Need Reasonable Center Channel that is no more than 3 inches high and 6 inches deep.

[thompva7]

Does anyone have any ideas? Need a center channel to fit on my mantle under my mounted LCD TV. Must be no more than 3 inches high and less than 6 inches deep. The length is not relevent. Please help?

 

[Shock]

3 inches high? That's a huge problem, essentially you are limited to a driver no larger that 2.5 inches. A quick search did not net me any centers that were this size, if they even exist.

 

[Pyrrho]

There is absolutely nothing that I know of that could possibly be what I would call a "reasonable" center that is only 3" high. It is, in part, a matter of physics and what it takes to reproduce frequencies low enough to integrate well with a subwoofer. I have not seen a speaker with a woofer smaller than about 5" that goes low enough for me to consider it satisfactory, and obviously, a 5" woofer cannot possibly fit in 3" or less. In my opinion, if it cannot possibly be any taller, you will be better off just using a phantom center (i.e., no center), or if that is not satisfactory, use the TV's speakers to help localize sound near the TV.

Good luck. (I don't mean that sarcastically; I hope you actually find what you want.)

 

[sparky77]

This is about the only low profile center channel I was able to find, but it's still a little too tall. Can you possibly raise your tv an inch or two to fit something?

 

[Geno]

Like others have said here, you need to move your TV up several inches. There aren't any serious centers that will fit in that space. Alternately, you could mount a center above the TV, or use the "phantom" center channel setting on your pre/pro or receiver. That will route the center channel information to your front mains.

 

[cvcgolf]

I don't think 3" is going to sound very good. However, it may look cute.

 

[BMXTRIX]

I agree that you aren't likely to find much in the three inch tall range. But as close as I could think of was the Pinnacle Speakers QP series which all use 3" drivers and they have a halfway decently built model in their QP5. Still, it isn't going to come in under 3" in height. But at 4" you aren't likely to get much better at the same size.

Of course Sony and a few others have 'micro' speakers, but you would be far better off phantoming your center than using no bass speakers.

Good luck.

 

[mudrummer99]

This is the only one that I know of that will even come close to fitting that space

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=3253106&type=product&id=1051384450589

The problems with it are obvious (Bose) and to me it doesn't sound very good either.

Mike

 

[lsiberian]

The smallest center I could think of is a KEF egg on it's side. They are very light and very low profile. They put the tweeter inside the woofer so you still get a decent response. Make sure you get a good sub though.

 

[Midcow2]

Please don't shoot the messenger

Does anyone have any ideas? Need a center channel to fit on my mantle under my mounted LCD TV. Must be no more than 3 inches high and less than 6 inches deep. The length is not relevent. Please help?

Normally , I wouldn't recommend Bose but thier Bose VCS 10 Center CH speaker meets your specifications 3.2 Inches high and 6 inches deep.

It costs $199 and sounds reasonable ( please don't ask me how I know ) .

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=bose+center+speaker&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=11618275209488011099&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&resnum=1&ct=result#ps-tech-specs

Later,

MidCow2

 

[Pyrrho]

Normally , I wouldn't recommend Bose but thier Bose VCS 10 Center CH speaker meets your specifications 3.2 Inches high and 6 inches deep.

It costs $199 and sounds reasonable ( please don't ask me how I know ) .

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=bose+center+speaker&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=11618275209488011099&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&resnum=1&ct=result#ps-tech-specs

Later,

MidCow2

He said "no more than 3 inches high", so even that piece of junk does not meet his criteria. I suspect that he is looking for something that simply does not exist, and should follow the advice I already gave him: If it cannot be bigger, use a "phantom" center (i.e., no center) or use the speakers in the TV if needed to anchor the sound to the screen.

The simple fact is, we cannot always get what we want. I want state of the art sound for free, that takes up zero space and sets itself up and is easy to use. When you find that, please post about it.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

This just may be the silliest thread I have read....

 

[Pyrrho]

I forgot to add one other thing that has not been mentioned so far, and that is the fact that it isn't going to sound right unless the center channel speaker matches the front right and left speakers, even if such a short center speaker could be found.

 

[rufas2000]

My Orb Mod 2 fits under my TV. Don't think its quite three inches high though.

 

[ChunkyDark]

What about mounting the speaker on the front of the mantle? That would give you a lot more better sounding options.

 

[Midcow2]

He said "no more than 3 inches high", so even that piece of junk does not meet his criteria. I suspect that he is looking for something that simply does not exist, and should follow the advice I already gave him: If it cannot be bigger, use a "phantom" center (i.e., no center) or use the speakers in the TV if needed to anchor the sound to the screen.

The simple fact is, we cannot always get what we want. I want state of the art sound for free, that takes up zero space and sets itself up and is easy to use. When you find that, please post about it.

Hey enginneering measurement lattutude 3.2" =~ 3" So tell me the truth Pyrrho have you actually heard the "piece of junk" ??

Later,

MidCow2

 

[Pyrrho]

Hey enginneering measurement lattutude 3.2" =~ 3" So tell me the truth Pyrrho have you actually heard the "piece of junk" ??

Later,

MidCow2

To be perfectly honest, I am uncertain. I have heard a Bose center channel speaker that looks like that, but I did not pay any attention to the model number. Do they have more than one model that looks like that? Or in the recent past that looks like that?

The one I heard appeared to have the usual small Bose speaker problems, illustrated by this (you will need to read past the rabid anti-Bose stance, and look to the measurements):

http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html

However, I did not measure the response, so perhaps I was mistaken.

I should also add that Bose makes more traditional speakers that do not have the same issues, and should be judged independently of such things.

As for it being a "piece of junk", that was a rather flippant remark by me. Bose makes better speakers than some claim, as the claims of some are pure hyperbole. But I don't think that that center, at $200, is a good value, except possibly for someone who must have a center speaker no taller than 3.2", and is willing to live with its limitations. However, it does not meet the criteria of what I would call a "reasonable center channel" (which, among other things, involves the ability to be flat down to 80 Hz or lower). Other people have different standards, and it may be that some others will be perfectly happy with it. After all, some people are perfectly satisfied with the sound from their TV sets, and don't bother with a separate audio system at all. Of course, I do not know of any better center channel speaker that is 3.2" high or less, which might have something to do with the fact that I know of no other center channel speaker that is 3.2" high or less. And, as I indicated in my original post, I doubt that it is possible to have a very good center channel speaker that is very short. The Bose speaker probably sounds about as good as one could reasonably expect to get in a speaker that high. But one could not reasonably expect much from such a short center.

 

[Midcow2]

To be perfectly honest, I am uncertain. I have heard a Bose center channel speaker that looks like that, but I did not pay any attention to the model number. Do they have more than one model that looks like that? Or in the recent past that looks like that?

The one I heard appeared to have the usual small Bose speaker problems, illustrated by this (you will need to read past the rabid anti-Bose stance, and look to the measurements):

http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html

However, I did not measure the response, so perhaps I was mistaken.

I should also add that Bose makes more traditional speakers that do not have the same issues, and should be judged independently of such things.

As for it being a "piece of junk", that was a rather flippant remark by me. Bose makes better speakers than some claim, as the claims of some are pure hyperbole. But I don't think that that center, at $200, is a good value, except possibly for someone who must have a center speaker no taller than 3.2", and is willing to live with its limitations. However, it does not meet the criteria of what I would call a "reasonable center channel" (which, among other things, involves the ability to be flat down to 80 Hz or lower). Other people have different standards, and it may be that some others will be perfectly happy with it. After all, some people are perfectly satisfied with the sound from their TV sets, and don't bother with a separate audio system at all. Of course, I do not know of any better center channel speaker that is 3.2" high or less, which might have something to do with the fact that I know of no other center channel speaker that is 3.2" high or less. And, as I indicated in my original post, I doubt that it is possible to have a very good center channel speaker that is very short. The Bose speaker probably sounds about as good as one could reasonably expect to get in a speaker that high. But one could not reasonably expect much from such a short center.

Pyrrho,

Thanks for the response. I tend to agree with some of your ealrier comments that is would be difficult if not impossible to get good sound out of 3" space or more realistically a 2.5" speaker. Maybe some higher notes , but somewhat muddled mid and no bass to speak of.

Take Care,

MidCow2

P.S.- I have one of those "Pieces of Junk" in my garage system

 

[Pyrrho]

Pyrrho,

Thanks for the response. I tend to agree with some of your ealrier comments that is would be difficult if not impossible to get good sound out of 3" space or more realistically a 2.5" speaker. Maybe some higher notes , but somewhat muddled mid and no bass to speak of.

Take Care,

MidCow2

P.S.- I have one of those "Pieces of Junk" in my garage system

Okay, in your opinion, does that Bose speaker seem deficient at both the high and low end (keeping in mind, low end for a satellite speaker isn't the same as an old fashioned regular speaker, since it is expected that one will use a subwoofer)? Have you played test tones through it to see how it does below 150 Hz, or above 10kHz?

I would like to know if my initial impressions fit reality, or were, perhaps, more influenced by expectations. If you know of anyone reporting a frequency response for this speaker, I would be interested. A quick search online turned up nothing, though perhaps someone else is better at finding Bose information than I am.

 

[tattoo_Dan]

this is the closest speaker thats good enough to look at IMO,
http://www.definitivetech.com/Products/products.aspx?path=Center Channel Speakers&productid=ProCenter 1000


Dimensions |
14-3/4" W x 5" D x 5" H