I've been trying for some time to get to the bottom of a problem I've been
having with an AV8. I have come close to buying one because in general it
is an excellent piece of kit and sounds very, very good indeed.

My problem is to do with centre speakers. My front left and right are of
late 1970s design and I'm not going to change them (still think they're
great) but matching a centre speaker would be all but impossible and in
all probability very expensive. I also don't care much for centre jobbies
as they are difficult to place and most sound quite boxy to me.

I couldn't agree more. I've got a pair of Monitor Audio MA202
floorstanders (8-9 years old now). They are hooked up to an Arcam
Alpha 9, which is connected to the line-outs on a Yamaha DSP-A595. On
several occasions I have tried using various centre speakers, and
every time I go back to using the mains with a phantom centre. It
seems to be pretty much impossible to get a good tonal match between a
centre and main speakers unless the manufacturer is deliberately
selling the same drivers in the same cabinets for both roles.

I have owned 3 AV AMPS (Kenwood, Yammy and Denon) and none have ever
been able to adjust the center level in phantom mode.

A bit puzzled here - I'm pretty sure I can adjust the centre level on
my Yamaha DSP-A595a in phantom mode. I haven't actually needed to, as
in theory it shouldn't be necessary with a phantom centre, but I seem
to recall the adjustment being there if I want it.

Simon