Anthology Center Channel Speaker Kit

The Anthology Center Channel Speaker Kit by Curt Campbell and Jim Holtz

The design goal

Once the Anthogoy II design was released by Jim and Curt, the calls started coming in for a matching center channel. Of course, we didn’t want to leave out original Anthology owners, so made this design as well. We started a new design based on Curt’s typical crossover topology, frequency response, and transfer function. Rather than the dual 4″ mid ranges we opted for a single 5.25″ right below the tweeter. This arrangement will give you a more uniform dispersion than the MTM on its side, or the triangular cluster. You can see by the graphic below the radiation pattern. Listeners that are even 30 degrees off-axis will get great tweeter and midrange coverage. (red is good)  Watch the video under the “cabinet Plans” tab.

This center dips slightly below 4 ohms, so a good high-current amplifier is a must.

The Drivers

Since Curt used the SB Acoustics SB15NRX2 paper drivers in the Anthology, it was only natural to use it in the center to keep the whole LCR with the same tonal balance.

The tweeter is the SEAS H1280 so you won’t hear any disconnect as the sound pans from left to right

The woofers are the tried and true Dayton RS225-8s. They are low distortion with an F/3 in the low 40s and are affordable. You simply have to spend several times their cost to equal or exceed their performance.  The sealed box alignment gives you a quick and non-boomy low end.

How Do They Sound?

Like the Anthology towers, the cymbals sound like cymbals and the sound of triangles floats in the air. The highs are open and airy with great off-axis dispersion. The 22TFF has excellent sound quality that realistically reproduces the original
performance. It greatly exceeded my expectations for an affordably priced tweeter.  The midrange is clear and smooth without shouting at you.

With the “Statements” no longer available, this is a great option going forward for a large center channel.

When you buy the Bare Bones version, here is what you get:

• 1 x SEAS H1280 soft dome tweeters
• 1 x SB Acoustics, SB15NRX2C30-4 cone midranges
• 2 x Dayton, RS225-8, Aluminum cone woofers
• 1 x Crossover parts with the suggested PX, Solen caps, Specified air-cored inductors, and sand-cast / Zisters resistors. Jim’s preferred cap upgrade is available
• (Upgrade is not available at this time as Clarity is 90 days out on the PX capacitors for this upgrade.
• All Build Plans

When you add the Full Kit option, here is what is included:

• 1 x Choice to buy your Prefered Input Terminals
• 2 x All Damping Foam and Dacron
• 2 x Color-coded Internal Hookup Wire
• 2 x All mounting hardware for drivers – plus the option of fancier Socket Head wood screws.
• Boards for crossover assembly plus solder lugs
• All build plans

Have trouble reading a circuit diagram or are new to soldering?  The crossovers can be assembled for a nominal charge.

Anthology Write-up