Center channel - Line of site/height question

[Geek2Me]

OK room is coming along great, just finished the stage/step up for the back row of seats. ( used DIY section on this site, adjusting some for my budget) Problem I am having is with the screen coming down to 36" the front row slightly blocks the center channel from back row. Has anyone played with putting a center on top as well as bottom? It would not be a system match but the Jamo I had before upgrading to Axiom stuff all around. Would it sound "right" or cause me more issues?

Thanks all for any input.

 

[Pyrrho]

It will cause issues for you. The sound coming from two places is sure to sound different from it coming from only one place. Whether you like it or not is another matter, but I would advise against it.

Also, with two different brands, it is unlikely to be a perfect voice match, but even if it were the same as the other center channel speaker, I would not do it. Can you have the screen higher on the wall, and raise the center channel speaker to be just below the screen? Have you considered getting a perforated screen so you can mount the center channel speaker behind the screen (the way it is typically done at movie theatres?

Edited to add:

You could also try getting taller seating for your rear row. Or build a platform for the back row.

 

[jonnythan]

If the screen is so low that the center channel immediately below is blocked for the back row by the front seats, then won't the heads of the people in the front seats block the screen itself?

I think the screen needs to go higher.

 

[mtrycrafts]

OK room is coming along great, just finished the stage/step up for the back row of seats. ( used DIY section on this site, adjusting some for my budget) Problem I am having is with the screen coming down to 36" the front row slightly blocks the center channel from back row. Has anyone played with putting a center on top as well as bottom? It would not be a system match but the Jamo I had before upgrading to Axiom stuff all around. Would it sound "right" or cause me more issues?

Thanks all for any input.

Two suggestion:

Get a great matching center and tilt it up and see how it works out.
May need to boost the center when you have second row guests. Are they in-between or directly behind the front row viewers?
You need to experiment.

The height of the screen is about where it needs to be. Much higher and you will be getting a sore neck after 2 hrs.

 

[jonnythan]

Raise the back row a bit?

 

[Pyrrho]

...
The height of the screen is about where it needs to be. Much higher and you will be getting a sore neck after 2 hrs.

Maybe you know more about his specific situation than I do, but isn't that going to depend on several things, such as how close he is to his screen, how tall the screen is, and the posture one has in his seating?

 

[AVRat]

Ooh! You’ve already built the riser. In your 18' x 24' x 11' room a higher riser would’ve been feasible. You could’ve run the 119” dia. (104” x 58”) screen lower also which some people might prefer. Oh well, water under the bridge.

It was either Tom Andry or Ray Adkins, aka RLA, I forget which, that installed a full Axiom setup with dual upper/lower centers. It may take some searching to find the write-up. Since you have the room above the screen, placing the single center above should work out fine.

 

[avaserfi]

Ooh! You’ve already built the riser. In your 18' x 24' x 11' room a higher riser would’ve been feasible. You could’ve run the 119” dia. (104” x 58”) screen lower also which some people might prefer. Oh well, water under the bridge.

It was either Tom Andry or Ray Adkins, aka RLA, I forget which, that installed a full Axiom setup with dual upper/lower centers. It may take some searching to find the write-up. Since you have the room above the screen, placing the single center above should work out fine.

I would have to agree with AVRat about just putting one center up above the screen and if you really want to do something spiffy you could get a mount that you can angle down so you could just point it at your seating location aiming the tweeter towards your ears and you should be golden once its calibrated.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Maybe you know more about his specific situation than I do, but isn't that going to depend on several things, such as how close he is to his screen, how tall the screen is, and the posture one has in his seating?

Well, his eyes are at the same height as his ears that I have checked on a few people of different height, certainly not very short or very tall folks and is about 42"-44" or there abouts. THX screens should be at a height where his eyes are about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom.
Since he has his screen already mounted, raising it further for front row folks would be a neck strain consideration. It is already too high but cannot be helped.

 

[Starmax]

2 centers sound great

I have two center speakers (Polk CSi5 & LSiC) above and below my screen, and they sound great together. Apparently their differences in frequency response and impedence doesn't effect the tight, unified sound they combine to produce (each is assigned a separate 170w channel from my 5805). Together they sound like one speaker, there are no detectable phase or sync problems, and they give me a strong, well-blended center presence. I tried using two centers purely out of curiosity...I had an unused speaker and an unused channel on my receiver. Going back to just one center now is unthinkable...I've tried it and it just isn't satisfying to me. If this flies in the face of audio technica, so be it. All I know is that it works well for me, and I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss giving it a try if you've already got the gear. If you don't, I wouldn't necessarily recommend spending more money on gear that may or may not improve your sound...there's much better ways to blow your cash!

 

[AVRat]

I’m not sure this is the one I remember reading before, but here it is anyway: http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers/floorstanding/axiom-audio-epic-80-600

Something for your arsenal: Riser Height Calculator. Adjust screen height lower to compensate for center below screen.

 

[Starmax]

AVRat, thanks for that link! Just about everything I've read about dual center speakers say it's a no-no, and give perfectly good reasons why it's problematic. But Ray's experience with 2 Axiom VP-150s confirms what I've been hearing on my system...and my centers aren't even the same! It's okay to experiment, and let your ears decide. Unfortunately, audio components cost too much to allow for much trial and error...if your experiment fails you're out alot of moola.

 

[Geek2Me]

Great info and advice

Thanks again. Did move the riser back a bit farther, 14". Also, squeezed an additional inch in height of center channel. That makes the 6" lift of riser work out. Was afraid to go higher and make it an awkward step up. It's close but now I can see tweeters from back row.

The height of the screen was driven by the railing around room as a minimum but really think that 36" is pretty comfortable from both rows.

Plan on playing a bit with the additional center since I have it. Who knows

Thanks

Will torture you guys after I save up a bit more and I enter the world of a seperate amp......