Matching center for inherited ACI mains

**10-01-07, 03:36 PM**

I've recently I inherited a set of ACI Sapphire III LE's, with the Focal woofers. I'm looking for an appropriate center for the HT. While i'm trying to do some justice, $950 for ACI's matching center (Sapphire XLC) is twice my price cap. ACI has no other centers to offer, no discontinues, and the classifieds have been no luck as well.

If I were to look outside of the Sapphire lineup, what factors would one use to do the best 'hack job' possible with timbre-matching?
- Same woofer / tweeter size?
- Same driver composition?
- Any other speaker in the same brand?

The Sapphire III LE's have the following relevant specs:
--Two-way aperiodic loaded system with sloped baffle.
--Woofer: 7" Kevlar layered cone, dual voice coil with rubber surround.
--Tweeter: 1.1" hand-damped textile dome, ferro-fluid cooled.

Possibilities I've considered so far include:

ACI Emerald XL for $350 (same brand)
--Bass-Midrange: 4" cast-frame with paper cone, rubber surround; long throw, low distortion motor system with vented pole piece
--Tweeter: 1" silk dome with ferro-fluid and aperiodic second chamber

Wharfedale Diamond 9.CM (same driver types)
--Woofer: 6.5" Kevlar cone, dual voice coil with rubber surround.
--Tweeter: 1.1" textile dome, ferro-fluid cooled.

Focal Chorus CC700V (same driver manufacturer)
--Two 6 1/2’’ (165mm) shielded Polyglass mid-bass
--1’’ (25mm) TNV inverted dome tweeter

Anyone have thoughts, or better ideas to find a comparable center channel? Thanks,
Andy

**nova** · **10-01-07, 05:13 PM**

What about picking up another used Saphire III and using it as a center? Or maybe ACI will sell you one new Sapphire for use as a center, probably still over your budget, but may be a viable option. Or possible "B" stock?

**nitrox1** · **10-01-07, 11:01 PM**

Andy go to the ACI website and look at the b stock list, they have a rosewood sapphire xlc center for $799.

**jvc** · **10-02-07, 08:08 AM**

You may find one that's affordable by keeping an eye on eBay, Audiogon, and Craig's List. In the meantime, you can use the "phantom center", and be timbre matched, until you can find a center speaker.
Good luck!

**10-02-07, 08:34 AM**

Thanks for feedback so far. It appears that consensus is to try to find another ACI product for best timbre-matching, rather than trying to match the type or brand of the components....

Is that correct?

**jvc** · **10-02-07, 11:02 AM**

yes.........ideally, the center should match the mains. In fact, ideally, all the speakers should match. But we don't live in an ideal world. Lots of people have unmatched speakers, and are very happy. Me for one.

My mains are Allisons, and my center is an AR, I got at a pawn shop. Since I can't afford matching speakers, these sound fine to me. If you're not a very picky audiophile, you may not care either.

Does a friend have a speaker you can try, to see how it sounds, for your speakers to be unmatched?

**10-02-07, 11:06 AM**

Well, I've already got an Infinty Primus C25 center (along with Primus surrounds). It sounds OK but I think it could be better. Just dont know if there would be a significant value in finding another center.

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