Newbie w/ speaker matching question

[ptabib]

I just got 2 polk r50 fronts, and a dennon avr 2105, i was going to order the matching center , polk csi30, but its 20lbs and i am worried about it setting on my projection tv. How important is matching speakers for timbre ,etc. If its not a big deal to mis-match makes, any sugestions out their for a center and small sorrounds that will sound smooth and in sync and the look will blend well with the system. i am planning on everything in system to be optical audio and componet video, will this increase the need for matched speakers.
thanks

 

[Az B]

It's pretty important for speakers to be timbre matched, especially the front three.

I would either opt for a cheaper model that is lighter or get creative with a shelf of some sort if the TV can't handle the weight. Maybe simply getting a large piece of wood or something and placing between speaker and TV to spread the weight out would be enough?

 

[Francious70]

How do you lke those r50's?? And just build a shelf on the wall. Or you can put it below the TV if that's an option.

Paul

 

[nova]

I just got 2 polk r50 fronts, and a dennon avr 2105, i was going to order the matching center , polk csi30, but its 20lbs and i am worried about it
thanks

Ummm,... why are you worried about the weight? What TV do you have?
Personally I have a 40 lb center sitting on top of my Sony KF-50WE610 rear projection LCD.

 

[ptabib]

i saw a few comments online that got me worried about the heavy center on my tv, but anyway, i have a mitsubishi 55in. crt rear projection, worried over time it would warp it, but i might just be paranoid. what do you think? Also, looking for some SMALL surrounds that would compliment the system (the polk's are huge) any suggestions

 

[ptabib]

Francious70 : plan on ordering the a/v on monday, so at this point i am just looking at the speakers, waiting to disturb the neighbors.

 

[Leprkon]

i saw a few comments online that got me worried about the heavy center on my tv, but anyway, i have a mitsubishi 55in. crt rear projection, worried over time it would warp it, but i might just be paranoid. what do you think? Also, looking for some SMALL surrounds that would compliment the system (the polk's are huge) any suggestions

I had the same concerns you do. I have a 33 pound Infinity Alpha 37 center on top of my 55 inch Mitsu. I immediately noticed the top of the cabinet deflected enough to start putting pressure on the glass of the screen. It is indeed a problem. I ended up building a small bridge to move the weight of the speaker from the middle of the TV cabinet out to the edges, where the top is better supported. I just took a piece of 4 foot by 7 inch by 3/4 inch cabinet-grade plywood that reached the length of the top. Then I put two pieces about four inches wide between the the cabinet and the plywood for pads (see diagram). I alo added a center stiffening rib of 1/2 x 2 x 18 plywood down the center bottom, to limit flexing on the bridge. Throw in a can of flat black paint, and the few people who bothered to mention noticing it all said it was a really good idea.

It all seems to have worked reasonably well. If I did it all over, I would use a 12 inch wide piece as the base, to spread the weight out a little more, but mostly to give a better place to adjust the tilt on the speaker. The bakc of the speaker actually hangs off the back of the bridge, so I used a foot-long piece of discarded crown molding to support the tilt.

My total investment was about $ 15 including paint (gotta love going to Lowe's) and it took maybe an hour to build. I'm sure someone with more wood talent than I and better patience with a sanding block could do a really good job on something like this.

 

[ptabib]

I wanted to thank everyone for their replies. These forums are so much help for us rookies. I am going for the bridge to dispurse the load of the center, right on for the diagram Leprkon.