Center Channel Speaker in Corner location

[J_ball]

I recently moved into a loft condo with an exposed concrete deck ceiling and duct. In one corner of the large living area I have a 55" Samsung hung via a 75 lbs cantilever, articulating mount.

I have a Polk Audio sub tucked out of sight behind a large leather chair. I'm installing (2) two in wall vertical speakers on either side just behind the main seating area. The grills will be painted the current wall color to help hide the speakers.

All components are being run to a separate area in the complete other side of the main living room to be hidden in a cabinet. All components will be accessed via IR RF controls & MX-880 remote. The intent is to keep clean lines and show as minimal amount of A/V as possible.

Because the TV is mounted in a corner location I am struggling with finding a Center Channel Speaker solution. I could hang one off the bottom of the TV and make sure it's snug to the bottom of the TV but I'm afraid it will look poorly. I have plenty of weight capacity with the current TV mount.

Another option would be to put a "in-wall" speaker on one side of the corner space below the TV but I'm afraid the sound will not be directed appropriately.

The size of the viewing area is about 20'x12'.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[j_garcia]

Phantom center, aka no center speaker in this setup, would seem to be your best option. If you want one, then hanging it from the articulated arm as you mentioned or using some other kind of shelf or floor stand. Definitely not mounted to one side in-wall.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Phantom center, aka no center speaker in this setup, would seem to be your best option. If you want one, then hanging it from the articulated arm as you mentioned or using some other kind of shelf or floor stand. Definitely not mounted to one side in-wall.

Why not a single small tower right on that corner?

 

[J_ball]

Have you seen any off the shelf solutions for hanging a center channel below the TV like I mentioned above or am I going to have to custom make something to hold the speaker?

 

[J_ball]

I like the center tower suggestion. I'll look into that. It can still be a clean look that way as well.

 

[j_garcia]

Have you seen any off the shelf solutions for hanging a center channel below the TV like I mentioned above or am I going to have to custom make something to hold the speaker?

I think that would depend on the arm and the center speaker chosen. A larger center could be a problem. I recently saw some speaker attachments that are intended to go above the display and attach to the vertical arms that attach to the display, but I would figure it would work the same hanging from the bottom. I'll have to see if I can locate that.

*edit Not the one I saw, but here is one http://www.crutchfield.com/S-hQEoIC...d-Bar-Speaker-Mount.html?o=p&search=soundbar&

and another

http://www.wayfair.com/Sanus-Center...ck-VMCC1B-L30-K~SY1180.html?refid=SW49-SY1180

Why not a single small tower right on that corner?

Might work, but that's kind of the worst possible location for a main speaker. I guess it won't be much better with a center on a stand either though, but depends on whether or not having something on the floor is OK too.

 

[J_ball]

One thing I thought about doing was to also add (2) two front channel speakers but there are large bay windows on either side of the display. My first thought was to put the speakers below the bay windows & use a phantom center channel but I decided against it thinking I would compromise sound quality from the low mounting location of the front channel speakers.

 

[j_garcia]

Based on what you are saying about this corner, your sound will be compromised no matter what. So of the options, you will have to pick how much sound you want to compromise for the other aesthetic options you want.

 

[nibhaz]

Does the center channel have to be moveable? You could easily build a triangular shelf into the corner above or below the TV that could easily support a fairly large center. If you do the speaker above the screen with the speaker slightly angled down things would probably be OK, plus whatever shelving you've built would be hidden behind the TV. However if you like to move things around a permanent shelf may not be an ideal solution.</SPAN>

Both the phantom center as suggested by j_garcia or the tower under the screen as suggested by ParadigmDawg are both viable options that you should consider as well</SPAN>

 

[J_ball]

The center channel will be permanent & will not move. The shelving idea is a viable solution that I'll definitely look into as well. These are all great suggestions & I appreciate it.

I already know that the sound quality is already going to be subpar to what I'm used to simply because of the exposed concrete ceilings, hardwood floors & abundant windows.

With that said, the aesthetics are more of a priority for me. Then making the best sound quality I can with what I have, secondly.

 

[j_garcia]

With that said, the aesthetics are more of a priority for me. Then making the best sound quality I can with what I have, secondly.

It is good that you understand that and know which you are after most because that will make those decisions more clear. I am sure it will still sound fine. We all have to make those compromises for one or the other. In my current main system, I had to sacrifice a window that I'd like to use because the system sits in front of it. The audio was more important to me this time.

 

[jostenmeat]

I like the center tower suggestion. I'll look into that. It can still be a clean look that way as well.

The center channel will be permanent & will not move. The shelving idea is a viable solution that I'll definitely look into as well. These are all great suggestions & I appreciate it.

I already know that the sound quality is already going to be subpar to what I'm used to simply because of the exposed concrete ceilings, hardwood floors & abundant windows.

With that said, the aesthetics are more of a priority for me. Then making the best sound quality I can with what I have, secondly.

This is just my opinion, mostly on the idea of the culprits behind a bad room/setup. I personally think there is too much credit given to concrete/glass/hardwood as far as making or breaking a setup. Really, I do, and I have double digit panels weighing hundreds of lbs. IMO, the PLACEMENT of the items in any given room, whether glass/concrete, or comfy/cushy, is what really matters. After all, a rug or curtains ain't gonna do jack for anything but for really high frequency, and even then it's not broadband, but some random subset of that HF range depending on the fabric.

What I find just destroys intelligibility sometimes is with a speaker that is too close to a boundary where midbass gets excited, gets bloated, and masks the dialogue for example. So with that in mind, if going with a tower idea, may I simply present the idea of a thick tri trap directly behind it. You won't really have to worry about sidewall reflections so much, particularly as they're flaring out at 45 deg. If you think it's horribly ugly, forget it of course. You can have a custom print made, or perhaps ask for stock samples (see which matches your paint the best in person), or even go DIY, cutting fiberglass wedges, and covering it up with a custom design of your own making. Just something to throw out- I think that would make much more of a difference than worrying about concrete/glass. Again, JMO. Here is an example below, and of course you don't want a rear ported speaker if putting the speaker flush to the panel (which is perfectly fine to do otherwise, AFAIK).

GIK Acoustics Tri-Trap Corner Bass Trap - GIK AcousticsAcoustic Panels | Bass Traps | Diffusors | GIK Acoustics

 

[J_ball]

Thanks for the Tri-Trap idea. If I were dropping some major money & really investing into a "home theater" I would definitely consider this option. However my system will be mainly used for basic HD television, Apple TV & the occasional movie. And then just used to play music for when guests come over. Nothing more than that, so the super high quality sound isn't as much of a priority as it would be if I was building a home theater that would be used for nothing but Super HD movie viewing.