Center speaker height vs. L/R Mains vs. TV Placement (1 Viewer)

[TomCL]

Hi all,

A newbie here...

What's the maximum distance (height) you would allow between the Center speaker tweeter and the L/R mains?

My issue: I'm setting up a home theater w/ a 50" wall-mounted plasma that will be about 12 feet from the seating area. I'm planning on having the screen range from 31" to 56" from the floor. This seems like a reasonable height for a wall-mounted TV (When sitting on the couch, my eyes would hit the bottom 1/3 of the screen).

If I put the center speaker below the TV and angle it up slightly, it will hit the listening area nicely, so that's my preference...as opposed to having it above the TV. The thing is that my L/R speakers will be wall-mounted, but I don't want them that low (might look funny, kids might bump their heads, etc)....

So, any input?

Thanks!
Tom

 

[Paul_Dunlop]

Hi

You want to keep the tweeters of all the front 3 at the same height - and you want that height to be at ear level

Having said that, you can get away without strictly following those rules, since a lot of times that would place the center blocking the TV

If you tilt the center up (or down) it will compensate for the different levels of the tweeters

Check the gallery, and you will see some of the variances in L/R and center height - and how people compensate for them

Hope this helps

 

[TomCL]

So, does angling of speakers make-up for their difference in height? Does this hold true for the L/R mains as well?

Thanks!
Tom

 

[Paul_Dunlop]

Hi - yes, to a degree

you can overcome some height restrictions by tilting, but it depends on the distance that you are from the speakers (the farther away you are, the less you will need to tilt them)

you can only tilt a certain amount and still have the speaker stable, if it is a tower or a bookshelf on a stand

i used rubber doorstops to tilt my front 3 in a condo setup - 2 bookshelf and a small center - it was just enough to make a difference

if you wall mount your fronts, then you can tilt as much as the speaker will allow, until it hits the wall

 

[MaxL]

the short answers are yes and yes.

the important thing as far as each individual speaker is concerned, is that the sound from the tweeter and woofer should arrive at your ear at the same time (meaning they are the same distance from your ear). the more the distance is off between the woofer, tweeter and your ear, the more likely you are to experience some cancelling drops in sound around the crossover frq.

by placing the tweeter between the center axis of the two woofers (or close to it) most center speakers avoid or minimize this particular issue. for the mains it is a bigger issue, so the best solution is to have those tweeters at or slightly (couple inches) above ear level. the center can then go above or below and be angled a little if necessary.

i have my center well below my screen and angled up slightly. my mains are frankly higher than they should be. there are many things about my HT that are compromised, but i still enjoy the sound as it is immersive and the speakers do disappear some of the time. some day, maybe, i'll get to set up a room where the HT takes priority.

 

[MikeNg]

If your L/R tweets are within 2 ft. vertical axis of the center tweet, you should be OK. Ideally you have 0 degrees pitch for any of the speakers, but that's generally never the case. The closer you can angle the speakers to hit the listening position the better.