Centre speaker over a fire place

[beanbag]

I need to get a centre speaker for my HT set-up now I've moved into my girlfriends place. I've had to compromise a little on speaker positioning however I really do need to get a centre speaker set-up so movies don't sound so "spatial".

I've been thinking about the KEF T301c centre speaker. The reviews are great and although I can't really check the sound as there are no KEF dealers nearby, I'm quite positive it'll fit my B&W set-up nicely. (684's plus 686's.)

The only problem is the fire stove under the TV (see below).



The temperature I'm reckoning will be about 40C which is very hot. Move up to the height of the telly and it cools substantially, but those 15cm make a huge difference.

I've spoken to KEF and unofficially they don't reckon it'll be a problem but "officially" they don't recommend the placement. Any idea if this will be a problem or has anyone got a similar set-up?

[Podie]

Could you put a heat shield under the speaker?

[mrmr96]

Heat kills magnets. Try not to heat it up too frequently!
Maybe a quick release system to remove it when the fire is in use?
Or just mount it higher up?

[RedLeicester]

Soffit mount.

[beanbag]

Interesting you've mentioned heat kills magnets. I've also had warnings regarding the adhesive used going soft and coming loose.

Do you think the centre speaker would work well above the TV? My girlfriend said she didn't have a problem doing this but I think it would look fugly however if we don't have another solution, that would be the easiest.

I'll see if I can find a heat-shield shelf. Any ideas for places to get this?

[Zod]

I worried about this, so got a bigger fireplace (wanted one anyway, as the original disappeared at some point in the 20th Century and had been replaced with a wimpy thing). It's marble and the top is bigger deeper than the speaker. It remains cool even with a big fire lit.

[beanbag]

Just thought of this....there's not much of a surface area on the speaker but if I attach this stuff to the speaker, it could work:



http://www.mishimoto.co.uk/heat-defense-reflective...

[Crackie]

If the CC is as close to the TV as possible ( where it will sound best too ) on a shelf you should be fine. If the TV can cope there then a speaker should have no issues a all; wood or MDF are great thermal insulators so a shelf made from either would be ideal. The heat reflective tape from your link would help too.
If the KEF speaker has ferrite magnets then you will have no issues at all regarding losing magnetism; the Curie temperature for ferrite magnets is usually over 400 degrees C. Neodymium magnets can begin to loose field strength at about 80 degrees C and it might be possible to get close to that if you had high ambient temperature from the fire when also playing music at continuous high volumes. The heat from the fire + maximum heat generated by from the speakers' own voice coils may become an issue. A Christmas or New Year party with hours of loud music + the fire running would be canditates but if you're just going to watch TV and movies it is extremely unlikely to happen.

Edited by Crackie on Tuesday 17th December 15:53