TV between speakers

[juliangst]

I haven't found any useful threads on this topic, so I'll start one now.
All those die-hard audiophiles always claim that having a TV between your speakers can ruin the center image and soundstage.

How much truth is to that?

How large will be the difference between having a large TV (or any hard surface for that matter) and having optimal front wall treatment like diffusion panels.

Can room correction get rid of any issues that may get created due to hard surfaces between the speakers?

I'm personally not a big fan of having an ugly black rectangle on the front wall but with products like the samsung frame TVs or any art displaying TVs, they've become a viable option for me again.
Being able to watch music videos and display album art is also a big advange.

 

[valerianf]

You can do what you expect in a small room
You place the Tv on a frame close to the wall.
On each side of the Tv you place a tower speaker for FL/FR very close to the wall.
Under the Tv, on a furniture, you place the center speaker, if possible one that has a sound bar shape (not too high, but long enough).
Et voila, without any room treatment, the room correction will do the trick (YPAO in my case).

Some advice:
If the speakers are bass reflex, use a front or lateral port because of the wall that is very close.
It is better to have a 3 ways center speaker,co-axial if possible.
If the speakers are not of the same brand , there may be a phase shift due to the cross-over design between Center and FR/FL.
It is easy to detect it when listening music using the 3 front channels (the sound field is blurry).

The concept is not new, it was developed by Jamo a long time ago.

 

[Tim Link]

A TV or any big flat surface behind the speakers allows for more crosstalk bounce across the room. The sound goes back at an angle from the side of the speaker, bounces off that front wall or TV screen, hits the opposite wall, and then goes into your ears, the wrong ear first. That's at least one path. You can still block those reflection points on the side walls with absorbers and deal with the problem that way. Another way is to put absorbers along side and slightly behind the speakers between the speakers and the screen or wall, thereby blocking the sound path from the speaker to the TV. I've done this with very good results, allowing center imaging with enough perceived depth that it seemed to be coming from behind the TV.

Another potential issue is sound bouncing almost straight back from the speakers, hitting the screen, and then bouncing straight back to you. This almost requires the speakers to be directly in front of the screen and ahead of it so it's not likely a problem. Also speakers don't usually send a lot of treble energy directly backwards. Some do more than others.

Another potential issue is having the speakers too close to the screen, causing it to become a physically vibrating surface that creates a bunch of its own noise. I don't know how much of a problem this is, but it can certainly be reduced by keeping a reasonable distance between the screen and the speakers.

Another potential issue is slap echo between the front and back of the room. At least one wall should have some diffusion to break that up. If the back wall is diffuse then the sound that bounces back to the front of the room and hits the TV screen will already be diffused so the problem is reduced. I know you can still get great imaging and sound with a TV between the speakers, even if you could potentially do better without it. I really like mixed media so I want the video display and I want the best audio I can get to go with it.

 

[Peterinvan]

I notice that the Audiophile (You Tube) videos show his TV covered by a thick quilt.

 

[Tim Link]

I notice that the Audiophile (You Tube) videos show his TV covered by a thick quilt.

Yes, a lot of people do that for serious listening. There might be a product opportunity there - theatrical curtains that have good absorption/diffusion properties that can open to reveal the screen with a touch on the remote control!

 

[Elkerton]

If the speakers are placed out in the room so that lines from their front baffles intersect in front of the TV, there shouldn't be much sound reflection off of its glass at mid and higher frequencies, which will be mainly projected in front of them. Besides which, placing the speakers into the room will usually increase the sense of spaciousness, the sense of the reality that the performance is happening in the room. Play.