Center Channel Placement help!

Hello Shacksters,


I will be mounting my 50" plasma over the fireplace soon.
Where is the best location for my center channel.
I want to get the best sound.

A) On top of my fireplace mantel.
B) Mounted over the plasma where the wall meets the roof with a pivot mount.

My ceiling is 9' and I will have the other 4 speakers wall mounted in each corner also 9' high.

Any feedback will be appreciated.TIA

Hi,

The general rule of thumb to place the center speaker is to make sure that the tweeter of the center speaker is vertically aligned with the tweeters of the front left and right speakers. That's the most ideal position and proposed by Dolby Laboratories. You can check the web site on the speaker placements.

I think the placement would be to put it below the plasma tv as you are wall mounting it. Putting it too high from your sitting ear level would make all the sound go high up and won't get you immersed into the sound-stage.

[drdoan]

Bidyut is correct. The good news is that if you must put the center either way higher or way lower than the mains, your ear is not as sensitive on the vertical plane as the horizontal plane. Of course, the closer you can get to the ideal, the better the sound experience. My center is above my 91" screen and slightly higher than my mains. I have gotten used to the sound and it isn't at all distracting. Have fun. Dennis

[Darren]

The placement isn't as critical on the vertical plane as you'd think as long as you aim the speaker at the listening position. I have mine mounted about 5 feet above the mains and aimed at the listening position and nobody could tell the difference. It images beautifully. I had all my speakers at the exact same height for years and after making this change in my theater layout I couldn't tell any significant difference. Do what your room allows and see if you like it. It is too easy to get caught up in the "perfect scenario" everyone strives for. I'm pretty picky and I love my current setup. This picture has the old furniture in it but the speaker placement is the same.

[drdoan]

I should add that I do have sound absorbing material around my center speaker that did help in preventing too many early reflections which were muddying up the sound. I will try to post a pic of my HT setup soon. Dennis

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

I will be mounting my 50" plasma over the fireplace soon.
Where is the best location for my center channel.
I want to get the best sound.

A) On top of my fireplace mantel.
B) Mounted over the plasma where the wall meets the roof with a pivot mount.

Most professional installers recommend that the center of the screen be no more than 15 degrees above eye level. However, in a situation like Darren’s where the screen is a good distance from the seating, you can get away with higher placement.

Regards,
Wayne