Not happy with center channel (1 Viewer)

[Marv]

My center channel sits on top of my 61" TV and has to be angled allot to sound somewhat good. Are there any cons to just getting another set of mains and placing them on the sides of my TV at the same height of my mains to serve as my center?
-Marv G
------------------

 

[Tom Sullivan]

I have a 350paradigm on top of my 61" Toshiba and angled which sounds great in my room. Maybe a better center? Extra fronts close to the TV would Hv to be shielded and sound wise I think you would lose some seperation.
Tom/S

 

[Grant B]

I have my L & R above on their sides and my C below and it sounds great.
Until I got all 3 the same I was dissatisfied also.
Here's some phots's...a little dark buthttp://www.hometheaterforum.com/bbs/...ent/28843.html
------------------
Why?
Why do you keep hounding me and harassing me and hounding me?
It's not like I don't have anything better to do, you know.
It's not like the Phantom Cruiser is going to wax itself.
It's not like last night's burrito stain will just up and remove itself from my cape.
I am a superhero!
A very very busy superhero! Who does...things!
Now get out of here before I tell your mother.
AND DON'T TRAMPLE MY BEGONIAS!
-Space Ghost..

 

[Thomas_A]

More information on your setup would be helpful... calibration, mains,center ....Probably get more responses
good luck
thomas
------------------
So far, So good, So what
Link Removed
http://thomas2307.homestead.com/thomasworld.html

 

[Jonathan_M]

Marv,
One thing you can try is setting your center on a *short* speaker stand on the floor in front of your TV. Depending on your circumstances, you may have to angle it up a bit now (depending on your seating location) to get it to sound right. You might like the sound you get with it in this position.
-Jonathan
------------------
"We're hosed. We lost the remote."

 

[Samuel Des]

To me, it seems as though doing this would be the same similar to being in "phantom" mode. But I may be wrong.

------------------
SAM

 

[DustinDavis]

Try building a center channel mount. Sometimes what people end up doing when they tilt their center downward is forget that just lifting up the back of the speaker causes the front of the speaker to be firing downward into the top of the TV cabinet. As a result, the sound just reflects off the top and you don't get the sound you were hoping for. I built a center channel mount that holds the speaker up enough so that there are no reflections from the TV cabinet, and have had good results.
------------------
Dustin A. Davis '94
Dustin Davis for Dummies : My HT : Link Removed
"But they are useless. They can only give you answers." - Pablo Picasso on computers

 

[Bob McElfresh]

So you want to get 2 more speakers and use them as a "center" and place them on either side of the TV.
This could work, but it would be a lot of work to sound good. Here are some of the problems you will face:
- You have to pull them into the room and angle them very sharp to try to create a phantom center image. The front of the TV will reflect a lot of sound from a very short distance which will be heard as distortion.
- You have to be careful to wire the two speakers in parallel (because you only have 1 center speaker output). This will also put a much-larger (2X) load on the center output of your receiver. But you can usually compensate with a SPL meter and level adjustment.
- Center speakers are designed to lay horizontal and throw a very wide horizontal sound pattern. Using two more L/R speakers in a vertical position will not give you the same pattern. It will still sound good dead-center, but what about people to either side of you?
- Butting speakers right up against a RPTV looks good for pictures, but not for good sound. Speakers like a bit of space around them.
So your main issue is the steep angle of the center? Are you sure it is not over-tilted? Use a cheap laser-point against the speaker cabinent to really see where the speaker is pointed. You can always try the "speaker on a small stand in front of the TV" trick (if you dont have kids/dogs/cats).

 

[Jake T]

lose seperation?
What, do only have a center channel?
Seperation from what.
Match your center with your LR and things should be good

 

[Glenn Overholt]

I had similar situation as yours, I think. I ended up lowering the volume on my fronts and raising the volume on my center, and now it sounds much better!
Glenn

 

[Marv]

Thanks for the response gentlemen. I appreciate them.
But now I have a bigger problem, no HT at all! This morning (7/18/01) at ~7:30 I took a lightning hit which took out my TV, DBS, VCR and worst of all my Sony 777ES. I think my DVD and CD players were spared because they were on the switched outlets of the receiver. I can't believe my PC was spared but it was plugged into a cheap power strip with surge protection. Well I'm gonna go pinch my self now and hope I wake up from this nightmare.
-Marv G
P.S. So bottom line is generally a top center will be more satisfying a speaker flanking the sides of the TV?
Thanks......
------------------

 

[DustinDavis]

I think the bottom line is that a single speaker center channel configuration can be made to sound good, you just have to get everything adjusted right. I suggest you take a little time and try to work your way through it before taking more drastic measures.
------------------
Dustin A. Davis '94
Dustin Davis for Dummies : My HT : Link Removed
"But they are useless. They can only give you answers." - Pablo Picasso on computers