Monolith THX-365C Ultra Center Channel Speaker (Each) THX Certified, Premium Drivers, Premium Built Cabinet,Black

I've had many speakers over the years for many iterations of my home theater. I've had several center channels from Definitive Technology, Klipsch, JBL, Polk, Paradigm, etc. None of them sounded bad whatsoever but there was always something missing. The biggest issue was how the center channel would sound in the room when sitting or standing off axis. This is very easy to underestimate, especially if you're the one that's never sitting anywhere else but center stage.Horn loaded speakers are excellent for projecting the soundstage but are very directional. Typical MTM (Mid-Tweeter-Mid) center channel designs tend to have noticeable drop off in clarity when you get outside of 20 or 30° from the center seat. Some lobing and frequency cancellation. You get a very noticeable drop off in not only DB's, but vocal clarity as well.The Monolith 365C will blend well with almost any other brand or speaker design. Yes it will even perform well with horn loaded speaker designs that tend to have center channel pricing on newer models that's higher than what their performance justifies. Excellent speakers, but with limitations. The 365C is dynamic, built well, has excellent off-axis performance, and images far better than what I was expecting. My three recent center channels, the JBL 520c, the Klipsch 450C, and Klipsch 250C all sounded good but were very forward sounding. The Monolith 365C is just as dynamic but actually adds depth to what's being presented on screen. I'm also getting more vertical sound cues than what I was with horn loaded centers.The price point of this speaker and how it performs is in my opinion better than anything else in its price range. One speaker with a very similar three-way design, the Emotiva C1+, is priced the same as the Monolith, but currently unavailable for some time now. It has different sound signature, ribbon tweeter, but in my opinion high frequencies are a little too boosted on that speaker. Really good product, I just think the crossover tuning and driver materials on the Monolith 365C produce a flatter frequency response. If you choose to boost the higher frequencies you can do that within your EQ settings (Audyssey, Dirac, etc.)Excellent price to performance, robust design, can play cleanly and loudly with excellent dynamics. Crossover on the receiver or processor definitely needs to be set at 80 Hz as it should be. Anyone telling you or trying to convince you that a center channel should be producing low end bass doesn't know what they're talking about. Any signal below 80 Hz for the frequencies required from a center channel should be steered towards a powered subwoofer, not your center channel. The only exception would be if you had a full range center channel potentially with its own internal powered subwoofer. Allowing the center channel to only produce frequencies from 80 Hz and above will enable a more dynamic output, particularly with cleaner mids.The only drawback of this speaker for some may be it is power hungry. If you're trying to drive this with a moderate receiver then you're buying the wrong speaker. It really wants and deserves a high current power supply as it runs nominally at 4 ohms. Best case scenario would be driving it from an external amplifier where it's not sharing duty with every other channel a receiver is trying to simultaneously drive.As long as you have the space to mount this, and put it in the right position (not in a cabinet, not recessed on a stand or cabinet, not one foot off the ground) you will be rewarded. Best case scenario would be to get this as close as possible to ear height from a sitting position. If you're putting it on a cabinet, make sure you position it so the drivers are at the outer edge on any surface you're placing it on. Some people tend to put their center channels too far back on a horizontal surface or place it inside of a cabinet where you get a ridiculous amount of reflective sound. Not good. It is very tall, so keep that in mind!

So I moved into a new home and sold a lot of my old gear with my house. IMO, the two most important speakers are the center channel and the subwoofer. I picked this center channel to go with two SVS PB-1000s. The center channel is a vast improvement over my previous paradigm center. Very clear vocals and excellent dynamics. Also it has a great off axis performance, which was a important to me with a wide seating area. It it designed to taper off at 80Hz, but that suits me fine as I let the subs handle all sub 80Hz duty. Super satisfied, highly recommended.

There is no better Center Channel for less... BUT... these monolith THX Ultra Certified, which means rated for 3000 cubic foot space, are DESIGNED to be crossed over at 80Hz... meaning you REALLY need a decent subwoofer. For home theater, you need that anyway. This is NOT the flawed MTM design like most centers.I have upgraded to 5.1.4 with the Dual 15" M-215 subwoofer. But before I did that, for those who are wondering if they can just insert this center channel into what they already have... I had 5.1... 10-15yrs old Klipsch speakers... bought used for $700 couple years ago... I wanted to know if my center channel could be better... this Monolith THX certified speakers, with nothing but good reviews are objectively good. Wondered if I would notice the "timbre match: issue I always have heard about... I did not... at all.Turns out those old Klipsch sounded pretty good, and I don't hear a massive difference between my old and new, aside from the sub upgrade, that was incredible. But I wanted to move old stuff to garage anyway, and i also wanted to try the .4 bounce off the ceiling atmos, which most will say doesn't work very well. I was OK with buying all new matching stuff... can't say the atmos does much so far, but it's hard to tell. I still would have bought the same speakers; you don't have to connect the atmos ones.Anyway, there is no better center channel for less... that's a fact! I highly recommend.

This is a very good center channel speaker, but I can only give it four stars because it arrived in this condition as soon as I opened the package. The external packaging had no damage, so it appears to have been damaged before being shipped. The quality control before shipment needs to be improved.

The speaker is replacing a Cambridge Soundworks Center Stage speaker. While the Cambridge sounded fine the Monolith is much more refined and the voice portion of movies is crisper and more realistic. It is larger and needs a bit more real estate but the trade off is well worth it. Now I am not implying that the Monolith is the King of Center Channel speakers but in it's price range it punches above it's weight. A true audiophile who is willing to spend 2k - 10k for a center channel speaker will probably not be happy with this speaker. As for budget conscious audiophiles the Monolith is a winner.

I went on a tear recently and replaced my entire system... The THX-365C is to blame!! I was running my Bose 601 series 3's with a Pioneer Elite VSXLX105,BIC Venturi center and some cheap surrounds..... For my ears (I am an enthusiast, not necessarily an audiophile) it sounded good, but I figured it was time for an upgrade. This center channel was the first item upgraded and it sounded soooo good, I knew I needed to match the quality of this fantastic center channel speaker. I upgraded the receiver to the MRX 740 8K and the fronts as well (not this brand.... apologies!) Paired with that beast of an amp, my home theater and music experience is forever changed. The clarity of voices and effects is simply amazing! Even in a non-matched setup, this center blends in perfectly and holds it's own in this setup. I am only running 3.1 right now but this has me considering one of Monoprice in wall speakers to finish the system

Try high-end sound for a moderate price. Highly recommended.