If a speaker sounds good for music, and can accurately reproduce a full frequency range, chances are it will be equally good for movies.  To oversimplify: a movie soundtrack will consist of the human voice, music, recorded sounds such as a barking dog or a car engine, and synthetic sounds such as depth charge explosions and the engine of a spaceship.  Its good fortune to have a great stereo OR a great home theater in one's home, and few people have enough space to create a dedicated area for both.  Thus, many people's home theaters do double duty as a music listening room.  For owners of Klipsch Heritage speakers, this presents an obstacle to be overcome: The Heritage Center Channel.

The Ideal center channel for a home theater is an exact copy of the front L/R speakers.  This is a guarantee that voicing characteristics and frequency response will be a match.  Panning across the front channels as that car drives from right to left will sound as natural as possible.  With the no compromise Klipsch Heritage speakers, though, there are some issues.  The main issues are Cost and Positioning.

Cost

Despite being arguably the most important speaker in a home theater, many people balk at the cost of say, $1750 for a third Cornwall III to use as a center channel.  Obviously $3750 for a single Klipschorn is an even bigger blow to the wallet.  Because of the thriving pre-owned market on Heritage speakers Size/Positioning is often the deal-breaker.

Positioning

Suppose my home theater has a pair of Cornwall IIIs as the front L/R.  The ideal center channel is a third Cornwall III, but isn't that going to crush my big screen TV if I put it on top?  Even if it won't physically damage your TV, what about having accurate spatial cues?  With a rear-projection, TV for example, a Cornwall center is going to be an additional 40 inches taller by being placed on a TV and having the mid-range and tweeter that far above the L/R is not going to sound right.  You could turn the speaker upside down such that the woofer was on top instead but this comes with its own issues.  Spouse approval factor and video shielding may still defeat you.

If your home theater uses a Front Projection system rather than a television you have a different set of problems than the TV people.  If you get an Acoustically Transparent Screen you are probably putting yourself in a situation where neither the screen nor speaker performance will be ideal.  Depending on your seating distance you may be overwhelmed by a Screen-Door effect.  The next time you're out to the movies go take a look at the screen, pay attention to the size of the holes in the screen material and ask yourself how that would look at a distance of 9-15 feet.  If you don't get an acoustically transparent screen you are facing trade-offs of another kind, the kind that might cause neck pains.  If you have to place your projection screen above a 40" tall speaker you may not be as comfortable watching the screen and with typical eight or nine foot ceilings you are limiting the size of the screen you can fit between the center channel and the ceiling.

With these issues in mind, let's take a look at what Klipsch Heritage owners have tried for center channel solutions.

Academy

Made from 1992 to 1994 the Academy is not exactly common and regularly goes for $500 and up on eBay and Audiogon.  In my own humble opinion the only thing the Academy has going for it is its size.  At 23.25" x 11" x 10" it will fit on top of a TV and might not sound bad in between some Heresies.  Klipsch also lists it as a compatible center for Cornwall and Forte models.  Keep in mind also that this speaker may not have the same voicing characteristics as your L/R speakers.  Refer to the "Finishing Touches" section at the end for other points to ponder.

Split-top LaScala

The industrial LaScala has a unique feature that makes it a possible Heritage Center Channel choice: the mid/high frequency box is detachable from the bass bin.  This cuts the overall height of the unit down by the height of the High/Mid cabinet.

Legend Series

Since the Legend series center channel speakers were three way designs and large (on average) than the current Reference line, chances are they are still not going to have the voicing characteristics you'll be looking for in a seamless match.

Vertical Cornwall

One attractive option that has been used between the Klipschorn, Belle Klipsch, LaScala, and Cornwalls is the Vertical Cornwall.  Many people prefer the bass response of the Vertical Cornwall to the LaScala and at a little over 25 inches wide they are more suitable for below-the-screen placement in front-projection systems than other options.

The Vertical Cornwall speakers were only made for a little while and as such are very rare.  The components for these speakers are not particularly rare though.  The horns, woofers, and crossovers are available often enough on eBay, KlipschCorner.com, or by posted a "wanted" message on the Klipsch forums.  In our "Vertical Cornwall plans" article you can even get an accurate CAD drawing of some options for the enclosure dimensions. 

Custom Solution

If none of these options works for you, an entirely custom solution is your remaining option.  This is not something one should try without doing a great deal of research and being honest with one's self regarding one's skill level with wood, veneer, and electronics, and managing your own expectations too. 

Choosing components is the first step.  Supposing you are making a center channel for the LaScala II, you'll start with the K-77-F and K-55-X horns for a perfect mid- and high- range match.  For the low range, you may try to come up with your own "squat" folded horn enclosure for a fully horn-loaded sound, or you can plug a woofer or pair of woofers into WinISD using the Thiel-Small parameters for the part from a site like Parts Express.  Choosing the enclosure material is equally important. 

 This still leaves you with the question of whether or not you're going to have to do custom crossover work.  In our example, would a stock LaScala II crossover do the trick, or would you need to tweak the crossover?  Will you be able to accurately test without an anechoic chamber in your workshop?  We definitely suggest talking to a crossover specialist with Klipsch experience such as Al Klappenberger, Dean G, or Bob Crites.

Custom Solution Finishing touches and setup

Supposing you take the "very cool yet very challenging" path of creating a custom solution, we can offer you some advice here.  If the low-end of the low-end response of your custom center channel speaker does not meld with the front L/R, consider crossing over at 80 Hz or higher.  Many Klipsch owners are loathe to do this because they are very proud of the full range of sound the speakers can deliver.  We also suggest getting the speaker veneered to help with resale.  By using KlipschCorner.com or the Klipsch Forums you may be likely to find someone with a similar setup who'd like to save themselves the trouble by buying your work should you find yourself not needing it anymore.  And finally, consider telling Klipsch, they may some day offer direct from the factory solutions or at the least build-it-yourself solutions.  These would carry with them the benefit of engineer-tested designs.

Getting Parts from Klipsch

This website, and its hair-brained ideas about Frankensteining together center channels from new or used heritage horns, is not officially supported by Klipsch.  At this time we do not have an official statement from Klipsch and we don't know what they think about folks building center channel speakers using their drivers and horns.  In general, though, Klipsch is as devoted to its fans as we are to Klipsch.  I'm sure if you call the parts hotline asking for a single mid & high horn and a crossover because "one of" your old speakers broke but the other one is fine they will help you out with one of their refresher kits.