The long-awaited HUMAN 81 DK is now available.
Best viewed in "landscape" mode.
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Model C3 $846.00 /each (see the big picture)
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The advent of Home Theater systems has finally saved the concept of surround sound from the disaster it encountered in the 1970's, when several competing, poorly functioning systems were rejected by consumers as confusing and clumsy.
Todays systems have been propelled largely by the motion picture industry. Several discrete channels of information, which will create a fully enveloping sound field when reproduced, are typically multiplexed onto two recorded channels of information. The consumer armed with a good quality decoder, whether a separate component or included in a good receiver, can achieve breathtaking effects and realism when the system is properly set up.
Two main front speakers are still recomended (by me) and are still preferred for listening to (unencoded) music. When listening to various Surround encoded sources, however, the front and rear (and sometimes side) channel information is decoded and amplified. The rear speakers are usually smaller systems than the main front speakers, but should correspond closely in sound quality (see the QT-1+ and QT-2+). The front center channel carries the dialog, in order to tie the actors' voices tightly to the screen. This is very important if off center listening positions are planned.
The sound quality of the rear and center channel speakers is a lot more important than most giant companies peddling these products seem to think. For the surround sound effects to work properly, the sounds shared by any two speakers must have the same characteristics in order for the ear and brain to combine them and form the appropriate side, front, and rear imaging. That is why I make these speakers for you.
This particular center channel is based on the HUMAN Speakers model 88-41. It is a three way, phase coherent design, magnetically shielded and rearranged into a horizontal format.
The cabinet is rugged enough to serve as a video monitor stand in most cases. This speaker is far better than most of the crummy little modules I see around. It will blend well with the other speakers I build, and of course also with classic EPI and Genesis speakers. It may put to shame main speakers of other brands, so beware!
The photograph below shows the marginally obsolete first generation of this speaker, which was designed around the cathode ray tube type monitor. As such, the drivers were magnetically shielded to prevent interference, and the cabinet utilized the depth available under a tube television set for its volume. It was also intended to act as a stand if needed.
The current version (images available soon) is designed to accomodate the modern solid state monitor which typically protrude from the wall by six to eight inches in many installations. It resembles its predecessor sitting on its "back", with an angled top for the drivers.
This system will result in the fullest enjoyment of your Home Theater sources, which is why you have them in the first place.
This is a demo unit that actually resides in my living room. I got a little careless trimming the speaker fur around the left woofer, I guess, and never bothered to make a grill for it, but it sounds great!
You can see here how I built it, and how I later turned it into a C3+.
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