Basically, I wanna know two things.First, why didn't Klipsch make one? Cuz really arent you suppose to have three identical speakers for the front soundstage? I'm sure the rc-64 does a find job, I just don't get it, I would think the top tier reference package would have a center channel dedicated to it. Two, could one go about making one? I suppose it would be tough maybe a rc-83 would be easier?. I certaintly wouldn't even try, i have dont have the tools nor the talent, but howabout one of you DIY guys? I think I'd pay someone to make it for me if its even possible. 

 the rf-7 had 10 inch woofers but the rc-7 had 8 inch woofers

the rf83 have 8 inch woofer, the rc64 have 6.5 inch woofers but 4 of them not two like the rc-7

also many people had trouble putting the rc-7 in those tv mounts that allowed for a center speaker as 8 inches plus some for the box was too tall for 90% of all those tv mounts. 

 I WISH they made an RC-84! If you ever came across a badly freight damaged RF-83 with a good driver and crossover set cheap you could make a KILLER center channel speaker. 

 I am thinking about buying some 83s for my front mains, could you just buy a single 83 and turn it on its side for a center channel?

Yeah, I suppose that true, but dont some people make a center outta the rf-7? I was just wonderin if anyone had for the rf-83's yet. I'm not sure if standing one on the side would work. wouldnt the horn be the wrong way?

Center channels are always a compromise.  The RC-64 is meant to go with the RF-83's, so I do not quite understand what your question is implying.  As Jay already mentioned, the RC-7 did not have identical woofers to the RF-7, but like the RC-64 to the RF-83, the RC-7 had identical tweeters to the RF-7.  The only way to get a better, or identical, front soundstage would be to put an RF-83 as te center channel. Since most of us have neither the space nor the WAF nor the ability to hide such a massive center channel, Klipsch did what every other speaker company did: made a center channel to match as best they could to their flagship line (Heritage and palladium excluded of course) while dealing with real world space limitations.

 so you COULD use a rf-83 on its side, i was kinda under the impression the horn needed to be in the right way, or is that something you could change pretty easily? assuming space and WAF(not an issue at the moment) were not a factor? I kinda specifically bought a tv stand that had a big space for a center. And I guess i never thought about the space thing before he mentioned it. I think, without actually measuring, I could fit one maybe with a little bit of the bottom of the speaker being covered by the bars of the stand. I just thought it would be a cool project or something, i know lots of you guys have big goals and stuff and was seein if anyone had attempted it. 

 You would need to mount the horn the other way as I believe its 60 X 90 or something like that. It eas easier with the RC-7 since you could unscrew the horn and flip it. The RF83 and rc-64 have a one piece baffle. The baffle is actually the horn so it would be near impossible.

 ah that sucks. i guess ill have to "settle" for the rc-64....

 The RC-64 with the RF-83 *is* awesome...but three RF-83's is awesomer 

This is one reason I stress the screenwall setup for my clients...you can use identical speakers for all three front channels.  

I have nothing to back this up - its just something I heard once and its probably wrong anyway - but I was under the impression that drivers around 6" are ideal for vocals...  anything to this?

HT-wise - don't most vocals come from the center channel?  So then wouldn't having 6.5" "woofers" make more sense than having 8s?

You folks all bring up some great points.  Most of this discussion is quite accurate.  Jay even got it right!  Those Custom-3’s must be doing their job. 

There are several things to consider for LRC designs.  Here are some rules:

1.       Most dialog comes from the center channel.  That is where the image on the screen is so the speech comes from there.  (It is also easy for a lazy audio engineer to keep all the dialog in the center mix … but that issue should be for a separate discussion)

2.       Left and Right are usually vertical arrays and centers are horizontal thus the directivity and phase summation off axis is inverted. This is the first problem.

3.       The big screen takes up a lot of space (hopefully) so in most homes that are 8 feet in room height there is less vertical space for a center speaker.

4.       Wives don’t want to see speakers.  Some of you guys are luckier than others but this is the norm.  No offense to you ladies, in your defense as men we can’t even dress properly, so how could we think about room design unless we were…  ahhhh….more feminine.

5.       A lighter mass will accelerate quicker than a heavy mass.  So with the same BL (magnet strength) a 6” speaker will have better HF response, and attack.

6.       You need as much if not more Center Channel Speaker output capacity compared to L/R due to the inherent application of soundtracks.

It would be great to have three symmetrical speaker solutions for LCR but ergonomics don’t easily allow for this.  The Sound Broker has the right approach if you can consider a perforated screen with speakers behind it like at the pro theaters.  (The exception would be the AMC Theaters which has Dr. Eugene Patronis’s EV solution above the screen).

So what is the alternative? More smaller diameter speakers and more voice coils. 

Trust me… The RC-64 does NOT have any problems keeping up with the RF-83 as long as you use a subwoofer, but a RC-84 would be a great option and make sense.   Why didn’t we do it?  I think there were too many complaints about limitations in the vertical dimension to use a same size driver design from our dealers.