Opinions on my idea.... (1 Viewer)

[JayKellen]

I had this idea lately, and it started small, but has now grown into something I am definitely going to do soon, but I wanted to put stadium seating in my home theater room. My basement is more rectangular rather than square, and i have not been happy with my room layout, but felt it would do for now...i had my couch and loveseat in an L-shape, with my entertainment system kiddie cornered, but my rear surround speakers were behind my loveseat, which meant people on the couch did not get the full surround experience....anyway, to make a long story short, i want to move my entertainment center more centered, and basically put the loveseat directly behind the couch, but on an 8 foot wide and two or three foot high box...i would put steps on it and some rope lighting around the box to add that "at the theater" environment....i already mounted my rear speakers to the wall (they used to be on speaker stands that were maybe 3.5 feet off the ground) and now they are elevated about 7 feet......I guess my questions are 1. am i wasting my time and is it silly to do and 2. will people sitting on the couch that is lower to the ground get good rear surround sound if the speakers are up higher on the wall??.....sorry to take up so much of your time reading this, but i appreciate any opinions on this....I love movies and i love my home theater, and most of my friends think it would be cool to do, but deep down probably think im insane, but hey, who cares right??...Has anyone else added stadium seating to their room, if so, please give me some tips....thanks again

 

[SethH]

I don't have stadium seating, but I would like to make one possible suggestion. I am assuming you have a 5.1 system (if you have 7.1 or 6.1 then this suggestion will do you no good). Instead of placing the rear speakers on the wall behind the seats, place them on the walls to the left and right of the seats. This will reduce the volume difference between the seats. If that is not an option, I would selfishly optimize the sound for the location in which YOU plan to sit most often.

PS I think it's a great idea to install the stadium seating. Good luck with your project!

 

[Ed Moxley]

Sounds like a good idea.
I wouldn't put them 2-3 ft. higher tho. I'd put them just high enough so heads in the front aren't in the way.(maybe 12-16 inches)

 

[Ted Lee]

sounds like a good idea. believe me, you're not the first person to think of stadium seating in their house.

you'll have to strike a balance when calibrating your rear speakers and decide where you want the focus point to be - for the people high-up or lower to the ground. tbh, it probably won't matter that much anyway. find the mid-point if necessary, and go from there.

heck, they'll be so impressed with your setup they probably won't even care (or notice)...

also, check out dolby.com for advice on speaker positioning.

ted

ps: try using paragraphs in your post - it'll make it easier to read.

 

[JayKellen]

Thanks for all your help. Sorry about my rushed posting and lack of paragraphs. I will try from now on to help everyone out and seperate my sentences.

I had one more quick question though, relating to sound levels of my speakers. I have my center set at 9, the fronts at 8 and my rears at 10. Is this good enough or should i change them?

 

[Ted Lee]

jay - thx for helping us to help you!

regarding your speaker levels, you want the same amount of volume coming from each of the speakers. this is done by running the test tones from your receiver, then adjusting each of the channels until they're all consistent. a spl meter from radio shack is invaluable for this.

also, be sure to read our beginner's faq - lots of good articles in there about this type of stuff.

 

[SteveLeach]

If your riser is any higher than 9 or 10 inches, you'll need to have a step. I'd say go for it, you'll be glad you did.