Topic: L-C-R alignment

[-sniper-]

is it a must to have the left, center and front speakers aligned in a straight line? as in:

                LEFT                   CENTER                      RIGHT

i am having an a/v rack custom-made with a slot for the center speaker while i intend to wall-mount the fronts instead of using speaker stands. if i push through with that, this is how the alignment would look:


                LEFT                                                    RIGHT
                                           CENTER

your thoughts on this please...

thanks.

[Reymer]

IMHO, it is not a must, but will be better if you can do that. Usually, the center spkr is placed lower to give way to the TV/display. In my case (center placed lower), I just tilted the center upwards. Works fine with me 

[Munskie]

is it a must to have the left, center and front speakers aligned in a straight line? as in:

                LEFT                   CENTER                      RIGHT

i am having an a/v rack custom-made with a slot for the center speaker while i intend to wall-mount the fronts instead of using speaker stands. if i push through with that, this is how the alignment would look:


                LEFT                                                    RIGHT
                                           CENTER

your thoughts on this please...

thanks.

my suggestion,

                                                 CENTER
                         LEFT                                                  RIGHT       

Center speaker must be close to the monitor as much as possible.  Then toe in the LR speakers to main listening position.   The LCR must form an arc, with center flushed back.

[barrister]

is it a must to have the left, center and front speakers aligned in a straight line? as in:

                LEFT                   CENTER                      RIGHT

i am having an a/v rack custom-made with a slot for the center speaker while i intend to wall-mount the fronts instead of using speaker stands. if i push through with that, this is how the alignment would look:


                LEFT                                                    RIGHT
                                           CENTER

Aligning the drivers in a straight line is preferred, but usually impossible because the monitor is in the way.

Placing the center speaker immediately above or below the monitor is the next best thing.

i am having an a/v rack custom-made with a slot for the center speaker while i intend to wall-mount the fronts instead of using speaker stands.

If you wall-mount the fronts, the a/v rack will block the left-right soundfield.  Not good.

my suggestion,

                                                 CENTER
                         LEFT                                                  RIGHT       

Center speaker must be close to the monitor as much as possible.  Then toe in the LR speakers to main listening position.   The LCR must form an arc, with center flushed back.

I'm not sure if sir alpa and sir Munskie are on the same page.  I understand sir alpa's diagram to be a front view, while sir Munskie's diagram looks like a top view.

I agree with sir Munskie's recommendation that the front speakers must be slightly forward in relation to the center speaker, so that there is no obstruction in the left-center-right soundfield.

If the center speaker will be placed inside a shelf below the TV, the center speaker's front edge should align with or protrude from the a/v shelf's front edge.  Otherwise, not only will the panels of the rack's shelf block the center's soundfield, you will also get sound reflections from inside the shelf.   

Hence, the top view should look like this:
 

                                           CENTER                
                  LEFT                                                  RIGHT   

[Munskie]

Aligning the drivers in a straight line is preferred, but usually impossible because the monitor is in the way.

Placing the center speaker immediately above or below the monitor is the next best thing.


If you wall-mount the fronts, the a/v rack will block the left-right soundfield.  Not good.


I'm not sure if sir alpa and sir Munskie are on the same page.  I understand sir alpa's diagram to be a front view, while sir Munskie's diagram looks like a top view.

I agree with sir Munskie's recommendation that the front speakers must be slightly forward in relation to the center speaker, so that there is no obstruction in the left-center-right soundfield.

If the center speaker will be placed inside a shelf below the TV, the center speaker's front edge should align with or protrude from the a/v shelf's front edge.  Otherwise, not only will the edges of the rack's shelf block the center's soundfield, you will also get sound reflections from inside the shelf.   

Hence, the top view should look like this:
 

                                           CENTER               
                  LEFT                                                  RIGHT   

yeah....my bad.   top view orientation yung suggestion ko....

[-sniper-]

thanks guys! 

you're right sir barrister. my diagram is from the front vantage point.

Hence, the top view should look like this:
 

                                           CENTER                
                  LEFT                                                  RIGHT   

in this case, the front view will look like this? --

                        LEFT                                         RIGHT
                                                 CENTER

 
                                                      "X" - this is me 

[barrister]

in this case, the front view will look like this? --

                        LEFT                                         RIGHT
                                                 CENTER

 
                                                      "X" - this is me 

That placement would be fine.  But also consider the following alternative:

If you prefer to align the drivers of the center and fronts on the same plane, you might want to place the fronts a bit lower to look like this (front view): 



                                                     TV         
                          LEFT                 CENTER                RIGHT


Crutchfieldadvisor says:

If possible, the height of the center channel speaker's tweeter should be close to the height of your front speakers' tweeters — ideally, within about 24".





Don't wall-mount your front left and right speakers; otherwise, you won't be able to achieve this:



 http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-0coyqvSxwt5/learningcenter/home/speaker_placement.html

[-sniper-]

with that in mind, i guess i would have to "shelf" the idea of putting my fronts on a wall-mounted shelf.  ... which would mean purchasing speaker stands. 

[STRIKER]

ask a 10 people the same question and you will get 12 different answers.

here is what i think is most importannt.... if possible align all 3 tweeters horizontally ( the height of the center speaker must be set in such a way that its tweeter is at the same height if the L & R's tweeter). this helps create the linearity of the soundstage.

[barrister]

ask a 10 people the same question and you will get 12 different answers.

  Hindi naman siguro... 


Here are 3 opinions:

1. Mine

...  align the drivers of the center and fronts on the same plane ...

2. Crutchfieldavisor's

Crutchfieldadvisor says:

If possible, the height of the center channel speaker's tweeter should be close to the height of your front speakers' tweeters ...

3. Yours

if possible align all 3 tweeters horizontally ( the height of the center speaker must be set in such a way that its tweeter is at the same height if the L & R's tweeter).

They sound pretty much the same to me. 

[-sniper-]

will this be a plausible fourth option? 

the front speakers must be slightly forward in relation to the center speaker

The LCR must form an arc, with center flushed back.

[barrister]

That's not a different option, it's just another aspect.

My Reply #9 was about height --- Front View.

Your Reply #10 was about horizontal distance from the listener --- Top View. 

Di ba? 

[alvinthx2]

ask a 10 people the same question and you will get 12 different answers.

here is what i think is most importannt.... if possible align all 3 tweeters horizontally ( the height of the center speaker must be set in such a way that its tweeter is at the same height if the L & R's tweeter). this helps create the linearity of the soundstage.

Almost impossible to do but you are correct. Problem lang is the viewing angle of the display device will be too high. Unless you have a micro perforated screen material where your speakers are behind the screen this would be a very hard configuration to do.

My recommendation is just put the center speaker above or below your screen (below is better and angled up a little to beam tweeter to your ears).We are not that sensitive to the vertical plane as with the horizontal plane. Use speaker distance control of your receiver to align them acoustically.

[streetsmart]

Almost impossible to do but you are correct. Problem lang is the viewing angle of the display device will be too high. Unless you have a micro preforated screen material where your speakers are behind the screen this would be a very hard configuration to do.

My recommendation is just put the center speaker above or below your screen (below is better and angled up a little to beam tweeter to your ears).We are not that sensitive to the vertical plane as with the horizontal plane. Use speaker distance control of your receiver to align them acoustically.

Agree. I always thought that the idea of placing the LCR speakers on the edge of an arc would be to equalize the distance to the main listening position, so that the sound from the 3 speakers arrives to the ears of the main listener at the same time. However, that time difference can be easily compensated through the distance control on the receiver. Whenever a particular speaker is nearer than another, the receiver adds a delay so as to equalize them in time. Of course, the compensation is only good for the main listening position!

What's probably of equal relevance is the proximity of the speakers to walls (or if they are enclosed in cabinets), which often tends to negatively affect the linearity of the frequency response. Toeing-in of the LR speakers is also important to snap the soundstage in place.

Summary is that a lot of experimentation is needed. 

[-sniper-]

That's not a different option, it's just another aspect.

My Reply #9 was about height --- Front View.

Your Reply #10 was about horizontal distance from the listener --- Top View. 

Di ba? 

oo nga...hehehe

[-sniper-]

now that i'm settled with the alignment (thanks to all of you! ), my next question is this:

how high should my fronts be? the slot on my a/v rack for my center speaker will be at a height of around 15inches. i'm planning to fabricate front speaker stands with a height of 30 inches.

your thoughts please...thanks.

[STRIKER]

i think the proper height of your fronts should be set in such a way that the tweets are at ear level when you are seated.

[praktikal]

i think the proper height of your fronts should be set in such a way that the tweets are at ear level when you are seated.

correct.