Center Channel Dilemma

[Kozik]

Hey everyone,

so I just bought a new house that has this built in shelf and fireplace where the TV (65” LG CX) is going to go and I’m struggling with the center speaker placement.

I currently have KEF Q350’s for the left and right and then a KEF Q650 for my center, t101’s as surrounds and an SVS PB1000.

The problem is with the Q650 being large and already sitting over a mantle, then needing to put my TV over it, my TV is pretty much going to be at the ceiling.

so now I’m wondering if I should just give up on the center channel and go 2.1? But I really like the surrounds for movies, is 4.1 a thing? Should I move these speakers to another room and go with a different setup that maybe has a smaller center? Even considering just going Sonos in this room now… not sure what else I can do since there Is no way the wife is letting me get rid of the fireplace.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

4.1 is a thing for sure. In fact some people prefer not using a center channel, however I’m not one. Lol.
Is there a way to rotate the system in the room? Then you can avoid the whole tv over the fireplace thing, and have potentially a better system.

 

[XEagleDriver]

. . . if I should just give up on the center channel and go 2.1?
But I really like the surrounds for movies, is 4.1 a thing?

Either 2.1 or 4.1 (yes, 4.1 is a thing) using a "phantom center" are both very good options for your fireplace dilemma.
I have a 4.1 system in our family room for the exact same reason.

Should I move these speakers to another room and go with a different setup that maybe has a smaller center?

Also an option, if this room is NOT your primary movie venue, than a small center or even thin sound bar may fit the bill.
Just realize you will compromise sound for fit/asthetics.

I choose the phantom center option with no regrets.
Cheers,
XEagleDriver


Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[Kozik]

Yea phantom center sounds like the right way to go for this room, just sucks I won’t be able to use my q650. Now to find a way to setup a second theater room that can take it lol

 

[ryanosaur]

Why not set it up somewhere the system makes sense? Fireplaces should not be entertainment centers!

 

[lovinthehd]

The dreaded fireplace dilemma strikes again!

 

[TLS Guy]

Hey everyone,

so I just bought a new house that has this built in shelf and fireplace where the TV (65” LG CX) is going to go and I’m struggling with the center speaker placement.

I currently have KEF Q350’s for the left and right and then a KEF Q650 for my center, t101’s as surrounds and an SVS PB1000.

The problem is with the Q650 being large and already sitting over a mantle, then needing to put my TV over it, my TV is pretty much going to be at the ceiling.

so now I’m wondering if I should just give up on the center channel and go 2.1? But I really like the surrounds for movies, is 4.1 a thing? Should I move these speakers to another room and go with a different setup that maybe has a smaller center? Even considering just going Sonos in this room now… not sure what else I can do since there Is no way the wife is letting me get rid of the fireplace.

A TV above a fireplace is about the worst location possible. You can not use the fireplace without destroying the TV. The TV is too high which makes for very uncomfortable viewing and if you are older is a stroke risk and I'm not kidding about that. As you have found out, it makes center speaker placement next to impossible.

The very best advice I can give you is to find a different location for your set up. An over fireplace TV placement shoots you in the foot out of the starting gate, and worse.

I will be blunt, TVs should NEVER be placed over a fireplace!

 

[Mr._Clark]

Hey everyone,

so I just bought a new house that has this built in shelf and fireplace where the TV (65” LG CX) is going to go and I’m struggling with the center speaker placement.

I currently have KEF Q350’s for the left and right and then a KEF Q650 for my center, t101’s as surrounds and an SVS PB1000.

The problem is with the Q650 being large and already sitting over a mantle, then needing to put my TV over it, my TV is pretty much going to be at the ceiling.

so now I’m wondering if I should just give up on the center channel and go 2.1? But I really like the surrounds for movies, is 4.1 a thing? Should I move these speakers to another room and go with a different setup that maybe has a smaller center? Even considering just going Sonos in this room now… not sure what else I can do since there Is no way the wife is letting me get rid of the fireplace.

Have you thought about putting the center channel above the TV? In one of my systems there is a TV above a fireplace and the center channel is mounted above the TV. It actually works very well. I mounted the center channel at an angle so it faces directly down towards to the sitting position. The location of the center channel is not much of an issue in terms of perceiving where the sound is coming from. My brain interprets the sound as coming from the screen, not a specific location above the screen. I did not try mounting the center channel so it faces horizontally, so I'm not sure how much difference the angle makes.

I also have another system with a TV above a fireplace, For this system I mounted the TV using a drop down TV mount, and I welded a bracket onto the mount so the center channel moves with the TV (the center channel is always directly adjacent the lower edge of the TV). Overall, this works fairly well but the size of the center channel is limited due to the limited space available above the fireplace when the TV is in the upper position. I like being able to get the TV down to a better viewing angle, but of course I can't use the fireplace when the TV is in the lower position (I have not actually tried turning the fireplace on with the TV in the lowered position, but I'm fairly certain the fireplace would cook the TV)

The "best" option (which may not be one of my setups) for you will of course depend on your preferences. I'd probably put the center channel above the TV and skip the drop down mount. Of course, putting the TV somewhere else avoids these issues.

 

[Kozik]

Thanks everyone for your input, I’ll likely be putting the TV there with no center channel. This likely isn’t my “forever home” just moving away for maybe 3 years and then back to my hometown with family so I’ll worry about the ideal setup then.

A TV above a fireplace is about the worst location possible. You can not use the fireplace without destroying the TV. The TV is too high which makes for very uncomfortable viewing and if you are older is a stroke risk and I'm not kidding about that. As you have found out, it makes center speaker placement next to impossible.

I will be blunt, TVs should NEVER be placed over a fireplace!

whats your reasoning? Pretty bold general statement, gas fireplace that blows the air away from the wall and protrudes further out than the TV plus a mantle means very little heat makes it to the TV other than ambient room temperature.

I’m not crazy about it for my center channel reasons but without the center channel the room is big enough that I’m not going to be straining my neck to watch anything.

electronics + heat = bad, I know, I’ve been building and OC’ing PC’s my whole life pretty much, the little heat from a properly positioned fireplace to a TV for relatively short periods of time is not likely to harm it. If for some reason you’re running a fireplace 8 or more hours a day every day well maybe you’ll have a problem but every now and again during cold winter months for 2 hours isn’t going to change anything.

 

[TLS Guy]

Thanks everyone for your input, I’ll likely be putting the TV there with no center channel. This likely isn’t my “forever home” just moving away for maybe 3 years and then back to my hometown with family so I’ll worry about the ideal setup then.



whats your reasoning? Pretty bold general statement, gas fireplace that blows the air away from the wall and protrudes further out than the TV plus a mantle means very little heat makes it to the TV other than ambient room temperature.

I’m not crazy about it for my center channel reasons but without the center channel the room is big enough that I’m not going to be straining my neck to watch anything.

electronics + heat = bad, I know, I’ve been building and OC’ing PC’s my whole life pretty much, the little heat from a properly positioned fireplace to a TV for relatively short periods of time is not likely to harm it. If for some reason you’re running a fireplace 8 or more hours a day every day well maybe you’ll have a problem but every now and again during cold winter months for 2 hours isn’t going to change anything.

Well, may be your fireplaces are different to mine, But mine give a lot of heat even on the lowest setting and heat rises. I think this will get you into more trouble than you bargain for, unless you keep the fireplace shut down when the TV is on.

The optimal TV height is that 1/3 of the height of the TV screen should be at eyelevel in the siting position. This generally means that the bottom of the TV Bessel should be 30" from the floor. There is a huge tendency to mount TV screens too high, which causes a lot of neck strain. Since the blood supply to the brain, is via the vertebral arteries which run in two small channels inside the cervicle (neck) vertebrae, the neck extension watching a TV too high can result in brainstem strokes in older individuals, or any one with arteriosclerotic vascular disease. This is well documented, and is often referred to by physicians as "Star Gazer's Stroke." So yes, I do discourage TVs being mounted too high under any circumstances.

This is my solution to TV watching by the fire.

That TV is plenty high at 38" to have the center channel tweeter at 36". Now imagine that TV above the fireplace. It would be awful. Those are 9' ceilings by the way.