First attempt at surround sound.... (1 Viewer)

[rickss69]

Recently purchased a receiver and five 6.5 inch in-wall speakers off e-bay. All of the speakers are New Wave brand, four of them 100w, the fifth a 200w two-way for use as a center channel. The room is 20' x 20' with an A-sloped cathedral ceiling varying 9' to 15' in hieght. I had planned on installing the front and rear speakers in the ceiling and the center channel being mounted on the wall just above a 32" lcd tv. I also have a 10" powered sub to hook-up. The intended use of this system is 90% dvd/movies and 10% music. Can anyone give advise or thoughts from this limited amount of info ? Thanks....

 

[Jimi C]

I definatly would'nt install the left and right front speakers in the ceiling. Other than that I don't know what advice to give.

 

[LanceJ]

I second this....strongly. Ideally they should be centered horizontally-speaking with the monitor's image. Otherwise it will sound like a glorified P.A. system.

And I also don't much like surround speakers being in the ceiling either. They really should be to the side and behind you by several feet & usually around 3ft above your listening position (though personally I like them to be at ear level but that's my thing ).

 

[Jeff Gatie]

I third the no in-ceiling fronts. The front L-C-R configuration anchors the sound to the screen and should be as close to the same plane as possible. L-R pans would be horrible with in-ceilings; they would sound like the subject is traveling in a 'U' shape instead of L to R. Surrounds are not as specific about placement because they are not tied to any onscreen action, but putting them in the ceiling is not really optimum placement according to Dolby. The optimum pacement for surrounds is just what Lance suggestion.

 

[frogpond]

Now that we're on the subject... I did place my L-C-R on the same plane as suggested by forums, dolby etc, etc. So why is it that I see so-called pro install places put the L and R way up high in wall (pictures on websites). I also saw it done on the HGTV(I think) Hoe Theater series. All these places claim to be pros but it contradicts everything from Dolby, THX, and even the speaker companies themselves.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

I've never seen a pro install put the L-R fronts anywhere but on either side of the screen. Do you have any links to websites that show them in the ceiling? As far as HGTV is concerned, their demographic is mainly women and most (not all, but most) are concerned with looks, not performance. Plus, a TV show is more visual with regards to HT, i.e. it is tough to demonstrate audio performance. That being said, the HT series on TLC had all the speakers in the correct placement in the couple of episodes I saw.

 

[frogpond]

Ok maybe not ceiling but way up high on either side and then the center below the screen. There was a pro install link from someone on here not too long ago where I noticed this type of install and yes there was plenty of room to put the L and R on plane with the C.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

That's because the center is more difficult to place than the fronts, due to the screen. Most put the fronts on either side of the screen, with the tweeters at ear level, which is the optimum position. Some compromise has to be made for the center (unless you have a projector with an acoustically transparent screen), so it is usually placed above or below the screen. Some choose to angle the center up or down towards the listener to overcome the compromised position.