My solution to centre speaker placement

[Jules]

This is an experiment guys, so please don't knock the craftsmanship or the quality of materials.

Anyway, to give you some background.... for years I've owned KEF awsome TDM23 THX speakers. They are huge and I needed to downsize.
But the problem with most ordinary speakers is that although smaller and slimmer the centre speaker is never upto the standards I'm used to.

Oddly enough, using a single ordinary speaker gets me closer to the TDM sound I'm used to, but brings another problem of speaker height... how on earth can you mount a tall, deep centre speaker in a central position? ... but I think I've done it.

I've settled on Mordaunt Short Mezzo speakers, and although the Mezzo 5 centre speaker is very good, a single Mezzo 2 does a better job (the Mezzo 5 I bought will be in the classifieds soon). So my solution is built around accomodating a Mezzo 2 as a centre speaker.

The solution was 3 fold:
1) to raise the TV behind the speaker on its own little 'platform'
2) to cut a hold in the shelf below for the centre speaker to 'peak' through'
3) build a shelf below that on which the speaker will rest, and which extends beyond the front of the cabinet to support the extra depth of the speaker.

Here it is.. what do you think?

[Jules]

If you guys are using a dedicated centre speaker with a 'woofer > tweeter > woofer' driver array, you are seriously missing out.

My single Mezzo 2 as centre speaker is really impressing me, and I'm starting not to miss my old THX centre.

Try an ordinary book shelf speaker (that matches your L&R speakers), and hear how the speaker manufacturers have most of us fooled.
You'd think that the manufactuers know best and that the centre speaker should be made with a WTW driver array, but the truth is that this typical design is a compromise.

Kef's uniQ driver does work as a centre speaker (which is probably why the old favorite models 100 & 200 are still such great performers), but the typical 'W>T>W' driver array is flawed.

Since figuring this out for myself, I've found some articles online that explain why this is so.

[ddlooping]

Hello Jules

Very inventive and well executed solution.

I also had to go the DIY route for my center speaker.

Please have a look and let me know what you think.