Does a test for center channel alignment exist on any of the test DVDs or CDs out there?
The reason I ask is that my TV is on wheels, and my VP150 is on top of it. Yesterday, I moved it about 18" to the left while rerouting my cables. I turned on the TV before putting it back in it's original position. The AVR was set up for Logic 7 Movie mode. I was flipping channels, when it ocurred to me that voices were sounding very strange. It could best be described as sounding very laid back. Like I had moved the center backwards instead of sideways. I tried some music. It sounded very "muddy" in the middle. I pushed the TV back where it belongs, and now everything is perfectly normal again.
It makes sense. The 2 mains build a nice, wide, stereo image that seems to come right out of the center channel speaker. If the sound coming out of the center doesn't align properly with that image, a muddy mess is the likely result.
You would think that Avia would have some sort of tones that "sync up" when the center aligns with the stereo image. Something like tuning a guitar.
I played a CD in stereo, noticed were the center of the image seemed to be, and centered the center on it. It sounds great, so I'm sure it's close. Part of me wonders how far off from "just right" it is...
