Front center speaker placement. HELP!

ecarmstr · 08-10-2007, 07:58

Hi

Have just tracked and laid down conduit for front and rear left and right speakers... Originally planning TV to be in unit along wall and front center speaker only to be freestanding on the unit somewhere (the missus has now changed her mind.its wrote into the marriage deeds apparently )Walls are now all skimmed complete..

Just wondering if i could ceiling mount the front center one only (Lh+RH fronts are approx 1m of ground) and direct downwards....does this impact /distort the sound

Thanks
Trevor.

Dan Sette · 08-10-2007, 08:38

Yes. It will impact the sound massively. Better to use the phantom setting and dispense with the centre speaker altogether rather than mount it in the ceiling.

The centre speaker is used to "lock" dialogue to the screen for those sitting off centre to the main pair, or where the screen cannot be equidistant to the front L & R pair.

If you mount the centre speaker in the ceiling, the action will be happening on the screen and the dialogue will be coming from above your head.

D

08-10-2007, 09:08

The centre speaker is probably the most important speaker as it carries roughly 75% of the soundtrack, it also locks dialogue and all the action to the screen.

For best results it needs to be placed under the screen, if this is not possible on top and angled down depending on height, if neither of these options are open to you, you can either select Phantom as Dan has mentioned or 'No' to centre speaker in the settings menu, all depends what options you have in the settings menu on the system.

ecarmstr · 08-10-2007, 13:00

thanks
in ideal world is the front center reccommended to be at same height as front LH & RH? approx 1meter

Also what would be highest you could mount it over the top of the set (and pointing down towards the viewer as fully adjustable speaker mounts) ?
which is what i really meant in original thread..sorry
Thanks

JBlink · 08-10-2007, 18:14

Here's a wild thought...how about using two speakers. One above and one below the TV. That way the sound will appear to come from in between the two. You'll have to watch the impedence though, connecting to the same amp o/p in parallel.

08-10-2007, 22:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecarmstr

thanks
in ideal world is the front center reccommended to be at same height as front LH & RH? approx 1meter

Also what would be highest you could mount it over the top of the set (and pointing down towards the viewer as fully adjustable speaker mounts) ?
which is what i really meant in original thread..sorry
Thanks

Ideally the centre speaker should be the same height as the fronts (L/R) - Tweeters at ear height when seated.

As for the height above the display, personally I wouldn't go any higher than just above the display, but this really depends on how high it was mounted, if the speaker ended up 1m+ above the fronts I would probably tend to go with a no centre setting and concentrate on getting the best imagining from the fronts.

All you can do is try both options and see what is going to give you the best results.

willowfan · 09-10-2007, 13:14

They are called front centre speakers for a reason ie ideally they should be in a front central position.

08-10-2007, 07:58	#1
ecarmstr Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 12	Front center speaker placement. HELP! Hi Have just tracked and laid down conduit for front and rear left and right speakers... Originally planning TV to be in unit along wall and front center speaker only to be freestanding on the unit somewhere (the missus has now changed her mind.its wrote into the marriage deeds apparently )Walls are now all skimmed complete.. Just wondering if i could ceiling mount the front center one only (Lh+RH fronts are approx 1m of ground) and direct downwards....does this impact /distort the sound Thanks Trevor.

08-10-2007, 08:38	#2
Dan Sette Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Cornwall (at last!) Posts: 5,641	Yes. It will impact the sound massively. Better to use the phantom setting and dispense with the centre speaker altogether rather than mount it in the ceiling. The centre speaker is used to "lock" dialogue to the screen for those sitting off centre to the main pair, or where the screen cannot be equidistant to the front L & R pair. If you mount the centre speaker in the ceiling, the action will be happening on the screen and the dialogue will be coming from above your head. D

08-10-2007, 09:08	#3
TommyW Posts: n/a	The centre speaker is probably the most important speaker as it carries roughly 75% of the soundtrack, it also locks dialogue and all the action to the screen. For best results it needs to be placed under the screen, if this is not possible on top and angled down depending on height, if neither of these options are open to you, you can either select Phantom as Dan has mentioned or 'No' to centre speaker in the settings menu, all depends what options you have in the settings menu on the system.

08-10-2007, 13:00	#4
ecarmstr Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 12	thanks in ideal world is the front center reccommended to be at same height as front LH & RH? approx 1meter Also what would be highest you could mount it over the top of the set (and pointing down towards the viewer as fully adjustable speaker mounts) ? which is what i really meant in original thread..sorry Thanks

08-10-2007, 18:14	#5
JBlink Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Hampshire Posts: 2,926	Here's a wild thought...how about using two speakers. One above and one below the TV. That way the sound will appear to come from in between the two. You'll have to watch the impedence though, connecting to the same amp o/p in parallel.

08-10-2007, 22:23	#6
TommyW Posts: n/a	Quote: Originally Posted by ecarmstr thanks in ideal world is the front center reccommended to be at same height as front LH & RH? approx 1meter Also what would be highest you could mount it over the top of the set (and pointing down towards the viewer as fully adjustable speaker mounts) ? which is what i really meant in original thread..sorry Thanks Ideally the centre speaker should be the same height as the fronts (L/R) - Tweeters at ear height when seated. As for the height above the display, personally I wouldn't go any higher than just above the display, but this really depends on how high it was mounted, if the speaker ended up 1m+ above the fronts I would probably tend to go with a no centre setting and concentrate on getting the best imagining from the fronts. All you can do is try both options and see what is going to give you the best results.

09-10-2007, 13:14	#7
willowfan Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Anywhere but here Posts: 2,339	They are called front centre speakers for a reason ie ideally they should be in a front central position.

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Front center speaker placement. HELP!