Center channel speaker placement - what should I do?

[DangerBoy]

I just totally destroyed my cheap Ikea media center cabinet. Fortunately, it does not appear my TV or any AV equipment was damaged in the accident.

I'm now looking at a new media stand and now have to decide where I can place the center channel speaker.

This is the stand I'm looking at:

https://www.wayfair.ca/furniture/pdp/george-oliver-swanton-media-console-484-tv-stand-golv1813.html

I'll have to make some modifications to it in order to make it work since my AV receiver is 8" high and probably should have another inch of clearance for ventilation/heat dissipation. I'm thinking I'll either leave a shelf out on one side or cut one of the shelves a little shorter and move it up higher on one side, I'll also have to cut the back out on the side wherever the AV Receiver is going to be to accommodate the depth of the receiver which needs to have about 18: of space tor the receiver and the cabling coming in behind it.

My TV is a 55" so the display is about 30" high. With the stand, the bottom of the display will sit about 4" above the top of the stand. If I leave the legs at the length they come, the center of the screen will be about 44.2" off the ground which will be about 4" higher than eye level when I'm sitting on the viewing couch but more than a foot higher than eye level when I'm reclining on the viewing couch which I often am ;-). I'm considering maybe shortening the legs 4 or 5 inches on the piece to get the screen height back down closer to what it used to be which and where I was happy with it being.

If I leave the legs the height they are I could mount the center channel on the underside of the cabinet. The center channel speaker is 7" in height so the bottom of it would only be about 4" off the ground. I would try to point it upwards a little if I did that.

I have to install a shelf above the TV screen to hold the OTA digital antenna which is compulsory since I do not have cable and only get my local channels OTA. Everything else I stream. The antenna has to be as high as possible because the TV room is in the basement and I get lousy reception if the antenna is too low.

I was thinking I'd by a shelf unit like these

https://www.wayfair.ca/storage-orga...e-2-piece-wall-accent-shelf-set-latt2677.html

and mount it above the TV screen. The center channel speaker could go inside the shelf unit and the antenna could go on top of it. If I do that, the vertical center of the center channel speaker could be anywhere from about 64" to 74" above the floor but I could point it downwards a little to aim it directly at the viewing position. The 64" could be lowered by 4 or 5 inches if I shorten the legs on the unit.

I know none of this is ideal but I'm quite constrained as to where I can locate the TV so these are kind of what my options are. Given this scenario, what center channel speaker position would likely give me the best results?

 

[imral3]

With the modifications needed with the media console listed I'd strongly suggest picking a completely different console that better fits your needs. Second, just be careful if putting any speaker inside a cabinet, as the cabinet will color the sound of the speaker. Ideally you'd want the center channel to be at the same level as the right/left speakers. But, if not possible, mounting above or below the TV, and angled up/down accordingly, may be your best option.

 

[Poultrygeist]

I found this TV stand at Sam's Club a few years ago for $150. You should be able to find one with enough space below to fit a large center speaker plus all your gear. There's a Marantz AVR on the bottom shelf that's 7 inches tall and there's room to spare.

 

[Poultrygeist]

If you're sold on the one you linked you could place the center on the floor with angled risers to have it pointed upwards toward your ears.

 

[soundmotor]

I should let you talk to my daughter about her happiness w/ Wayfair furniture. The dresser she bought (and not cheap) is falling apart after 3 months. That said, have you checked craigslist? I'm in Boston and a quick search yields ~325 hits. Discard 1/2 because they are likely crap and that's still a lot to plough through. Most are quite inexpensive too. You could try the layout first and see how well it works then hunt for the real one after you know what works.

 

[Grenadeslio]

This is easy, use a small stand under the tv to raise it up a bit, then set the center channel right in front of it. I use a Canton center channel this way, works perfect and the speaker hides the stand.

 

[E-Stat]

Have you considered hanging the monitor on the wall? That gets it out of the way and you get to choose the ideal viewing height. Then the center can sit atop the cabinet...

 

[Grenadeslio]

Have you considered hanging the monitor on the wall? That gets it out of the way and you get to choose the ideal viewing height. Then the center can sit atop the cabinet...

I couldn't do that with mine it has a window behind it, but that's definitely the preferred method if possible.

 

[manu et deo]

There are several CCs that are strong enough to hold the tv. I used to have my old 47 inch tv sitting on my center- I could actually stand on it.

 

[faber12]

I am of the opinion that any center speaker that can't serve as a step stool or be large enough to hold a TV may not be worth having.

 

[TomInTacoma]

You could also put the center speaker on top of the TV. There's shelves available specifically to do that - like this one: http://www.robohara.com/?p=6678

 

[Poultrygeist]

I built this center stand using the TNT Stubby design but with two PVC legs. It was very stable even with a heavy center channel speaker and added no weight to the TV as it rested on the TV stand. I don't use it anymore as I went from store bought speakers to DIY. My current center channel speaker I built to fit the space underneath. All five of my speakers use the same Fostex full range driver.