[DaveHCYJ]

First, thanks to everyone in my first thread that got me pointed in the right direction. After lots of in store auditioning I ended up with Polk RTi4's for my fronts.


I currently have sony htiab rears, my plan is to move the RTi4's to the rear in 6-12 months and get either RTi A5 or A7's for my fronts (can't afford them right now). Keeping in mind my long term pairing will be the larger floor standing speakers do I have to get the CSi A6 for the center or would the A4 work (not be over powered)?


Next problem is I don't have room for even the A4. As you can see in the picture, the fronts barely fit on my stand (good thing they are only temporary).

You can see my current sony center that is getting replaced, but any larger than the sony speaker and the center will block the view of the TV. And the A4 or A6 are 7 or 7.75 inches high which you can see from this next picture is way too high.

Next problem is depth. The A4 is almost 9 and the A6 is 14 inches deep. The only thing I can think of is to build a box to put my tv base on, so the center can fit under the tv base.

I need to get rid of this sony center channel, dialog sounds like the people are underwater now that I've got these fronts!

Any thoughts on A4 vs A6 vs ?? CS10??

Suggestions, thoughts, or experiences with the size of the center speaker would be greatly appreciated.

 

[accohn12]

your best bet is to search the forum for this issue, it's been widely discussed, as it's a common issue. I just bought a CS1 to match my M60's (Polk), and I'm in the process of building something similar to this (link below) to alleviate the same issue you're asking about.
http://www.wood-tech.com/content/tvriser2

 

[calnbs]

For the life of me, I just don't get these furniture makers.....WTF build a TV stand that can't fit a single damn center speaker?

 

[accohn12]

haha, completely agree calnbs! So frustrating. I guess in hindsight I should've looked into getting a tv stand that had some sort of integrated center channel housing, but I feel like either way you go, you're sacrificing cosmetic appeal. Short of mounting your tv, I don't feel like there's a great way to put your center channel directly in the middle and below your tv.

 

[afrogt]

Get rid of the Sony center and turn the center channel OFF on your receiver. This is called Phantom Mode and the two Polks will take care of center channel duty.


You should get a couple of stands and put the Polks on them. Plenty of different designs and heights out there.

http://www.buy.com/prod/wood-wc-35-5...202063098.html

http://www.buy.com/prod/wood-wc-24-5...202063159.html

 

[batpig]



Quote:
Get rid of the Sony center and turn the center channel OFF on your receiver.

+100 -- your front speakers are so close together that the center channel is useless, not to mention the fact that it is crap compared to your two L/R speakers! It is hampering the performance, TURN IT OFF.


Long term, the spacing issue will be taken care of with tower speakers to either side, but -- if you are serious about getting a good HT experience -- you really need to consider mounting the TV on the wall where it belongs (or getting a stand that can "float" the TV) so you can fit a proper center channel.

Quote:
For the life of me, I just don't get these furniture makers.....WTF build a TV stand that can't fit a single damn center speaker?

+1000000... that is SO frustrating!

 

[Marc0000]

Newbie question: would it be possible for him to use the two existing speakers together as a center channel (and how would he set that up?) Then he could get two other satellites for the surround fronts and mount them on the wall.

 

[gibroni]

Newegg just ran a special on some Polk floorstanders for $119.


I second the notion to buy a wall mount for your TV. If you're mostly watching movies or gaming then the center channel is the most important. I always suggest to use 3 identical speakers across the front.

 

[DaveHCYJ]

Thanks for the suggestions. Wall mounting isn't really an option, we live in a 40 year old condo and I don't trust the construction. Plus I don't want to tear up the wall if we end up moving a few years.


I guess its time to do some searches for TV risers -- I honestly didn't know if that was going to be a dumb idea or not -- is the sound quality going to be affected by having the rear bass ports of the RTi A6 sitting in that closed in space?

 

[vinipux77]



Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveHCYJ /forum/post/18239441


I guess its time to do some searches for TV risers -- I honestly didn't know if that was going to be a dumb idea or not -- is the sound quality going to be affected by having the rear bass ports of the CSi A6 sitting in that closed in space?

Yes, to some degree. Power ports in the center are the same as in your RTi4's, and need some open space to breathe. The more room you give them, the better they work.


Opening the back even a little bit will make a difference, and from there on changes in most setups are not earth-shattering, and affect lower frequencies and overall clarity.

 

[batpig]

there are stands with "risers" that are not solid, just two posts that you can install the mount on, which should give the ports in center room to breathe. Alternately, you can also choose to plug the rear ports of the center.


it is really a shame that most modern A/V furniture is not conducive to a full-sized center channel. I cringe every time I see somebody with big bad tower speakers and some dinky little center channel perched on the stand mashed up against the TV

 

[Marc0000]

Batpig, what are the pros and cons of using two floor speakers to replace the typical center because they're so close together anyway? He could use two floorstanding speakers and the two small speakers as front satellites.


The other options might be to use the two small speakers to cover all three front channels, or better to use two floorstanding speakers.