Tim_R_H

Need opinions on room size/speaker placement...etc.

I am getting ready to move into a home and I am going to have a dedicated Home Theater room built in the basement. I have plenty of questions and any help you can offer is greatly appreciated.

Current equipment consist of an Hitachi Elite 65” HDTV (will eventually be replaced with a front projection unit), Pioneer Elite 45TX 7.1 Channel receiver, Front speakers are PSB Image 5T, Center speaker is PSB Image C9. Sub woofer is Kenwood can't remember the model and it will eventually be replaced. I need to pick up some new surrounds now and I was thinking of getting PSB Image S50’s for the side surrounds and B15 for the back surrounds. Is this a good speaker setup for new surrounds or would you recommend a different combination?

Room size: The width will be Approx 13’. I was going to make the depth of the room 20’ but I can decrease this if needed, height is 9’. Is a 13’ by 20’ room good or should my depth be smaller? I was thinking of putting the 2 rows of seating at about 10’ and 13’ from the screen which will be framed into the wall.

Speaker placement: I was thinking of framing my front and center speakers into the wall. I will not be enclosing the speakers. Will the backs of the speakers not being in the room effect the sound? On the side surrounds I am planning on placing them between the two rows of seating. Is it ok to ceiling mount these or should I wall mount them or put them on a stand? For the Rear surrounds if my seating is at 10 and 13 ft from the front and my depth is 20’ how far back should they be? Should these be mounted or put on stands?

David Noll

Re: Need opinions on room size/speaker placement...etc.

Tim,

I see no problem with your room size. You will want to leave more room between your rows though. I would go with about 5' between, that will give you space to recline and still be able to walk by. Check out my theater in the link below. My room is 13'3"x32 but I have bar space and a third row.

I would wall mount the side surrounds and put the rears on the back wall at 20'.

Good luck,

David

The Noll Family Home Theater

Tim_R_H

Re: Need opinions on room size/speaker placement...etc.

David...Thank you for responding to my questions. That is a very nice setup you have there. I agree the second row will need to be 5' back from the front as I will have recliners there as you mentioned.

I have always had smaller surrounds that I have ceiling mounted in the past. How do most people wall mount thier speakers? Do they use mounting brackets or small wall shelves to sit them on?

On my front speakers what I typed wasn't quite right. The front wall will have unfinished area behind it. I am going to leave a framed opening for my TV to sit in flush with the wall. I was wanting to do something similar with the speakers. I was thinking of having a framed opening probably twice the width of my speakers so I can slant them toward the sweet spot, with a speaker cover type material that covered the opening giving the appearance of an in-wall speaker. The speakers would actually be sitting in the unfinished area with nothing enclosing them. From a sound perspective would this be ok or am I going to have degraded sound this way?