Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Where to place center VP150 speaker?

I have a new Panasonic 50" LCD TV, and can't figure out how to place my center speaker (VP150).

1) It can't sit on top of the TV
2) It can't sit on top of my makeshift cabinet, because it blocks the bottom of the screen.
2) I can't find a nice wooden TV/Component cabinet that this 27" wide speaker will fit into.
3) I don't know if putting it on a shelf ABOVE the TV is sensible.

Any pointers? This has become quite a headache for me.
Thanks,
js

How much room do you have from the bottom of the screen to the floor?
Have you seen these? http://www.racksandstands.com/prods/Wood-Technology/CT-28E/Center-Channel-Speaker-Stands/0C276/0PWT0036.htm

Could you wall mount it using the Axiom Full Metal Bracket? As long as you point it toward the listening position, you should be fine with it above the TV. Pictures?

Yes, this would work better. Or cinder blocks Just paint them, isolation would be great. Just kidding .
If you go with a stand I believe you may need to align the mains to match the center. At least thats what I had to do to make my system sound right. If I'm wrong please correct me. I'm willing to learn new tricks.

shelf above the tv has been done before by at least one person on here and it worked out well. But as mentioned, the full metal bracket will work too if that doesn't place it too close to the wall (ie, too far behind the screen).

I had the same problem. I tried different positions and could not get anything to sound right, It was like I had a hole between the center and mains. I played with the distance settings, I moved the mains closer to the center which really screwed things up. I actually put the center on a box in front of the screen and moved my mains up to match the distance of the center. I tweeked by towing in the mains a little. I found my golden triangle. Keep in mind I had to use my radio shack SPL meter for every little change. Now if there is a better way to do this then I'm all ears. I had a hell of a time dialing it in. I get to do it again real soon when the M80's come

My golden rule there is calibrate with an SPL. Listen to stuff you know. Tweak to preference.

Lets face it. Some of us are purists (wanting to hear things the way the sound designer intended). Others want it our way. Maybe the standard Burger King burger could use some tweaking. No mustard, more onions...you get the idea.
I generally like my sub a little hot from purist calibration. And many times my surrounds a little hot too. One of things to keep in mind is how loud your overall volume is. Everything gets louder and sounds better when turned up. The speaker to sub ratio sounds better in my opinion. But, it's all in how loud you can play/how loud you can handle. No one I know listens at true reference levels...so you kinda have to cheat it a little.

Again...all in my opinion. To each his own

And to answer the VP150 question. I like either a stand in front of the tv, or the full metal bracket attached to the wall. It helps to have an "assistant" to hold it where you might place it to see how it sounds. Keep in mind they'll be a few decibals difference between placing it in front of the tv and mounting it behind, so you'll need to make some adjustments on your receiver between testing the two. This is where you'll need to have a very patient (and preferably somewhat strong) assistant as the VP150 is not a light speaker. Also make sure it (VP150) is high enough that the tv doesn't block too much of the sound waves.

50", huh? Too bad.

For those of us without ultra-mammoth TVs/monitors (i.e. good old direct-view CRTs), a VP150 fits perfectly in here, once you squeeze past those curves at the top left & right of the opening. I managed to get my VP150 in there without doing any damage to the finish, and it looks like the cabinet was built for it.