Lets talk about how bad or not so bad this center channel idea might be

[Rogue Leader]

Yesterday myself and my fiancee purchased a samsung curved 65" 4k TV (UN65HU7250). It is wall mounted over the fireplace, on a nice little tilt mount, looks spectacular there. Our Blu ray and cable box are hidden in a shelf setup built into the side of the fireplace out of view (there is additional shelving for a surround sound amp that I have not yet purchased). The room has 4 Polk speakers installed in the ceiling in the front and rear positions for the TV, perfect for 5.1 surround sound, however there is no center channel speaker as well (we bought house built) and adding a center speaker in the ceiling would cause a LOT of damage/time/money that we just don't want to go through.

So of course the best solution would be to either drill a wall mount into the fireplace to hold it above the TV, or to buy one of those center stage shelves for the top of the TV. I was hoping for a shelf or mount that would clamp to the top edge of the wall mount but that does not seem to exist. My problem is we love the clean look and don't want to add a speaker wart to the top of the TV and/or drill more holes in the stone wall where the TV is. I was thinking of purchasing a small center channel speaker and putting it behind the TV (like wedged into the tilt of the wall mount) firing upward towards the ceiling in the hopes that the banking of the sound (and bringing the center channel level up in the amplifier accordingly) would "do the job". This way it remains hidden but we still have it.

I have a second 7.1 home theater setup in my basement, this is the family room so thats why we are so picky about the looks. I'm not even sure how often this will be used but want it there so if we do want to watch a movie there we can get a decent effect. Thoughts? Ideas?

 

[americanaudiophile]

I would start by getting the system set up in 4.1 and see how you like it. The center channel is important since it produces all the dialogue which give you greater clarity especially when things get busy in the sound. If you have a center channel speaker wire already run then you can try your center from the basement and see if hiding it and firing it up is better than no center at all. If you get a receiver with a mic for set up you may have to set the center channel distance to compensate for the reflected path of sound.
If the wall is sheet rock you might consider using an in wall speaker above or below the TV.

 

[Rogue Leader]

I would start by getting the system set up in 4.1 and see how you like it. The center channel is important since it produces all the dialogue which give you greater clarity especially when things get busy in the sound. If you have a center channel speaker wire already run then you can try your center from the basement and see if hiding it and firing it up is better than no center at all. If you get a receiver with a mic for set up you may have to set the center channel distance to compensate for the reflected path of sound.
If the wall is sheet rock you might consider using an in wall speaker above or below the TV.

Yeah thats what I'm worried about, I was hoping to see if someone else had tried something like this. I'm thinking a unit with a setup mic may be able to compensate for it during setup.

Unfortunately the basement center channel is huge so putting it there likely won't be possible or helpful.

The wall is a stone fireplace so in wall isn't possible, and while adding another ceiling speaker would be great, unfortunately the stone fireplace make wiring a nightmare unless we do a lot of damage. This should have been done when the house was built (like the rest of the speakers) but like I said we bought it already done.