340 center speaker wall clearance question

[kinggimp82]

How much clearance should I leave between the wall and my 340 center speaker? Right now it has about 2 inches of clearance between the speaker and the wall.

[Quinn]

If you're crossing over to your sub at 80Hz that should be fine. Ports come into play more with deeper bass.

[davef]

Quinn is correct --

If crossing over at 80Hz, 2-3 inches of clearance behind the speaker is all that is needed. If running the speakers full range, a minimum of 6" is recommended.

[RCDAVE]

Yeah, mine was about 3 inches from the wall of my entertainment center with it crossed at 80hz, and it sounded alright. However, I found that it really did need to be placed at the edge of the entertainment center, and not pushed back. I had it pushed back to the wall, with about 8-9 inches from the edge of the EC at first, and it sounded very boxy/honky if you know what I mean. Once I moved it forward to the edge of the EC, it sounded nice and clear. I think that 8-9 inches of surface that the sound had to travel over before it entered the room, really broke up the sound.

[curtis]

yeah...that ledge of the shelf creates a megaphone effect...like when you cup your hand around your mouth when shouting. Not good for any speaker.

[davef]

yeah...that ledge of the shelf creates a megaphone effect...like when you cup your hand around your mouth when shouting. Not good for any speaker.

100% correct -- and this is far more critical to performance than how close a speaker is to the wall behind it.