Placing L/R and Center speakers close together

[classll]

I was thinking of purchasing the ventriliquest speakers and placing the fronts (R/L/C) on the top of my Sony 36" TV. The TV is 40" wide. That would mean I would have approximately 7.5 inches between the center and the left and right speakers.

Would this be optimal or should I consider placing the L/R on stands next to the TV?

[richardbk]

I was thinking of purchasing the ventriliquest speakers and placing the fronts (R/L/C) on the top of my Sony 36" TV. The TV is 40" wide. That would mean I would have approximately 7.5 inches between the center and the left and right speakers.

Would this be optimal or should I consider placing the L/R on stands next to the TV?

Optimally, that's too close. In a perfect world the distance between the left and right speakers should be about the distance between you and TV screen. The Owner's Manual says "the front left and right satellites should roughly be the same distance away from the listener as the center channel, and six to nine feet apart from each other". So if you have the space, go with the stands. The Atlantic Design stands at Walmart are perfect, and very inexpensive.

Or you may find you can do something clever instead. The VT-12 satellites are small enough that you might be able to place one (or both) on something other than a stand: in my apartment there's an AC/heater unit that sticks out from the wall about a foot or so. Only a foot and a half from the TV, I have one speaker sitting on it (and a stand on the other side, with its height set to match the height of the speaker on the heater unit).

Also, per the Owner's Manual: "each satellite is supplied with a keyhole to allow hanging the speaker system on the wall. All that is needed is a good solid mount in the wall (into a wood stud if possible) to securely hold the weight of the speaker… if you plan to use an aftermarket swivel type bracket, the satellites have molded-in threaded inserts to attach the unit to this type of mount. The satellites will work with both the "Omnimount 10" series and the "Sound Gear SATP" series.

Good luck!