where to place center channel?

[bonsaiguitar]

Thanks Topspeed,the 806's that you see are about to go to the back and be replaced by 816's.As for cables,yeah i know,just never seem to get around to it.Cables behind my gear rack are much better.


bill

I know what you mean. I'm pulling my system away from the wall this weekenda dn going at em with the cable ties.

EdwardGein, Your setup wouldn't have much of a problem with a center on a stand, for an example.

[wrongway15]

how "bad" would the sound be if i put the center in something like this
http://www.htmarket.com/pedtelstanan.html

would it be OK/acceptable...my system and ears arent perfect...the center would be a paradigm cc370 ~25lbs i think

id like to build a shelf to wrap around the tube part of the tv, but i dont know how to support the base

[wrongway15]

Maybe i could leave off the top shelf...then id still have the base and 1 shelf for components
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1083712642058

Do you think the top shelf could support a 30"CRT under 130lbs? it says up to 32" tvs up to 145lbs....hmmm i woudl have the center about ear level (below tv) and two shelves for the rest of my gear...i dont like the look and the GF would kill me for putting it in our apt., but it is FUNCTIONAL...
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1130986703928

[topspeed]

We're talking about furniture here, friend. Do NOT put something in your living room that you or your girlfriend/wife doesn't like. You're going to be looking at it every single day, remember that. And No...you won't get used to it.

There are a ton of manufacturers and you have a lot of options. Exercise a little patience and do your research. Sanus makes nice stands as does Bell'O. I actually purchased my stand from BB and have been pretty happy with it. It was this RTA model in solid cherry (although it was a lot lower and wider for flat panels). It matches my decor pretty well and is very sturdy. I removed the upper glass shelf on one side and my cc takes up the entire right side, beneath the set. It isn't perfectly centered, but then again neither am I .

Mine looks a lot more like the Mission model

[topspeed]

Just found this Salamander stand on audioadvisor.com and thought this might work for you. It's a heckuva price and Salamander makes pretty nice furniture. Check it out.

[wrongway15]

topspeed...that stand is nice, but i couldnt stand the center being off center (froma visual point...i like things very symetrical) and your right about not buying something i hate.

the salamander stand seems like a steel...no wonder theres none in stock...i think i woulda bought the walnut one.

i am on a budget here considering the $100 +-$50 range if possible

[bonsaiguitar]

I bought mine off Ebay cheap. It has a gray solid steel frame and three glass shelves. I paid about $200 less than any of the stores like Circuit City, Best Buy etc, and even the online discount stores. Mine is simular to those posted above. Even has spiked feet.

[Woochifer]

I think the whole concept of the horizontal center speaker will need to be reexamined as the market increasingly moves towards narrow profile big screen TVs that, for any number of reasons, cannot accommodate a large speaker sitting on top. In actuality, if you have a wall-mounted TV or use a front projector, you probably don't need to use horizontal center speaker at all, because without a TV stand or bulky cabinet taking up the center floor space along your front wall, you have the option of using three identical speakers up front. For timbre matching and alignment, you can't beat using identical speakers for the L/C/R channels.

The horizontal center speaker is one of those compromised designs that date back to the Dolby Pro Logic days, and nearly all TVs were CRT-based. Those large bulky cabinets gobbled up the ideal spaces where a center speaker should go, but they could support the weight and heft of a center speaker laid on its side, so that design was born.

Nowadays, the bulky TV cabinet designs that necessitated the horizontal center speaker in the first place are rapidly phasing out. Speaker manufacturers have responded to some degree by coming out with on-wall speakers designed to complement wall-mounted flat panel TVs.

But, the ideal approach is to accommodate three identical speakers up front, while somehow accommodating the TV, even if it is not wall mounted. To this end, the companies that manufacture the TV cabinets and stands should try something new that can accommodate either a horizontal center speaker or a third main speaker in the middle, while placing those speakers into a better alignment (with the tweeters at level with the with L/R mains) and not having to enclose the speaker (which potentially creates resonances). I would like to see more adjustable/modular systems with an open middle area and adjustments for the TV height and angle, so that the speaker does not interfere with the TV viewing.

For those of us with existing investments in center speakers, the floor stand is a good approach, but it rates very low on the WAF (unless the TV is wall-mounted or front projected). Eventually when I change TVs, I'll probably wind up using a 30" Salamander double wide cabinet and the flat panel TV mount (just wall mounting and leaving the middle open for a third main speaker or a stand mounted center speaker would not work with my wife because she wants more storage space in the living room). This would allow me to simply place my center speaker on top of the cabinet and raise the flat panel TV high enough to fit the center speaker underneath without having to enclose the speaker. Salamander's modular stands also have a riser available that elevates the TV and creates a space for the center speaker.

[bonsaiguitar]

Unfortunatly for my setup having the speaker either way only works on top right now. I'm actually considering other Plasma stands with higher shelves to accomodate the larger ceneter channel I just installed. I may still go with the overhead shelf since it sounds best where it is. I don't have a problem with the tweeters being about a foot higher than the mains, it actually seperates the sounds better to me.

The Klipsch RC-25 is up top now and works fine there. It's pretty steady, but I don't care for the look. Maybe I'll get use to it, I hope.

Now what to do for the surrounds for the 7.1 setup. I'll even have a harder time placing them.

[Hyfi]

For now I am limited on where to put mine. I was going to build a custom shelf to sit on the TV but after reading a few posts decided to try standing it verticle and agling it towards the correct hieght for listening. So far so good. This is my first attempt at HT and I am using my main system for the fronts via pre-outs and controlling all from the AVR.