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Riftyboy
Contributor I
April 8, 2019

Beam placement for best 5.1

Hi All,

I’m planning on building a carbon copy of the below false wall to house a fireplace & 65” tv. The beam needs to fit somewhere onto / into this and I therefore have a few options for the placement of my beam which form the centre of my 5.1 set up.

1) Beam attached to wall above fire but below tv – not preferred as I don’t particularly want anything ‘sticking out’ of the wall. Also unsure of how much heat will be rising up from the fire so probably not practical anyway
2) Beam placed into its own small recess – problem then being that the side firing speakers will be slightly obstructed unless the recess is made larger which may then look not quite right
3) TV recess extended downwards slightly to accommodate the beam under the TV; shouldn’t have any issues with obstructing the side firing speakers then.

Just wondered if anyone has anything similar and what options / advice can be offered. I’ll only get one shot at building it so want to get it right first time!

Thanks in advance.
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    1 reply

    melvimbe
    melvimbe
    April 8, 2019
    On option 1, I would ask your fireplace installer and/or manufacturer regarding the heat coming up, but I suspect you're right. You could have a shelf, a mantle of sorts to protect the beam. I would think you could get material that would be maybe an inch or so thick but rather heat resistant that would look nice.

    On option 2. you're correct about dealing with the sides, but you also have the microphones and controls on the top of the unit to consider. They are not 100% necessary, but nice to have. There is also the possibility that you may want to change out the beam for a different soundbar, so it's best not to lock yourself in to only one option.

    Option 3 sound like a good idea, and would allow for changes to the soundbar in the future. It may mess with the aesthetics a bit though.

    A fourth option to consider is using a sonos amp to power in wall speakers on the sides of the TV. That would give you a nice clean look without having to worry about a soundbar at all.
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    Danny
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