Aligning Center Channel Speaker With Listening Position

[Anton S]

Like many with large OLED or LED TV's, I have my center channel speaker located on a shelf just below the screen. Of course, the problem with this is that the tweeter's axis ends up too low, pulling dialog out of alignment with the picture and the main L/R speakers. As a simple and inexpensive solution, I picked up a couple nice, heavy polished metal doorstops with rubber on their tops and bottoms. But the sonic image was still just a tad low, so I added a couple felt pads under each one to tilt the speaker a little more. Perfect!

Whatcha think?

 

[Smitty2k1]

I think many of us, myself included, are angling the center slightly up.

I'm fascinate by all of your electronics, and can't comprehend what they all do or why they are necessary. But cool none the less.

 

[DVDdoug]

I LIKE creative & inexpensive solutions!

But I've seen brown door stops.

 

[Smitty2k1]

I LIKE creative & inexpensive solutions!

But I've seen brown door stops.

Yeah I'm using clear door stops

 

[Anton S]

I prefer the polished ones and selected them to match the badge on the speaker. We all have different tastes.

 

[Fredygump]

Like many with large OLED or LED TV's, I have my center channel speaker located on a shelf just below the screen. Of course, the problem with this is that the tweeter's axis ends up too low, pulling dialog out of alignment with the picture and the main L/R speakers. As a simple and inexpensive solution, I picked up a couple nice, heavy polished metal doorstops with rubber on their tops and bottoms. But the sonic image was still just a tad low, so I added a couple felt pads under each one to tilt the speaker a little more. Perfect!

Whatcha think?

But what do you think now? As a data point for science! Do you notice that the center channel is coming from a lower position than the L & R?

I'm noticing that your left and right tweeters are quite high for speakers in general, and they are 2/3 the way up the TV. This makes thevertical mismatch between your center and L & R quite significant.

Have you considered mounting the center channel to the ceiling above the TV? If speakers and TV are all flush with the edge of the soffit, then it shouldn't give any sonic issues, atleast no more than a shelf mounted speaker.

I'm asking because I'm in the design stage of a DIY speaker system, and I'm investigating the impact of the vertical alignment of the L & R vs center channel. Questions are, does it matter at all, and if it does matter, at what point does it begin to matter?

I have been thinking about modifying my design to have either high tweeters with a center channel mounted above the TV, or low tweeters with a center located below the TV. Low tweeters feels wrong, but I could just swap drivers arond. So maybe medium height tweeters and raise the TV....

(Now I know where all the CDs have gone to!)

 

[Anton S]

But what do you think now? As a data point for science! Do you notice that the center channel is coming from a lower position than the L & R?

I'm noticing that your left and right tweeters are quite high for speakers in general, and they are 2/3 the way up the TV. This makes thevertical mismatch between your center and L & R quite significant.

Have you considered mounting the center channel to the ceiling above the TV? If speakers and TV are all flush with the edge of the soffit, then it shouldn't give any sonic issues, atleast no more than a shelf mounted speaker.

I'm asking because I'm in the design stage of a DIY speaker system, and I'm investigating the impact of the vertical alignment of the L & R vs center channel. Questions are, does it matter at all, and if it does matter, at what point does it begin to matter?

I have been thinking about modifying my design to have either high tweeters with a center channel mounted above the TV, or low tweeters with a center located below the TV. Low tweeters feels wrong, but I could just swap drivers arond. So maybe medium height tweeters and raise the TV....

(Now I know where all the CDs have gone to!)

Now that the tweeter's axis is aligned with our seated listening positions, the dialog channel no longer appears to be coming from below. Its sound appears well integrated with the main L/R speakers. Also, the images from the screen greatly influence the auditory experience. Visual input always dominates, because we are visual creatures, which is one reason I generally listen to music with the room lights down and/or my eyes closed.

The L/R tweeters are actually at ear height when we are seated. They do appear to be higher, but that's because the photo was taken from a low angle. They are slightly above the midpoint of the screen, but not by as much as appears in that shot, because of the camera angle combined with the fact that they are forward of the screen by several inches. (The face of the screen is set back from the front of that stand by nearly a foot, and the speakers are not.)

To answer your question regarding at what point the tweeter height disparity begins to matter, I can't say. All I can offer is that it isn't a problem in this current configuration. With respect to your plans, I would suggest higher L/R tweeters with a center channel above the screen may be preferable, if only to minimize the floor bounce from your center.