# Center channel placement



## Theater132 (Oct 3, 2012)

Can anyone tell me where the right place for the best sound would be for me center channel. Should it be above or under my tv? I have a 82 inch dlp. How high should it preferably be. I'm going to try and have my tv built into the wall and also how high do you think I should build it off of the floor. Sorry for all the questions but this is my first dedicated Theater room and am going to try and make it the best that I can. 
Thanks


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## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

Either directly above or directly below your screen is ideal. Which location you chose is mostly a matter of preference or convenience.


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

Most people probably place it below out of convenience... I would try to keep it as close to the bottom of the display as possible... if it's too low to the ground, then you'll want to angle toward ear level (when seated).


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## HopefulFred (Jan 20, 2011)

Unless you have two rows of seats, in which case the front row will block the sound to the second row. In that case, above the TV is the best choice.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

If you can run both... I have ran one above and one below each angled at the user (at the same time) and I loved how it sounded.


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## sdurani (Oct 28, 2010)

Theater132 said:


> Can anyone tell me where the right place for the best sound would be for me center channel. Should it be above or under my tv? I have a 82 inch dlp. How high should it preferably be. I'm going to try and have my tv built into the wall and also how high do you think I should build it off of the floor.


Ideally, your three front speakers should all be at ear height, or as close to that as possible. Most 82-inch TVs are about 4 feet tall, so that gives you a couple of choices. 

If you place the centre speaker around ear height (36-40 inches), then your TV will have to go above it; probably reaching the ceiling, definitely giving you neck strain from tilting your head up for long periods of time. If you place the TV on the ground, then your centre speaker can go above it; 48 inches high isn't exactly ear height (36-40 inches), but it's awfully close. And no neck strain from having to look up. 

The lowered image will probably be more comfortable for another reason: our human vision tends to bias downward roughly 12-15 degrees. If I stood you in the middle of a flat landscape and told you to look straight ahead, your natural tendency would be to see a bit more ground than sky. So keeping the TV on the floor and the centre speaker right above it (tilted down slightly) will work out fine. Plus, if you ever need to get to the back of the TV, it will be easier to pull it out of the wall cut-out if it is on the floor (just slide it out).


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## everlast (Nov 5, 2012)

ellisr63 said:


> If you can run both... I have ran one above and one below each angled at the user (at the same time) and I loved how it sounded.


I agree with this.. I used to run a giant front projection setup so I ran two center channels in series (for load reasons) above and below the screen. They were identical speakers and the effect was that the center sounded as if it was directly in the center of the screen.

I plan on doing the same with my new set up.


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

A diffuser in the back of your room can create a similar effect... At least that occurred in our HT once we installed on. The voices, for the most part, have an appearance of coming from the center of the screen...


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