Center channel speaker placement

[kevindd992002]

If the best place for a TV in the living room is center of TV = eye level, how do we achieve center speaker = ear level? I'm reading that the center channel speaker should be as close as possible to TV and at ear level but there's no way you can put it at ear level if the center of the TV is already at eye level, so I'm confused.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Yep, it’s gonna be one or the other, isn’t it?

Would you rather the sound come from above the image or below it? I think most people end up putting the centre channel below the screen because (1) it’s usually more practical in terms of installation and (2) having the image up above eye level (more like a cinema) is usually considered desirable.

 

[kevindd992002]

Yes, I'd want it below the TV. I'm just about to wall mount my LG C9 next week. My initial plan was to mount it so that its center is at eye level. Would it make sense to raise it a bit higher than that and make the center speaker/ear level as the baseline?

Or keep the he TV center/eye level baseline and just angle the center speaker upwards to the listener?

 

[Vasr]

I have always preferred a phantom center with two side speakers.

Most center speakers are too big and ugly to have it sitting in line of sight all the time when watching TV.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Yes, I'd want it below the TV. I'm just about to wall mount my LG C9 next week. My initial plan was to mount it so that its center is at eye level. Would it make sense to raise it a bit higher than that and make the center speaker/ear level as the baseline?

Or keep the he TV center/eye level baseline and just angle the center speaker upwards to the listener?

If I were you I’d raise the TV so that the speaker is at ear level. Speakers don’t tend to sound too good coming from low down, even when angled up towards the listener, presumably because the floor bounce is very strong/early relative to standard elevations.

It’s very much a personal preference thing though IMO.

 

[kevindd992002]

I see. It's not like the center speaker will sit very low if I keep the TV center at eye level though but I'll see what I can do. The room is small and I sit just enough to be away from a 55" 4K TV.

 

[Patrick1958]

If the best place for a TV in the living room is center of TV = eye level, how do we achieve center speaker = ear level? I'm reading that the center channel speaker should be as close as possible to TV and at ear level but there's no way you can put it at ear level if the center of the TV is already at eye level, so I'm confused.

I have it placed just below tv slightly tilted upwards pointing to ear level, works fine.

 

[kevindd992002]

I have it placed just below tv slightly tilted upwards pointing to ear level, works fine.

And you have your TV center at eye level too?

 

[Patrick1958]

And you have your TV center at eye level too?

Yes.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I go with just below as well. TV is either eye level or slightly above.

If one is doing projection, you can get acoustically transparent screens and have both picture and center-channel centered at eye level together.

 

[kevindd992002]

Yeah, I think I'll go just below the TV as well. As for the TV slighty higher than eye level, how "slight" is a practical level? Would 3" above high level be a good number?

 

[kevindd992002]

Just bumping this thread

 

[mikehcox]

I'm basically in the same position as you, getting a new wall-mounted TV to go with my existing center channel. Maybe split the difference, i.e. center the gap between the bottom of the TV and the top of the speaker at eye/ear level? My speaker is on an entertainment center containing all the electronics, so I don't have much leeway in positioning the speaker. I'll probably put the TV as low as possible, but high enough so no part of the screen is blocked by the center channel speaker. I doubt seriously that a few inches one way or another is going to have a significant impact on your listening/viewing pleasure.

 

[jhaider]

I'm basically in the same position as you, getting a new wall-mounted TV to go with my existing center channel. Maybe split the difference, i.e. center the gap between the bottom of the TV and the top of the speaker at eye/ear level? My speaker is on an entertainment center containing all the electronics, so I don't have much leeway in positioning the speaker. I'll probably put the TV as low as possible, but high enough so no part of the screen is blocked by the center channel speaker. I doubt seriously that a few inches one way or another is going to have a significant impact on your listening/viewing pleasure.

IMO a high TV is fine, but a misplaced center is usually bad.

In our previous home both center and TV were “too high” - the former because it was integrated into the mantel, the latter because it was above the mantel. The center of the TV was maybe 6’ off the ground. At a listening distance of maybe 4m give or take nobody had a complaint.

In our current home the front wall is blank, so the only constraints are what we chose. Accordingly, LCR are identical and on the same horizontal plane. The TV is higher - bottom of the TV frame is 50” off the ground give or take - because that’s how it fits around proper speaker placement. It works well and I don’t even see it as a compromise.

 

[Sancus]

In our current home the front wall is blank, so the only constraints are what we chose. Accordingly, LCR are identical and on the same horizontal plane. The TV is higher - bottom of the TV frame is 50” off the ground give or take - because that’s how it fits around proper speaker placement. It works well and I don’t even see it as a compromise.

So you're saying I can fit a W371A under a TV! Good to know.