Rear ported center channel queston.

[jmoney]

I recently purchased a CSi25 center channel for my home theater set up. Aesthetically speaking the ideal placement for the speaker is on the shelf under my tv in an entertainment center. It is enclosed on 4 sides but open in the back and front (obviously). I've read some comments about not placing rear ported speakers in an enclosed cabinet or shelf. Although most of the comments (that I've seen) don't really explain why. Is the back of the shelf being open enough breathing room? Or should I try to explain to my wife why we need a big hulking speaker on top of the entertainment center?

[Emlyn]

Ideal sound quality would be to have the speaker isolated on a separate mass-loaded stand, but that's impractical for most people. You should be fine with the speaker on the shelf since the speaker has breathing room out the back of the entertainment center that way. Just try to put the front of the speaker level with the front of the entertainment center so dispersion is not blocked by the sides of the entertainment center, and tilt the front of the speaker up slightly so it's pointing more at your seating area than along the floor. Placement on heavy, isolated speaker stands is usually preferred over shelves because it's possible to reduce cabinet/entertainment center resonance that interferes with accurate sound reproduction. Placement of most rear ported speakers in a fully enclosed space, or even close to a rear wall, is not desirable because the low frequency reproduction becomes bloated and distorted. Polk's power port design helps avoid some of the problems associated with putting a ported speaker close to a back wall.