7.1 placement question (1 Viewer)

[RussellC]

I am getting ready to get 2 more Energy Take 5.2 speakers to make for a 7.1 setup. Would be a problem if the rear speakers can not be right in the center and equidistant to the seating area due to a door and a window? I have 2 possible locations for the left surround back. Which would be the best one? I have attached a picture with the speakers in what I think will be the best locations. Anyone else have any ideas? Should I toe in the back channels a little bit? Are they too far apart? Thanks for any help.

 

[Rick_FL]

your setup is about as close to ideal as your gonna get.

 

[Rick_FL]

my only other suggestion would be to experiment with yor sub location, try moving it more towards the center of the wall on the bottom of the picture if there is room, the wall where the RR speaker is

 

[RussellC]

You think so? I thought corner placement was ideal. I tried both corners and the current one is better but I did not try that wall. I do, however, have somewhat of a room induced low frequency NULL around the listening position because of the large opening on one side of my room. I tried to move the sub around, but I think that corner was about as good as I'm going to get. I do notice less tactile feel from the sub in my listening position.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[Rick_FL]

midwall is a compromise spot for low frequency. it is less bass than a corner, but generally gives a more even bass response.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Russel,

THX recommends putting the 2 back surround speakers right next to each other, as close to directly behind the listening position as possible. They are both producing a rear center channel and the same sound is coming out of both of them. DDEX and DTSES are 6.1, not 7.1, so there's no real reason to spread out the rear surrounds.

I'd put them in the position you've indicated as "other possible location".
You could put them above that window next to the door and angle them downwards a bit.

I'm using Energy EXL-16 mains, EXL15 surrounds, and XL150 back surrounds (modest bookshelf size speakers one size up from yours) in such a configuration with a Klipsch KSW-12 sub and have been getting very nice results.

 

[Holger]

russel,

if you are not in the lucky position to own a logic7 device like a lexicon decoder or at least the harman kardon avr8000, and you are also not having a thx ultra2 amp/pre amp/receiver, then your two backsurrounds are too far apart. since the signal you will hear is only 6.1, therefore the two backsurrounds are mono and you should place them narrower, with maximum 1 meter apart. the placement shown on your graphic is a perfect setup for a *real* 7.1 system, like i mentioned above.
another possibility is to configure your system in such a way, that both pair of your surrounds get the same signal. in this case the shown graphic would also work properly.


regards, holger

 

[Todd_Petersen]

What do you mean by a real 7.1 setup. According to Ultra2 specs they should be right next to each other regardless. I have a true 7.1 ultra 2 receiver and they should be right next to each other not that far apart for a REAL 7.1. Correct me if im wrong ?

 

[RussellC]

So my best bet would be to put them above the door and the window about 3 feet apart? Is it ok to put them that high? I will be using a pioneer elite vsx-45tx.

 

[JonStern]

I have my rear surrounds set up like your "other possible location" scenario. I used my receiver's setup screen to specify different distances and output levels for them. I used an SPL meter to make sure the levels were correct as the speakers are only a few feet from the listening position. It sounds great!

 

[Holger]

What do you mean by a real 7.1 setup. According to Ultra2 specs they should be right next to each other regardless. I have a true 7.1 ultra 2 receiver and they should be right next to each other not that far apart for a REAL 7.1. Correct me if im wrong ?


@ todd,

even if you own a thx ultra2 receiver the two backsurrounds are running nonetheless in mono. one advantage with a thx ultra2 processor vs. a non ultra2 processor is, that between the two backsurrounds will a dynamic decorrelation kicks in if necessary. of course it is still only a mono signal, but the decorrelation will spread the signal wider throughout the room. because of this technical detail you will be allowed to place the two backsurrounds more apart. this can be configured in the thx ultra2 decoders set-up menu with

1. *APART* which is meant for distances greater then
1,20 meters
2. *NARROW* which is meant for distances under 1,20 meters

in a real 7.1 set-up the two backsurround speakers will not run mono but stereo. this is presently only offered by the lexicon decoders, the harman kardon avr8000 receiver and the decoders made by meridian. and because the two rear surrounds running stereo, they should of course being spread apart, otherwise will the stereo image collapse and this is surely not what we want.


@ russel,

if you put the two backsurrounds about one meter apart, that should be fine. don't worry about the heigt.



regards, holger

 

[RussellC]

Thank you everyone, I appreciate the inputs. Looks like i am going to put them 1 meter apart right about the door and window directly behind the listening position and angle down a bit. Thanks for the input!!

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Russell,

Sounds good. The MCACC on the Pioneer will automatically set speaker distance and level for you. After it does it's thing, the onscreen display will show you the speaker sizes, distances, levels, and graphic equalization the receiver has automatically set up. On mine the speaker distances automaticaly set were within half a foot of actual placement for all speakers except the sub. The 45s all seem to "think" the sub is farther away than it actually is, something to do with low frequency sound wave characteristics.

One hint--if the receiver's MCACC sets your speakers to large, go into the "normal" menu under surround setup and manually set them to small.