[mikespopworld]

I'm putting together my dream home theater and will put a 50" plasma on top of a Salamander stand(furniture style, paneled sides about the size of a small office desk) between a pair of Vandersteen 3a's. When I listen to CD's in 2-channel mode will the big stand full of gear with a huge plasma TV on top, all sitting in-between the front speakers only a foot or two away, compromise the sound stage/imaging/etc? I will spend 90% of my time listening to CD's instead of watching DVD's and want to get close as possible to perfect imaging and sound stage. If there is a problem with this setup what do I do to correct it? Electronics will be almost entirely high-end Arcam FMJ components. The room is 24x15x8. I have no expertise in these matters - if only I had taken an engineering elective instead of Intro to Comedy. Oh well.


Also, people on this forum seem to think the center channel should be above the TV(above the ears) but how do you solve for this when you have a stand mounted plasma sitting away from the walls? Another issue is the rear speakers, in my case Vandersteen 2ce sigs that are floor standing and about four feet high - will the rear imaging be fine even though the chairs in front of them are just over three feet high which means some of the drivers will be below ear level - a position that people on this forum say is not ideal? Spent years saving the money for my dream system and after a few days reading on these forums I'M SCARED! I don't want to spend 30k and not get what I expected!

 

[John Robert]

The Vandys (and they are not alone in this) need room out from the front wall. If you can bring them out to the optimum position (and the speaker baffles at least 12 to 18" in front of the plasma), you can still have great 2 ch sound.


The center can go below the screen, just angle it up. You might want to consider "floorstander" stands, designed to raise the speakers 6 to 8", for your rears.


Sounds like a very nice set-up...


John

 

[mikespopworld]

John is it accepted practice to have the front speakers that much in front of the TV? Just thinking it might look odd. Anybody you know or anybody out there in the AVS world do this? Willing to try it! Also, who makes "floorstander" stands? I definitely want them.

 

[cwb4tx]

I offset my towers 2 feet from the wall, and I have a 50 inch plasma in a very shallow stand. It helps the sound wuality and does not bother me at all in appearance...


Curtis

 

[JamesCB]

IMO, in a two-channel setup, ANYTHING between the speakers is going to negatively effect the soundstage and imaging. I cringe even when I see setups with the component rack between them. Try pulling your speakers well out into the room, with nothing between them, you would be surprised.


James

 

[Ron Alcasid]

I can honestly say when I got my front projection system the audio quality improved tremendously because of lack of reflective surfaces in between the L and R speakers. I was able to place the center channel on a 21" high Salamander Twin rack right below the screen which made a huge difference too.


The cheapest most effective solution in your case is to wall mount the plasma. If that is not an option then get the Salamander plasma mounts

http://www.salamanderdesigns.com/syn...odelbase=sa/pm


or the riser if your center channel can fit and the plasma on top towards the back of the rack

http://www.salamanderdesigns.com/syn...?modelbase=snr

 

[John Robert]

>>John is it accepted practice to have the front speakers that much in front of the TV? Just thinking it might look odd. Anybody you know or anybody out there in the AVS world do this? Willing to try it! Also, who makes "floorstander" stands? I definitely want them

 

[Kal Rubinson]

It is not the plasma so much as the cabinet that will affect sound imaging. Any large object between the speakers will have an effect even if covered with a blanket! How much of an effect will depend on speaker positioning and speaker radiation patterns.


Try to move the L/R speakers forward to (1) get them away from the wall, (2) get them well in front of the cabinet and (3) position them in the arc so that they and the center channel speaker are equidistant from the listener/viewer.


Best of all, get rid of or move the cabinet and wall mount the plasma.


Kal

 

[Mit07]

IMO, you should not place your 3 front speakers in an arc as suggested by the prior responses. Place them in a straight line so the front edges of all 3 speakers line up. Placing them in an arc would, at best, only place all 3 speakers equal-distant from a single seating position.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Placing them in a straight line means that no one is on-axis to any more than one speaker and the Blumlein effect is inoperative. It's the democratic way: Everyone gets the same lousy imaging. (Not a political message.)


Kal

 

[Greg_R]

Who cares if the speakers are in an arc or a straight line? You're going to adjust the distance settings in your pre/pro to compensate anyway!


As for the plasma, yes, the acoustically reflective surface will reduce the imaging. It is hard to say by how much. Ideally (assuming some level of light control), you'd have a projector with a micro-perf screen (with acoustic treatments behind the screen). Speaking of acoustic treatments, you are going to apply treatments I hope? A $30k system will sound like a $5k system without a proper room environment (seriously, this is the most important item in your system... even more important than the speakers).

 

[Mit07]

Kal - my suggestion for placing the 3 front speakers in a straight line certainly allows for proper toe-in of the L/R main speakers if appropriate. I do not advise placing the speakers in an arc as this has no benefit.


Greg - you are correct in indicating that you can use the distance/delay setting in your pre/pro to compensate, however, proper placement is better than acoustical adjustments.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Quote:

Originally posted by Greg_R Who cares if the speakers are in an arc or a straight line? You're going to adjust the distance settings in your pre/pro to compensate anyway!

Sure but that won't work for some SACD/DVD-A players yet, fwiw. Guess I am in the minority preferring music to movies and still being concerned about analog sources. Sigh.


Kal

 

[John Robert]

Quote:

Guess I am in the minority preferring music to movies and still being concerned about analog sources. Sigh.

Not true, my use is 80% music / 20% HT...


John

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Quote:

Originally posted by John Robert Not true, my use is 80% music / 20% HT... John

You are, apparently, one of the few, as well. Also, that correlates with our agreement about speaker placement.


Kal