Center channel phase question.

"Another question just popped in my head. How many 1) actually follow this concept; 2) have ideal room setup/situation (unobstructed and equidistant); and 3) are willing, better yet know how, to adjust the processor to compensate for the setup shortcomings?"

I actually did design home theater cabinetry in this way. Protruding columns move the LR speakers close enough to for the correct arc. Also, this can be done with theater "screen walls" made of black acoustic speaker grille fabric. A fixed screen floats on the center of the wall. Behind the "screen wall" speakers can be set on stands and moved about as desired. If the speakers are set proper then timing, phase and level require little or no adjustment.

Most surround sound processors and receivers automatically detect reversed speaker wiring, which results in an out-of-phase test tone from the miswired speaker. The calibration microphone detects the initial sound wave deflection as negative when it should be positive, and the processor then tells you to correct the wiring.

This "feature" can occasionally be a problem with some multi-way speakers in which the polarity of one driver has been deliberately reversed by the speaker designer. In this case, the processor/receiver may show a polarity error when the wiring and phase are actually correct.

I wouldnt say most Pros and Recievers do that automatically, it is gaining popularity but far from the majority.