Home theater center channels are often inferior despite being the most important speaker

Evidence

This is an unfortunate situation, a consequence of poor marketing among other things. Selling multichannel to people with stereo systems was a challenge, and it was thought it would be easier if the additional loudspeakers could be small and inexpensive. This ignores the reality that in movies the center channel is arguably the most important channel, delivering the bulk of dialog and much of the on-screen sound, while anchoring the soundstage for off-center listeners. In cinemas, all front (screen) loudspeakers are identical in performance, as they are in well-designed home theaters. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 567

Categorization

• CANDY: Fun fact for an audio enthusiast: the speaker electronics companies cheap out on because it was a harder sell, yet it carries dialog.
• XREF: Relates to the reader’s interest in why engineering decisions get distorted by marketing in audio equipment markets.