Question Soundbar as a centre speaker?

Nightwatch77

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I have a 7.1. 2 setup, well minus a centre speaker, as dialogue comes out my fronts.

I have a soundbar below my tv with optical input... Doubt there is anything out there hardware wise to do it!
But is it possible from my AV receiver centre channel terminals to run them to some "converting to optical device" so my soundbar runs as a centre channel?

Hope you understand what I mean!

Probably not as daft as I first thought posting, as it would allow the best of both worlds and a centre speaker and soundbar just wouldn't work

:)
 
No. You cannot separate the centre channel out in the soundbar and you will still receiver the full range. Besides that the timbre will sound awful. Try and get the centre speaker that will compliment your others or leave as a pseudo centre which will still sound better than using a soundbar.
 
Marantz sr7011.... Arcam solo bar :)

Am I only person who thinks this could be a good idea?, if even for the future :)
 
Marantz sr7011.... Arcam solo bar :)

Am I only person who thinks this could be a good idea?, if even for the future :)
Okay, that could work. I used to have a Marantz SR7011 so I know that it has an analogue pre-out for the centre channel. I had a quick look at the manual for the Arcam Solo Bar, is this the one you have:


If so, it has an aux input for an analogue source, so a cable like this should work:


I am not sure how easy it will be to live with. Crucially you will need to set the volume level on the soundbar, using an SPL meter / app / Audyssey to get the volume of the centre channel balanced to the right level to match the other speakers, and keep it at that level. Also turn off any audio processing on the soundbar.

It might sound awful, or it might sound okay. For the price of the cable, it is worth a try.
 
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@Rambles reply is almost exactly what i was going to reply except that i would have recommended going with something like this to convert the mono "centre" signal to stereo and then a stereo RCA to 3.5mm cable to the Arcam which should sum them back to a centre image.

It'll almost certainly sound awful though.
 
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@Rambles reply is almost exactly what i was going to reply except that i would have recommended going with something like this to convert the mono "centre" signal to stereo and then a stereo RCA to 3.5mm cable to the Arcam which should sum them back to a centre image.

It'll almost certainly sound awful though.

Hahaha :)
 
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Can you not use the soundbar as is and mount a matching centre to your L&R above the tv?

Martin
 
Can you place centre speaker above TV?... Thought it was best to go below
Yes not a problem if you have the room,have done it before with speaker on 2 L shaped brackets tilted down towards the mlp.
I think some members have made brackets that use the vesa tv mountings.



Martin
 
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Thanks all... I'm planning to put a centre speaker above my tv now, after great ideas from ^

Unfortunately I'm not as rich as I was when I bought my fronts Tannoy precision 6.4

Really don't want a big fat centre from what I'm commonly seeing, say more of a soundbar type.

I'm guessing as my front are so good I won't find a fitting centre used for under £100?

Could I get away with a q acoustics centre as they seem good budget used
 
I would try to get the precision centre but looks like it will be hard to find and expensive:eek:
At the very least maybe look at this should be similar in sound.
The q acoustic centre is going to be a big mismatch in both size and timbre and imo would rather just run the fronts without a centre.
The q acoustic can be had cheaply so might be worth trying,if you dont like it you can always sell it on.
Are you getting a problem with dialogue using the L&R?
 
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