It’s fine, the real issue is dealing with the bass and midrange resonances that the center will have on a shelf. If you can clean that up via manual DSP or decent speaker correction you’ll be fine. I've done this before. Like all "bookshelf" speakers, center channels will avoid several problems on stands, but few of us have the floor space, myself included. This is why I’m using a DSP based amplifier for my new center channel project, so I can carefully tune the inevitable challenges. |
The key to center speaker placement is to have the tweeters in line with the tweeters of your front L-R speakers. If you look at my system pic in my profile you can see I have the CC resting on the top of my rack. To get it inline with the L-R speakers I used a pair of Isoacoustic stands which includes 4 inch risers if you want to adjust their height. It also allows you to tilt the speakers if you want to aim it.
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+1 @erik_squires You might try these under the center speaker that may reduce resonances and improve clarity, and they’re even adjustable for weight and sound. They’re only $23 for four, and if they don’t produce a meaningful improvement you can just return them. A lot of people here swear by using springs under audio equipment so probably at least worth a try for curiosity sake if nothing else. |
So to add to this, I use the isoacoustics stands, and have had the opportunity to do some measurements on my center channel speaker, so I’m not just talking randomly here. While some issues about resonance are due to mechanical coupling, some are due to the boundary effect of any speaker on a shelf with kind of random dimensions. Both are worth taking care of. Also, depending on your needs, the IsoAcoustics pucks may be better. |
