Well right now wall mounting IS an option, although it's not ideal. While my wife is really resistant to floor standing speakers (implying I should continue to wall mount all my speakers which will in turn mean wires in the wall), she's resisting the idea of mounting the display on the wall and all the wiring associated with THAT in the wall. - I dunno...wives. Maybe

Part of the problem is the house I'm buying is old (nice old) with plaster throughout. I'm hesitant to start punching holes in the plaster for my electronics so the tv stand is an ideal situation. I like the cleanliness of good hidden wiring and in the end, that may be the long-term solution.

I'm just baffled that it seems no one makes a retro "hutch" that I can simply purchase, pop on top of my entertainment pedestal, with the purpose in mind of putting a center channel beneath it.

Thanks for the response...