Surrounds on stands...How tall of stands? (1 Viewer)

[Jeffrey Noel]

I have JBL S26s all around and plan on making or buying stands for them. The fronts will be on stands 20" tall which put the tweeters right about ear level when sitting down, but I don't know what the best height would be for the surround stands.

Any suggestions?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Neil Joseph]

If you are going with matched speakers, and if your room can accomodate it, I see no reason to set the surrounds up differently than the front speakers. Set at ear level also. The option would be to mount higher up and aim slightly down. Note that some people have experimented with aiming up to the ceiling to create a dispersed soundfield. Much of this is subjective.

 

[Phil Iturralde]

Quote:

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Because I have the room, my surround speakers are located 3-feet behind my REF Calibration 'sweet-spot' location (REF Loc. 9' from Center) and 6' high (floor to bottom of the speaker cabinet) mounted on the side wall. (20ft. x 30ft. w/10ft. high vaulted ceiling HT/family room)
Works great for my DVD Movies & 5.1 DD/DTS DVD Music, which my usual Friday NITE DVD family & friends enjoy!!

Phil

 

[Citizen87645]

I just bought a pair of S26s and have them elevated to 5.5 feet from top of cabinet to floor. Ultimately I may mount them on the wall but currently they are on 31" speaker stands and the stands are placed on 18" stools. Looks kind of ad hoc of course, but they'll do for now. I have them placed as recommended by Dolby, slightly behind the plane of the listening position and facing into the room.

I have been using a pair of Polk f/x300i dipole/bipoles for surrounds and bought the JBLs to do a comparison of the two types. Look for a future post on the subject (as if the topic hasn't been covered enough!)

 

[Jeffrey Noel]

Thanks for the replies!

I will not be able to put these on the wall or attached to the ceiling, so I have to use stands. These speakers are not very light and would require one heck of a stand, but the higher the stand the easier it will be to knock the speakers over.

So would you suggest I get speaker stands that place the tweeters a little over the listeners ears?

 

[Citizen87645]

I would recommend placing them two to three feet above ear level, which would make the total height around 5 feet. The guideline is between 5 and 7 feet. I've had the speakers at ear level, but I found this did not create the necessary diffusion for ambient sounds and made directional ones too obvious. Facing them into the room and slightly behind the listening position also helps.

I am leary of drilling into my speakers to mount them on my walls, mainly because of warranty issues. So my solution will be to purchase 14.5" tall modular storage cubes from Target and place my 31" stands on them. As I mentioned before I have them on stools, but that looks a little strange and is not as stable as I'd like.

Radio Shack also sells a pair of metal speaker stands that extend to 4 feet or so. I'm not sure if the platform would accomodate the 10" width of the S26 though.

 

[Doug_B]

Due to the logistics of higher stands, you may want to experiment with similar height stands to the fronts but rotate the speakers away from the listener (can play with angle). You may be able to get the same effect as higher speaker stands with speakers aimed staright across toward listener.

Doug

 

[jeff morris]

Hi-
I am using adjustable stands by Furnitureworks that go from 31" to 45" and they have no problem supporting my Polk Rt25i's. The store I bought them from had RT35's on them with no problems too. Thet have a nice, solid adjustable clamping base and came with lots of little sticky pieces so your speakers mount solid.
My rears are 6' behind my sitting spot and are on max extension, so the tweeters are about 53" up and toed in alittle. Gives a nice, dispersed sound. Tried them as per the Dolby labs setup, but just didn't like it as much as I've got it set up now.
Cheers
PS - Go Jayhawks!!

 

[Phil Iturralde]

... not be able to put these on the wall or attached to the ceiling, so I have to use stands.

My Left S26 Surround is on a 6' high oak bookshelf, and I mounted the Right Surround on the wall using a Heavy Duty Ring Hanger and Professional Picture Hangers rated for 50 lb. (basically treated the Right S26 like a large wall hanging item) from Home Depot.
So, another suggestion would be to use a 5' or 6' bookshelf placed on either side of the couch / seating area.
Something else to look into in craft stores, 36" or higher pedestals for large flower arrangements.
Phil

 

[John Garcia]

I have all my speakers on 30" stands, and including the height of the speaker, that puts the tweeters just a little above ear level when seated. Ear level when seated is what you should be shooting for, IMO. My rears are in the orientation shown, just on stands, about 3ft behind me for a nice diffused effect for movies, but still gives me some directonality for music.

 

[Jeffrey Noel]

Wow, thanks again Guys!
I guess I'll try stacking them on "things" just to experiment. Then when I find the right height I'll buy the stands closest to that height. Or I guess I could make my own, but they won't be near as pretty! :frowning:
Thanks again!