well you can tell I'm bored at work.

First off a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to Axiom and the posters at this forum. I wish all of you much success in the coming months.

now my question. What is the future of center speakers with regards to plasma TV's.

The one thing I like about plasma is the thin design and the ability to be wall mounted thus getting rid of the enormous footprint that current TVs demand. It just looks cleaner and adds to a rooms decore rather than dominating it.

Sooner or later the prices will reach the point where everyone will be buying them ...at that time what happens to the center speaker. The idea of having a thin TV with a huge box jutting out from above is not very appealing at all. Do you see it being replaced by one that is mounted in the wall?

anyhow enough of my thoughts.

Have a safe and Happy Holiday

Ford

Plasmas will never reach a point that everyone is buying them. The technology is not ideal for several reasons, all of which are being discussed here:
http://arstechnica.infopop.net/OpenTopic/page?a=tpc&s=50009562&f=67909965&m=7350994245

The picture isn't very good and will remain poor due to the technology involved. I do believe thin panel televisions will eventually be very common but under a different technology, perhaps LCD or OLED, but Plasma is merely a stop gap.

That said, if you want a speaker to appropriate match a plasma television, Magnapan makes a series of very good panel speakers that aren't much different in depth than a Plasma. Additionally, there are some fabulous in-wall speaker companies which I assume would become more popular, to a degree if thin panel televisions saw explosive growth.

However, I don't think I'd want a blank wall with a flat panel and some invisible speakers for aesthetic reasons. It would have to have some furniture in place simply to make the wall less boring, and you will always be able to place a fine center speaker in such an arrangement.

Of course, personally, I'd rather have a projector anyway.

Regards,
Semi

I would agree with Semi On. Plasma quality isnt as nice unless you are willing to spend over $15,000 canadian for the high end plasma.
The best picture I found with smallest footprint would be the rear projection LCD with range in the 40 -60 inch Wide format and some only having 14 inches in depth.

The best looking one
http://www.sony.ca/sonyca/home.shtml
select the Sony Store and search for rear projection LCD

http://panasonic.ca/English/audiovideo/television/projection/pt40lc12_45lc12.htm