I purchased the CC-450 to go along with the ensemble listed below. The balance that I achieved by combining the CC-450 with the Active/20's is far greater than anything I ever expected. The CC-450 has excellent clarity without the "chesty" voices. When the surround sound kicks in and things are flying everywhere on the screen, sound transition is seemless. Truly a great combo.
Setup:
Nakamichi IA-1z
Nakamichi MB-10
Yamaha DVP-S700
Paradigm Reference Active/20 (fronts)
Paradigm Reference CC-450 (center)
Paradigm Reference Studio/20 (rear)
Paradigm Reference Servo 15 (sub)

The LCR450 (the model reviewed below) is a better match for version one studio series speakers then the CC450

Slight edge to the sound (posessed by all v1 reference speakers, except the actives)

First of all, the model I own is the LCR450, not the CC450. I believe the LCR450 to be superior to the CC450 do to slightly better extension (due to slightly bigger cabinet size) and due to the timbre matching the version 1 studio series much better. I would recommend the LCR450 to those who own any version one studio series speakers as mains. To those who own actives for main, I would recommend that they only use the LCR450 as a centre speaker if they cannot find the (extremely difficult to find) active/450C. That being said, this speaker is still a great value at the prices that you can find them for on the net ($275 US or less). I recommend only using this speaker set to small with the bass being redirected to either your mains or the sub, this speaker can handle high input levels of low bass, but it's output levels for low bass sound are attenuated a fair bit. Overall, this is a great speaker and a great value, but if you can afford the paradigm reference active series or paradigm reference studio version 2 series I would suggest that you buy those instead as they are quite a bit nicer.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm reference Active/450C, Paradigm reference Active/CC

Fairly neutral and clear

Harsh tweeter, especially on female voices, can sound a bit flat and lifeless

I've had this centre channel for about 18 months now. It has a fairly neutral sound and blends easily with most large surround speakers.

I recently upgraded my front and rear surround speakers from Richter Jaguars (Australian speakers, 150 watt RMS) to two pairs of NHT 2.5i's. The Reference 450 blended very easily the NHT's, but the the tweeters on the NHT's are much smoother and sweeter than the tweeter on the 450 that I have been forced to upgrade to the NHT Audio Centre 2.

This is not to say that the 450 is not a good centre channel speaker. It just doesn't meet my requirements. I listen to both music and home theater 50/50. It's great for home theater but just doesn't cut the mustard when it comes to music and some of the DVD multichannel recordings now on the market.

I have a lot of Japanese animation on DVD and there is a lot songs in these movies. The very high pitched female voices sound very harsh and the 450 is just not up to the task.

I would recommend this centre channel to people who are more into home theater, as I previously stated, not the best on music.

Similar Products Used:

NHT Audio Centre 2