(Newbie) Home Theater System Speaker Placement (1 Viewer)

[JustinGrimball]

I am looking at getting this home theater package.
Magnavox Dolby® Digital/DTS® Home Theater System
It costs $200.

Here is my Room Layout.

The green things are where I think the speakers would work. The view point from the bed to the tv is great. Does the center have to be on the tv? Will this work?

I have a 47" Panasonic Widescreen HDTV, Sony progressive scan DVD player, digital cable box, and a xbox.

 

[EricSm]

That's a tight fit. I have a few suggestions, and take them for what they are-- suggestions.

If you are totally against moving furniture I think your best bet might be to pull the tv out just a tad and put the center on top of it(it will better anchor the sound to the tv), and then put the front left and right directly to the side of the tv. You could put your rears in the exact opposite position of the fronts. With one on your pc desk and the other where your bench is and aim that at your listening spot... but get the heights identical.

It really depends on what you are looking for. If you just want surround sound, you can toss a few speakers in there and get that. But, by arranging things a little bit you could improve upon that experience quite dramatically.

Just some basic guidelines that are pretty general, and flexible to individual tastes and applications, but:

Center on the tv(or directly below it)
left and right speakers to the left and right of the tv
Rear speakers high and to the side of the listening position or behind.

Judging by your tv, I'd guess you might want a little more than that magnavox system. I'm not trying to knock it as I've never heard it, but if your budget allows and you were to expand it by a bit I think you might be able to get a considerably better system that you won't feel like upgrading in a short period of time for not too much more cash. At the very least it's probably worth looking into. There are a number of threads on here where people specify dollar amounts and other users make great suggestions. The only reason I mention that is that sometimes spending a little more upfront will save you added expense of needing to upgrade in the near future.

 

[drexel]

First of all, that is the coolest drawing I have ever seen in my life... with that out of the way, I have no idea why you would not move your tv out of the corner. With such a high quality television, there would be no excuse not to arrange it in the proper viewing position (which would be under your center speaker in front of your bed) All you have to do is move your shelves to the place your television was and keep your speakers in the same place you intended to put them. Your tv should be in the center of your room with your speakers surrounding it, especially if you are creating a surround sound environment. Other than that, your speaker placement shoud be fine.

 

[Mark Hedges]

Yes you definately want the center speaker to be on top of the TV. The sound will seem very strange otherwise. You may also want to alter the position of the sub. It is hard to give a firm suggestion - most people seem to try different locations until they find the best one.

You should check the inputs/outputs of the HT system you are considering. Make sure it has a digital input for your Xbox. I couldn't tell for sure from the specs on that page.

I do kind of agree with Eric - you have a first class TV - why settle for a 4th class sound system? You know your budget but you could get something a lot better without spending thousands of dollars.

Mark