Which Center Speaker? Furniture & WAF Limited!

[MartinL]

I have recently purchased a Sony 50" LCD Projection TV based on a deal with the wife that she could pick the Furniture to set it on... Oops! I now have furniture with a total height limitation for the Center Speaker of 3.5" H, x 25" W x 20” D. I have been banned from sitting my current center on top of the TV and/or fixing it to the wall above/behind. So, any ideas for a good quality, reasonably priced Center that will fit the Furniture and the WAF?

 

[jaxvon]

I can only think of one, and it's an ugly thing to say Bose. Of course, I'm sure it has nowhere near the quality of your current center channel. Is there any possible way you could get the center below the TV?

 

[Sheep]

3.5inches high! Jees!

Im going to second the below the TV. The only thing that will fit is a Bose POS center.

SheepStar

 

[scenaria]

does the tv have speakers? use the TV's speakers as the cener channel.. not many options at 3.5 inches..or just phantom it

OR build something to elevate the stand that the TV is on and put a center channel under the stand (if she doesnt want it ontop of the tv then put it underneath)

 

[jcPanny]

With the 3.5" hight, the drivers are probably limited to less than 3". You might be better off running mains that image well and running a phantom center until you come up with a better speaker location. A center that doesn't tonally match the mains wont sound that good anyway.

 

[Xsound]

I would normally suggest the Monitor Audio Radius 225. BUT it's dimensions are 4 3/4 x 24 x 4 3/8. The sound is very good, the appearance is very WAF friendly, and there are multiple choices for the finish from real wood veneers, to black, white, or silver lacquer. However 4.75 aint 3.5.

Here's the link if you want to check them out. I can tell you the finish is so much better looking than what is on the web-site, that it's not even funny. It's a great looking speaker.

X

 

[fergusonv]

Your not going to be able to do anything worthwhile with 3 1/2 inches. Just make sure your mains are imaged as best as possible and run it phantom.

 

[Takeereasy]

You can get a seperate stand for the center that goes directly in front of the TV. I'm not sure if that will pass the WAF, but I figured I'd pipe in. I really can't think of a brand that puts out a decent center that will fit your dimensions.

 

[corey]

What, exactly, is the TV sitting on? The bottom of the TV can't be 4" off the floor, so there must be something else going on. Whatever else is under there, move it.

 

[corey]

Another thought....
You said you couldn't put your current center on top of or above/behind the TV. How about some other center? The Boston Acoustics VRC is 5" tall. My Energy center is 4" tall & sits on top of a 51" Sony RPTV. There are also a number of thin wall mount centers aimed at the plasma TV market that might do.

 

[mike c]

what about using two satellites side by side as your center?

JBL satellites have two 3" drivers and 1/2" tweeter PER satellite.
AND can be sold by pair.

its better than bose.

 

[MartinL]

The TV is a Sony 50 Grand Wega and its sitting on an Entertainment unit from Ethen Allen, see attachment below.. As you can see, there is the 3.5" gap under it which is where I was hoping to locate the center speaker... I have a Yamaha RX-V2500 receiver so I figured using the Dialogue list feature would correct the centers non-directional location..

I found a Center from Canton (CD50) but I now nothing about Canton or their products so, not sure if this unit is good, bad or just so, so,

 

[MDS]

The image isn't linked so I couldn't get a larger image...

Women always choose aesthetics over function and you are now in a real bind.

I have a similar stand and my intent is to mount a shelf on the wall behind the tv to hold the center, but if she won't allow that then one other option might be to buy some type of monitor riser like they sell for computers and put the tv on top of it and the center channel speaker under the riser. The only issue there would be that the tv may then be too high, depending on the height of that stand.
TV
|-------------------------|
| center channel speaker |
----------------------------------------
| TV stand |

...OR you could return that stand and work with the lady to find another stand that meets her aesthetic goals but also has the required shelf for a center channel speaker.

 

[MartinL]

Well, I'm going back to EthanAllen tonight to get down on the Floor and see if
the 3.5" is just a lip... Maybe there is another inch or so under there...!

 

[MartinL]

Here's a better picture....

 

[MDS]

That's better, now I see what you are talking about. I didn't see that the stand has the attached back to which you directly mount the tv.

It looks like you could get away with a slightly taller center speaker as long as its height doesn't cover up a portion of the bottom of the screen. If the speaker were about 5 - 5 1/2" tall, it would cover the black plastic where the Sony label is but still not cover the actual screen.

 

[3db]

How wide and deep is that top drawer?

Do you think you could convince her to let you put a speaker in there in place of the drawer? Just a thought

 

[MartinL]

I don't think removing the top drawer is going to fly....!

Probably head out to EthanAllen in the next Hour or so to get the final scoop on the headroom from floor to underside of cabinet!

 

[Sheep]

try putting a flat piece of wood across the top on the TV and stand and put the center on that....?

SheepStar

 

[jake51s]

What about an in-wall center right above it? It would be fairly easy to install and most can be painted to match.