Upgrading speakers in my RPTV

[MPM]

I've got a Toshiba TZ43V61. I'd like to upgrade the speakers if its worth doing so. My current center channel is a ported box that doesn't work well sitting in the stand under the TV and I don't have the option to mount it above the TV.

Any suggestions?

[Kevin P]

Most RPTVs have 4" or 5" speakers in them, and are driven by an amp built into the TV. Although you could replace the "drivers", you wouldn't get the sound quality you'd get from a separate center speaker. For one thing, the enclosure isn't sealed properly. Also, the drivers are positioned low relative to your ears.

How come you can't place the speaker above the TV? Is the TV in an enclosed cabinet or something? You might try aiming the speaker upwards (toward your ears) when it's under the TV, or place it in front of the TV, aimed toward your ears. How about a speaker on top of the cabinet that the TV is within?

[MPM]

The top of my TV is only 4" ledge. The ledge is big enough to put a Bose center channel on My center channel is about 20# and 15"Wide x 8"Tall x 12"Deep. It just will not sit on top of the TV and I can't put a shelf above the TV on the wall. The center channel is sitting in the enclosed shelf under the TV where you might normally put dvd player or whatever. I do have it aimed up but it still doesn't sound as good as the previous setup with my old 27" tv and the entertainment center I had. I'll be moving next year and will have a proper setup in my own house. Till then I was just considering the speaker swap to enhance it some.

[David Meek]

Hi Marshall, welcome to The Guide. :welcome:

I've got my CC on a stand out in front of my RPTV. The enclosure sits just below the lower edge of the screen and is angled upward towards the listener's ears. To me, this is the best way to position a CC with a large RPTV. It gets the speaker out of any cabinet and away from TV, which gives you much better sound, both in soundstaging and in not muffling the actual sonics. Having the front edge of your CC speaker close to and in the same plane as the screen of the TV causes the screen to interact (reverbrate) with the speaker's output sound somewhat like a drum skin. This is not good. Having the CC inclosed in a cabinet causes interactions with the surfaces of the cabinet itself, again distorting the output sound. Try a test - listen to something you are very familiar with and then move the CC out of the cabinet and in front of the TV and rest it on several bricks (solid and sonically inert) with it pointing towards ear level at the listening position. Replay the same audio and see what you hear. I think you'll be very surprised, it'll save you from having to meddle with your TV's internals, and a good adjustable CC stand isn't that costly.

[MPM]

Thanks David. I'll try what you suggested. The bad part is I'll have to put it back under the tv when I'm thru. I'm somewhat limited with space. I should be moving in a the next few months and will build a proper stand once we get settled into the new house.

[MPM]

I moved the center channel out from under the tv. I know it would be an improvement but was impressed with how much it improved. It has a low WAF sitting where it is right now. I'm going to build a stand for it now with the hope of increasing the WAF some. The little plastic step stool and three ring binder isin't very pretty. Not to mention it probably vibrates alot.