A few questions concering the 340SE

[steveklein]

I have a few concerns about the 340SE. I have very limited space and will be limited to placing the speakers very near a wall... the back of the speaker would be about 8 inches from the wall. I might be able to squeak out 9 inches, but anything past that is just impossible. As I understand, these speakers are rear-ported and thus need room in the back to "breathe". Is this enough space, or would increasing it to a foot or more probably give me better sound?

Another issue I have is with the 340SE center channel. Space in my room again rears its ugly head and may force me to actually rest my display on top of the center channel speaker. To me, this does not sound like it would be good for the speaker. The displays I am looking at are in the 45-50" LCD range and weigh approximately 75-80 pounds. Would the 340SE center channel be able to support this without damaging it, or is this a bad idea? What about if the display was 55-60 pounds? 30-35 pounds? The reason I ask is because my only other option for the center channel is placing it above the TV in an enclosure that is 22.5" wide, 9.5" deep, and 8" tall. The speaker would essentially fit (hang maybe an inch off the edge, but no big deal), however it would have ZERO room to breathe and it would be quite a snug fit. Again, I'm not sure if this would be a plausible option. Even if I cut out the back of my entertainment center (ouch!) it would only give me about 3-4" of "breathing room". My preference would be to rest the TV on top of the speaker if it is safe since it would put my speaker closest to the display and allow it room to breathe, but I was curious as to what you folks thought was the best solution.

[muzz]

I personally wouldn't put anything on top of a speaker, but thats just me.
Isn't there ANY WAY that you could get a TV mount, that attaches to the wall ABOVE the TV to rest the 340 on(maybe look in the Center Channel mount thread)?

If not, I think dave mentioned a minimum of 6", BUT I am NOT entirely sure of that #, someone else would have to chime in on that..

[Gov]

I think he recommended at 3" or more if I am not mistaken especially if you set all speakers to "small" and cross at 80 or 100Hz

[BGHD]

I doubt the cabinets were designed to shoulder much weight. Plus, MDF (basically dense particleboard) probably can't support such stresses as plywood can (not that anyone would make speakers out of plywood).

I'm sure it'd hold for a while as the 340s are well-built/sturdy, but you're taking a chance at ruining potentially thousands of dollars worth of equipment. So, unless Ascend has tested the cabinets to support the weight, I wouldn't do it. Give them a call and let us know, as this question seems to pop-up every so often.