before making your permanent installation.