Question Something small to fill my wife's slot

[Unclefishboy73]

Got your attention

I'm planning on replacing my aged sound system with a new spangly one, based on a 5.1 (7.2 later on) setup with a Denon X2700 etc. I'm researching decent speakers but I have one big / small problem. The TV cabinet that my wife heavily encouraged me to buy a year or two ago has quite narrow shelves as you can see in the attached pic. For the side speakers this is fine as I'll put them on stands, but for the centre it's a bloody nightmare. The shelves are just 13cm high.

For the life of me I can't find any centre speakers that are 13cm high or less. I've done quite alot of searching. Does anyone have any suggestions that don't involve a saw and me being killed?

 

[dollag]

Kef's eggs (3005/3001) are discontinued but are readily available on ebay etc. should fit the bill.

My friend has his married with a pair of kef r100's. works pretty well.

have you considered a 4.1 with a phantom centre?

 

[Unclefishboy73]

I never heard of a 4.1 with a phantom centre, I'll look into it but it sounds...unsatisfying! Yep looks like the KEF 3001 centre speaker is exactly 130mm high so should squeeze in - are they well respected? So is there nothing similar that I could buy new? A bit nervous after looking at some of the ebay listings....

 

[dollag]

I never heard of a 4.1 with a phantom centre, I'll look into it but it sounds...unsatisfying! Yep looks like the KEF 3001 centre speaker is exactly 130mm high so should squeeze in - are they well respected? So is there nothing similar that I could buy new? A bit nervous after looking at some of the ebay listings....

Not that i know of but hopefully someone might come along and chime in. for their size, they work very well and i cannot think of anything that size that's better but it's not going to give you reference volume levels.

A decent set of speakers for the L&R without a centre would be a lot better than a crappy centre in situe.

 

[gibbsy]

A 4.1 could very well serve you better with the space you have for left and right speakers and a poor position for a potential centre speaker. It will be too low, firing roughly at your knees, along with putting the speaker within the cabinet itself, far from ideal.

Doing away with a centre will allow the budget for the front speakers to go up and you will be off with a quality pair of fronts. Even from a 5.1 soundtrack the Denon will easily and effectively downmix the centre to the left and right speakers.

 

[Harkon321]

You don’t really need a centre given how close they are. Try phantom centre. If you sit pretty central it’ll be fine.

 

[Unclefishboy73]

Ok thanks all sounds like 4.1 may be the way to go.

Or... As another option, how about mounting a centre speaker on a shelf above the tv....? Good idea or total toss?

 

[Gasp3621]

Got your attention

I'm planning on replacing my aged sound system with a new spangly one, based on a 5.1 (7.2 later on) setup with a Denon X2700 etc. I'm researching decent speakers but I have one big / small problem. The TV cabinet that my wife heavily encouraged me to buy a year or two ago has quite narrow shelves as you can see in the attached pic. For the side speakers this is fine as I'll put them on stands, but for the centre it's a bloody nightmare. The shelves are just 13cm high.

For the life of me I can't find any centre speakers that are 13cm high or less. I've done quite alot of searching. Does anyone have any suggestions that don't involve a saw and me being killed?

Wall mount the tv or get floor tv stand that is usually height adjustable and it goes behind and under your av-unit. Then you get the space under for center channel.

Amazon product

You don’t really need a centre given how close they are. Try phantom centre. If you sit pretty central it’ll be fine.

Day time is fine when overall volume is higher, but late night not so much as the speech is rather quiet and you can´t up the level of it as you could with center channel and use dynamic volume to keep it balanced without sudden craziness and running after remote. Been living few months without center channel sitting in the sweet spot. Definitely will buy one when upgrading whole system.

Multichannel soundtracks on a stereo system: you may be losing more than you think - Son-Vidéo.com: blog

Sommaire afficher Downmixing, according to Dolby Without a center speaker Without surround speakers Without a subwoofer Without an AV receiver Dynamic range compression: working principle 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound from a stereo signal: does it really work? Mis à jour le 26 February 2019. As...

blog.son-video.com

 

[Harkon321]

Wall mount the tv or get floor tv stand that is usually height adjustable and it goes behind and under your av-unit. Then you get the space under for center channel.

Pictures in my sig of this, as this is what I did with an A40.

 

[Unclefishboy73]

Ooh thanks for those comments, that blog made sobering reading! I must admit I never felt particularly comfortable with the no centre option. I think the way to go is to wall mount the TV or put it on a stand, which sounds like it would go behind under the cabinet...? Any recommendations for mount or stand? I have a 65" LG C9, so it's quite a heavy beast!

 

[Gasp3621]

The link i posted has few different floor stands. And for the brackets same story, check Amazon. Example this should easily hold that C9.

Amazon product

 

[dollag]

The link i posted has few different floor stands. And for the brackets same story, check Amazon. Example this should easily hold that C9.

Amazon product

i have that and it holds my c8 fine

 

[Unclefishboy73]

Thanks guys, I have similar brackets elsewhere in the house so good to know they'll take my big one.

Funnily enough I broached the new tv setup idea with my wife today and she said 'why don't you just remove the middle shelf from the current TV stand so you can get the centre speaker in? Sometimes these women creatures have more sense than we give them credit for...

 

[Gasp3621]

Thanks guys, I have similar brackets elsewhere in the house so good to know they'll take my big one.

Funnily enough I broached the new tv setup idea with my wife today and she said 'why don't you just remove the middle shelf from the current TV stand so you can get the centre speaker in? Sometimes these women creatures have more sense than we give them credit for...

I wouldn´t do that unless there isn´t other options and even then i would think twice. It would sit quite low shooting you knees and won´t sound as good when inside cabinet. Better to mount the tv fairly high so there is good space under for the speaker which can be angled upwards still if necessary.

 

[Unclefishboy73]

I wouldn´t do that unless there isn´t other options and even then i would think twice. It would sit quite low shooting you knees and won´t sound as good when inside cabinet. Better to mount the tv fairly high so there is good space under for the speaker which can be angled upwards still if necessary.

That was the answer I wanted to hear 😉 My only worry is that the tv will now be a bit too high. We'll probably be looking up at it rather than directly at it. Assume this is part of the compromise we all have to face pretty much...

 

[Unclefishboy73]

I guess also I angle it down a bit using the wall bracket

 

[Gasp3621]

Yes that wall bracket i linked has 7degree tilt so it may come handy. Of course lot depends which size of speakers are you looking. There is some low height lifestyle speakers like the Monitor Audio Radius 200/225 models for center channel.

But typically with lower budget and "picky/naggy" wife you may also be looking the Q Acoustics 3000i serie with rounded cabinets. It`s quite typical choice for first real system without breaking bank and keeping wife happy.

Q Acoustics Q 3090Ci Centre Speaker (Single), Arctic White at AV.com

Q Acoustics Q 3090Ci Centre Speaker (Single), Arctic White at AV.com

www.audiovisualonline.co.uk

Q Acoustics Q 3010i Bookshelf Speakers (Pair), English Walnut at AV.com

Q Acoustics Q 3010i Bookshelf Speakers (Pair), English Walnut at AV.com

www.audiovisualonline.co.uk

 

[Unclefishboy73]

To be fair to my wife she's actually really good. When I told her I was going to bolt the TV to the wall and spend about £1600 on an amp and speakers, two of which would be attached to the ceiling, she was like - "fair enough". I'm a lucky man indeed

I'm probably just going to go all in on a set of speakers of the same make, bar perhaps the height speakers (or upfirers) as they may come later. I have another question though, given that my TV will be higher up now, the L & R front surrounds will be a fair bit lower on stands - will this be a problem?

 

[Gasp3621]

To be fair to my wife she's actually really good. When I told her I was going to bolt the TV to the wall and spend about £1600 on an amp and speakers, two of which would be attached to the ceiling, she was like - "fair enough". I'm a lucky man indeed

I'm probably just going to go all in on a set of speakers of the same make, bar perhaps the height speakers (or upfirers) as they may come later. I have another question though, given that my TV will be higher up now, the L & R front surrounds will be a fair bit lower on stands - will this be a problem?

You mean main speakers l/r. If you buy some 600mm tall stands then the tweeter is roughly at seated ear height assuming you aren´t super tall guy / normal couch.

You can buy any bundle deal = speakers (5.0) + receiver without subwoofer and then pick better one from company that specializes on them to get better bang for buck; build quality, performance, support/service, better aftersale value etc. For example below:

AVR-X2600H Based - Denon - Bundle Offers - Home Cinema

Peter Tyson Audio Visual Online - Hi-Fi and AV retailers.

petertyson.co.uk

AVR-X2700H Based - Denon - Bundle Offers - Home Cinema

Peter Tyson Audio Visual Online - Hi-Fi and AV retailers.

petertyson.co.uk

Sub Woofers - Sub Bass - Subwoofer

 

[dion 6]

I just got a 4 x radius 90` and a radius 200 centre with a Rel HT/1003 really good looking lifestyle speaker and sub which keeps the wife happy