Bookshelf as center speaker for RP160Ms

[Denix8]

Hello!

I know this topic has been discussed many times and that timbre-matched (identical) speakers are the best combo (although some say its more important that its good for voice even if it isnt timbre-matched), but I have a few additional questions. I am trying to figure out the best thing to add to my RP160M-s. So I was searching through various topics on the internet and came to the conclusion, that if speakers can be put at same height, best thing for centre is another identical bookshelf. But, I cannot put them all at same height since I use 55'' TV, not a projector. I would have to put the center speaker above or below the TV. That is not a big problem since sound quality comes first, even at the expense of a little bit of aesthetics. My concern is that since the speakers I have are quite big, should the speaker be placed below TV, the woofer would be far away from centre of TV and it would sound unnatural due to voices coming from far below. Also similarly, if I put it above TV, tweeter would be (possibly?) too high and same effect (maybe not with voices but other sounds). Does anybody here have any experience with this? Is my fear warranted? I really wanted to buy a dedicated center speaker but then I read about the problem of horizontal woofers (MTM), someone posted that RP250C becomes unclear if you go more than 10 degrees of center and that RP450C would also have even more problems due to 4 woofers placed horizontally.

 

Thanks for any advice!

Edited August 6, 2021 by Denix8

[inMotionGraphics]

This is an extremely difficult question to answer, but I'll try my best to add some value to the conversation... firstly, these are very real issues, so while there's no need to fear anything, it certainly warrants some very careful consideration and experimentation.

 

• Yes, the ideal situation is having 3 x exact same speakers at exactly the same height across your front stage, but it's not absolutely critical in my opinion, and most mere mortals are perfectly happy with the traditional horizontal MTM type center speaker under our TV's, unless you're building a dedicated theatre, in which case you'd probably go with an acoustically transparent screen.
• Yes, the 600M's are pretty big speakers, which exacerbates the distance from the center of the screen issue. I would not put it above the TV, but I would suggest you take one of your 600M's and place it below the TV, aimed up at your listening position and see how you like it. If it sounds ok to you for voices and not too distracting, then you can try panning from left to right to see if the lower center bugs you as sound pans across your front stage.
• If the above test doesn't yield satisfactory results, then I think you're better off going with the highest quality horizontal MTM center you can afford in the RP range. Your center still might be lower than the tweeters in your mains, but the overall form factor should be more practical.
• Despite horizontal speakers having a lobing problem as you move off axis, keep in mind that your TV is also going to yield inferior results as you move further off axis... but from my experience you should be perfectly fine up to at least 30 degrees off axis, which should give you decent sound and picture from your main seats.
• Lastly, keep in mind that the tweeters are more directional than the woofers, which is why I'd choose under the TV rather than above the TV in my second point above.

Don't over think it... there's no perfect solution, so run some tests, and then go with whatever brings a smile to your face and suits your budget best... 🙂

[Denix8]

Thank you very much for your suggestions! I'm thinking if maybe for my room I should have bought RP150M instead of 160, since its only 5m x 3.5m (although I'm still not sure if bigger speakers make everything seem more powerful even if you already have a sub). Deciding whether to buy another set of 160s for satellites or are 150s good enough. In any case, when I have TV in place on the wall I will try your suggestion by putting one of the 160s under the TV and check if the sound is coming from too low or not  At one point I came to an idea to put one 160 under TV and one above and if they are both connected as center speaker maybe there will be a phantom center in the middle, but then I'll probably need bi-amp for center. Putting another 160 to the side is a no-no, right?

 

Thanks again!

Edited August 7, 2021 by Denix8

[inMotionGraphics]

I'd rather go with the bigger speakers if you can afford them, but that's just me, and I honestly can't tell you what the difference would be, but I'd prefer to avoid any possible doubt or regret later... 😉

 

I also just realized that you were talking about the 160's all along... for some reason I got it into my head that you were talking about the 600M's which are probably a much bigger speaker than the 160's. Sorry about that and any potential confusion that it might have created.

 

15 hours ago, Denix8 said:

At one point I came to an idea to put one 160 under TV and one above and if they are both connected as center speaker maybe there will be a phantom center in the middle

 

This is actually a valid option, but not the way you envision it with both speakers connected to the same channel. You can try it, but you might not get the result you are looking for. On the other hand, some receivers like the Yamaha's come with an additional height effect center channel that can be used to tie two centers, one below and one above the screen into a phantom center (height wise), but I believe it results in a less accurate or clear center channel, which is not ideal for voices etc. For me, the horizontal MTM center below my TV works well enough that I wouldn't consider any of these other tricks... 🙂

 

Do some tests and let us know the outcome...

 

Good luck

 

Brendon