Alternative to house bricks?!

[admin_exported]

Hi,

I should explain - see picture below (I have spared you my reflection!!). Just started setting up my new Q Acoustics speakers and I have a problem with the centre.

I envisaged it going where placed in the pic - however, now the remote control for the TV won't function as the speaker blocks this.

Short of sitting the TV on a few house bricks (hence title!) is there anything out there than can either;

A) lift the TV up a few inches - like a table top stand - the type readily available for PC monitors for example

B) even better - a version of A) that would allow me to slide the speaker under the TV?

Do such things exist, or am i buying some black felt and 2 house bicks from B&Q?

Cheers!

G

 

[Anonymous]

Just buy a cheap shelf, you can get nice floating ones from ikea for 10.00

Put it directly above the TV.

 

[Anonymous]

I have the same problem (ATC C3C) and I'm very interested in these responses also.

 

[Anonymous]

my centre speaker is blocking the tv remote , but its not a problem for me , turning on the bluray player turns on the tv , i use the volume button on my amp remote , and flick between hdmi 1 for bluray or music , and hdmi 2 for tv ...

using my humax remote to change channels , the only time i use the tv remote is to turn off the tv , i just walk a little closer to it , and angle the remote over the speaker , not a problem for me..

 

[scene]

You could consider wall mounting the screen above the stand - that way you could keep your stand and gain the height. Alternatively you could get a cantilever TV stand, where the base goes under your existing rack/stand and the support then lifts your TV to the required height - cost varies depending on make and TV size. Here's an example: click

 

[ESP2009]

Personally, I would give the bricks a try whilst you have a good look around on t'interweb and elsewhere for a more stylish solution. Just make sure it's good and stable! Unless you're really serious about your home cinema setup, wall-mounting is likely to be far more trouble than it's worth.

Also, remember that any speaker sharing the same unit as the rest of your kit will need some decent damping/vibration absorption.

 

[chudleighpaul]

You could change you stand for the type where the TV "floats" on a pillar above. The cables run through the pillar and are nice and tidy.

I must say though that bare floorboards in your room won't help the accoustics.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the input.

I can't and don't really want to wall mount - it doesn't show on the pic very well but the stand is in a recess and would affect viewing angles unless I went for an extending wall mount and the missus will never buy it.

Similarly, I can't get a new stand right now - appreciate a cantilever would solve this, but having just bought a new set up, I can't ditch an Alphason stand that is less than 12 months old.

The bare floorboards are going - carpet on order for after I finish my install!

What does this mean and what do I need?

"Also, remember that any speaker sharing the same unit as the rest of your kit will need some decent damping/vibration absorption."

Any more suggestions / help welcome!

Thanks

 

[scene]

Re: Cantilever

My suggestion was to have the cantilever AND the Alphason, sliding the cantilever under the Alphason...

 

[ESP2009]

Geoggy:

What does this mean and what do I need?

"Also, remember that any speaker sharing the same unit as the rest of your kit will need some decent damping/vibration absorption."

Any more suggestions / help welcome!

Thanks

I am sure other members will advise, but from what I understand, a centre speaker (and especially a subwoofer/bass unit) by its very nature will generate vibration. Vibration can adversely affect performance of such things as Blu-ray and CD-players. Again, there are opinions divided on the extent to which this is true, but if it doesn't cost much to cover the possibility, it's worth looking into.

If nothing else, turn your system on and up; then see if you can feel any vibration coming from the speaker and into the unit. If you can, then it is possible that this can influence the rest of the kit. Even if you can't, it is arguable that the tiniest vibrations will have at least some effect. (Where's the jury?) Certainly, it is possible that resonances can be set up between the speaker and items around it that will alter the sound.

One simple method to reduce this is to completely isolate the speaker from the kit (well, apart from the cabling!

) or at the very least introduce some vibration dampening material. Favourites are blobs of BluTak (or similar) or even halved squash balls placed under the item, cushioning and isolating it from any vibration-transmitting surfaces. I suppose even a decent thickness of rubber or foam matting will do the same? Of course, this won't eradicate airbourne vibrations, but if you do that you won't hear a thing!

Anyone else with some advice?

 

[b33k34]

Housebricks (or wood blocks) plus chunky mdf shelf plus felt. Not a bad option but will be fairly difficult to make it look slick.

You could put the centre underneath but it means you'll be raising the height of the screen a lot. Could then 'hide' the speaker behind acoustic material (google 'acoustic fabric').

Either way I'd seconded the recommendation to isolate the speaker with a rubber mat/fee/squash balls as it the cabinet below will probably be acting as a bit of a drum at the moment. Personally I hold no truck with the idea that a DVD player will be affected by the vibrations from a speaker. However, some DVD players are quite loud and vibrate themselves so you might want to isolate them from the shelf they sit on if that's the case.

Personally i think the best idea might be to mount the speaker on a shelf above the TV on a floating shelf as someone suggested - cheapest and probably least impact visually.

Final suggestion - leave where it is and buy an IR repeater to get the signal to the TV.

 

[Anonymous]

thanks both - will do some reading on best way to insulate it. I think an IR repeater is a great idea - would these do the trick?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marmitek-PowerMid-XL-infrared-extender/dp/B000GIXH42

I could place the transmitter on the fireplace and the transmitter between the speaker and the TV?

 

[Anonymous]

Either a block of wood smooth-finished at the woodyard or bricks would work - in the case of bricks, something like black velvet fabric from a local fabric store could wrap around them all creating a raised dais effect would look fine, and the black itself would serve to mute down the visibility of it.

 

[Anonymous]

I found the perfect thing - problem is - they don't ship to the UK!!

http://www.thesimpletvstandstore.com/p-6263-wood-technology-tvriser-tv-riser-with-component-housing.aspx

 

[Anonymous]

do you have sky or virgin ? or are you using freeview ?

 

[Anonymous]

Sky HD - you can just make it out lurking in my cabinet on the pic above.

 

[ESP2009]

Ooooooh, that means you will need to get some special HD bricks!

 

[Andrew Everard]

Couldn't you make/get someone to make for you a similar thing out of some substantial MDF: two short uprights to lift the TV above the centre speaker, long top piece on which the TV sits, maybe a back panel with a cutout for the speaker cable and to add rigidity?

Kinda like this

Prime and spray the whole thing black, and job's done.

If you can use a drill and a screwdriver you could even decide on the measurements and get Homebase* or someone to cut out all the pieces for you, leaving you just to assemble, sand and finish

*Other humungous DIY retailers are available. Unfortunately local hardware shops are increasingly not.

 

[ESP2009]

Wait until IDC comes on; I'm sure he will have some step-by-step pictures of the latest OOTW product. Or maybe that's the next WHF video to look out for!?

 

[Andrew Everard]

No, just a serving suggestion.

 

[Anonymous]

Geoggy:Sky HD - you can just make it out lurking in my cabinet on the pic above.well why worry about blocking the tv remote ? you use the sky remote anyway for tv , and obviously have other remotes for bluray , dvd , etc ..

 

[jokerpaulonline]

Or another alternative is to turn your remote into a rf remote, like the kit advertised in whf mag. Dont know how good it is but looks well and because it runs on radio frequency's the remote dont have to see what it is operating. from what I can see in the add it looks like u replace the batteries for there batteries and it got a reciever to attach to the tele or whatever u going to use it on