Heatmiser44,

Congrats on the order! I have no doubt it will be fantastic! I will be following your lead, eventually. I can't wait to hear your feedback once you have it integrated into your system. If you are willing, please post pics as well. Happy listening!

Cheers,

T Cobe

T Cobe wrote: Anthem,

While I still think a horizontal Version of the T2 with 2 active woofers, 2 midrange drivers flanking an HVFR tweeter, a few passive planar radiators on top, and the balanced crossovers of the T1 or T5 would be better, I have no doubt that the SCXXL will be GET's best center channel yet! Honestly, I would be surprised if you did not find the SCXL completely satisfying in terms of vocals. My only quibble is that it was not as transparent and dynamic as the T1s but the Asking any center to keep up with these active towers is a tall order.

Right now I'm debating between the SCXXL and a new XPA-7 or XPA-5. The amps are on sale so I am leaning that direction right now. Of course, if we keep getting great reviews by forum members and industry professionals, that may change. I hate to pass up a sale, though...

Cheers,

T Cobe

Toby,

If I were you I would go for the amps, and see how you like it, the discounts are in good timing! If you see things improve from there, you might consider yourself happy and not wanting. That's how I see myself right now, I will just try to enjoy it all. There's been a lot of playing around, balancing and playing with preferences.

If you are still left wanting, you could always do the upgrade later!
I really see the SCXXL, an upgrade option now for if it bothered me that they were not filling the room, actually I feel like I am holding them back right now. In my own setup, as you know, I have my T7s as rear surrounds, what a waste! I am considering to just put them as normal surrounds, and test with running them on Large or small and crossover at 40Hz. If I ever upgrade to the SCXXL, I will either trade up or leave at that as my "rear" surrounds as a single speaker, and I believe that will be plenty! Of course this is my own setup. However, I believe the amplification will make your center more dynamic!

A few things of note, from other forums I heard some myths, and I wanted to confirm with Emotiva themselves, thought I'd share them here:
XPA-1L: Do not stack on top of each other, leave at least two inches spacing for passive heat dissappation. Class A runs hot!
XPA-5: You don't need to have all the channel outputs connected. This will leave you with more power, if running less channels, since running from single transformer. Exactly numbers unknown, but guessing close (or little under) each channel not connected will be divided to others, my question was for four channels connected and will not harm your amplifier!

Warning: The amplifiers are very heavy!

Thanks
Po

Marker5: it's been 2 weeks, how's the SC XXL sounding? Any sibilance, both male & female? How does she sound at reference level? Is this the center channel of your dreams?

I've been thinking for the past few days, weeks, well actually for the entire year, what should I get myself for Christmas. Last year is was the Decware Torii, the year prior an Oppo 105. I definitely want another Anti-Cable Reference 3 powercord, that's a must have. I really don't need any more amps (have 7) I don't need cd/blu- ray players, and I don't need this and I don't need that. What has flustered me all these years is the Center Channel in my HT setup. As you kmow I have many Center Channel speakers ranging in price from $100-$3,200 (still own them) Each of them has flaws in certain areas. The GE SS60C has a problem with the female voice (sibilance) but pretty much nails male voices. I really want a Center that gets the voicing right, both male and female.

Rick, this is where you come in (or anyone else with extensive play time). Now that you have had the SC XXL for awhile, how do male/female voices sound? Are there any particular actor's or actresses that don't sound as they should? What about the sound at high volumes? Any harshness, excessive sibilance? These are just a few of the questions I have about the SCXXL. If the SCXXL can get the voicing right, this speaker might be what I'm looking for.

This review from Robert Kozel (Secrets of Home Theater &High Fidelity) is what prompted my interest. I particularly like these 4 paragraphs.

As we all know, the center channel speaker is crucial in helping to recreate the theater experience. So much of the critical dialog in movies comes from the center channel, that the viewing and listening experience hinges on how well we can hear that dialog in the movie. A great example of this is “The Grand Budapest Hotel” which tells the story of a famous hotel and the friendship between its concierge and Zero, the lobby boy. I loved the dialog between F. Murray Abraham and Jude Law in the dining room at the hotel. The SuperCenter XXL reproduced the actors’ dialog with exceptional clarity and easily revealed nuances and emotions in their voices. Instead of just watching the dialog from my sofa, the SuperCenter XXL put me at the table in their conversation. The echo of the cork popping from their champagne bottle reverberated through my listening room as the SuperCenter XXL blended beautifully with the Triton One Towers creating the illusion of being in the cavernous dining hall with them.

Music is also very central to the story of “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and the experience starts right from the music playing on the Blu-ray title menu. I had to stop and think about the last time I even made note of the music on a title menu, and in this case it was so striking that I had to hesitate before playing the movie just to enjoy the experience. The SuperCenter XXL created a totally seamless soundstage across the entire front of my listening room. The music was gorgeous with intricately layered vocal harmonies and the bass vocals sounded especially rich. The music throughout the film sounded no less impressive and the SuperCenter XXL brought the gorgeous balalaika music to life with exquisite bass and vibrant strings that played harmoniously with the Triton Ones.

The biggest takeaway for me with the SuperCenter XXL was its ability to produce sound with such clarity that I forgot that I was listening to a speaker. While I have traditionally listened to my favorite shows like “The Big Bang Theory” in stereo, I found that listening in Dolby Surround with the SuperCenter XXL brought me closer to the characters than ever before since the dialog was focused so clearly in the center of the listening space.

If my initial impressions are any indication, GoldenEar Technology has yet another winner on their hands. The SuperCenter XXL is easily one of the best center channel speakers available today.

Hey Bro Anthem,
Have a look at my new avatar, that is what you can get me for Christmas!!!!!!
Thanks,
God Bless,
Wayne

Hi, Anthem

I think getting yourself a SCXXL is a great gift idea!

I agree completely with the review you quoted. When I auditioned the SCXXL at home, I got it connected, and just like that I was hooked. It was love at first listen. I thought it would take me awhile, listening to a variety of audio, to make a decision. Nope. The accuracy, clarity is the first thing that just jumps out. Voices, instruments sound so natural. The best compliment I can give it is that it perfectly matches all the tonal qualities of the T1's, and like all GEt speakers, blends in perfectly with the GEt speaker family. T1's, T2's, Invisa's and the SXCCL just blend together.

I have my SCXXL set at 60 HZ crossover, (also what AUDDYSEY recommended for it), and that baby just does everything so well, from perfectly clear and natural human voices, to exquisite detail on everything from background sounds to musical instruments, and yes, it can pump the volume, with authority, without losing any of that clarity and naturalness. Sometimes, when I'm playing some surround music at pretty good sound levels, I walk in front of the SCXXL, just to hear, again, what it is contributing to the whole audio sound stage, and am amazed at what it's doing, even down in the bass range. It's like standing in front of a T1...

It's right at home doing anything and everything I would want from a center channel, from keeping dialogue in movies completely clear and understandable, to flawlessly playing anything musically thrown it's way, at any volume. Clear, detailed, rich, authorative when called for. Never harsh, perfectly happy playing rich, natural sounds and voicing at any volume.

Sorry, did I mention that I really love the SCXXL???

Rick