Please help with speaker placement (1 Viewer)

[graysqwrl]

The front wall is 15' wide with two doorways and a built in sorta china cabinet (48"x21") on the one side. It's also about 13' 3" deep with a slight curve/bay window area in the back where the couch & chairs sit flush against the wall.


let's see if I can illustrate:


15'


_ door ______________________door__

| TV | |

| | |

 

[graysqwrl]

hmmm... no one?

 

[Jason Charlton]

Have you looked at the Dolby guide to speaker placement?


It's tricky to set up effective surround sound when the seating is flush against the back wall, but I realize there's little you can do about it in this case.


In your case, for the fronts, I would wall mount the left/right speakers at TV height, and not too far out from the TV. You don't want to go too wide with the front soundstage. The center will be a bit of a challenge with the fireplace there... below the TV is preferred, but if impossible, you can go over the TV and angled downward.


For the surrounds, they should be placed to the sides of the listening position, and slightly above the listener. Fortunately, you have "wall" on both sides of the room at the seating end. I would place the speakers on each side of the room at about the front of the sofa pointed into the room (perpendicular to the wall). You have high ceilings, so I wouldn't go too high, though again, you can angle them down a bit into the room if necessary.


Finally, a word of caution about placing the TV OVER the fireplace. Lots of folks think it's a good idea (and often times the spouse insists on higher placement for aesthetic reasons) but MANY people have discovered that neck pain and backaches result from constantly looking UP to the TV. Unless you watch most of your TV standing up, why would you place the TV at a height that's most comfortable when standing? Do yourself a favor and spend a half hour at your local Best Buy looking up at TVs on the "upper rack". See how you feel after 15 minutes or more.


Good luck!

 

[gene c]

I don't respond to these type's of threads very often because I really don't know what to say. Fireplaces are nice but they screw up the HT setup!


Mounting a display above a fireplace isn't the best idea because it puts the display too high on the wall. Aside from having to look up, it also means the sound will be higher than it should be since the speakers be as close to the display in height as possible. But sometimes things have to be placed in less then ideal places.


The center channel looks to be the biggest problem. If you mount it under the display then that would cause the display to be mounted even higher. Over the display and the vocals will be coming from near the ceiling. It's a tough choice.


The fronts should be mounted as close to the center of the display as possible. I'd experiment a little by asking someone to hold at least one of them in different positions to see if there's clearly an optimum spot. How close to the display or how close to the wall/china cabinet needs to be determined. To close to a wall/cabinet can sometimes affect the sound.


The rears shouldn't be as much of a problem.


BTW, I used a few "should be's" in my reply. Displays should be mounted just above eye-level, tweeters should be at ear level, the center and fronts should be near the same height, etc. These are accepted theories but not written in stone. In my everyday room my display is just a bit higher than it should be, the center speaker just a bit lower than it could be and the fronts a lot lower than they should be. Correcting these things would mean major surgery to a custom built (by me .

 

[graysqwrl]

Thanks for the replies... I figured I'd update.


Everything is setup... most wires under the house... cabinet is be used as an entertainment center.


I've placed the sub in the back right corner because the chairs are angled towards the TV so there is plenty of room behind them.


Stupid newbie question, but should the opening on the sub point towards the walls or at the listener? I'm assuming at the listener, but I figured I should ask.


Back speakers aren't a problem to place, but my wife objected when I wanted to put the front speakers at ear heigh when seated because they look "obtrusive"


What are the problems associated with putting them up near the corners of the door frames of the TV and angled down towards the listeners?


Will the auto calibration on the receiver be able to appropriately compensate for the speakers not being at appropriate height?


I'd like to minimize the "try it and see" method because the wife's patience is wearing thin and I'm not sure if putting a few screw holes in the walls as a test will put her over the top.


Thanks with your efforts and patience with me!

 

[Jason Charlton]

Mounting the surrounds higher up and angling them down shouldn't be a problem.


As Gene indicated - it's rare that any of us are able to set up a system to rigidly adhere to guidelines (they are guidelines, after all). Generally, the further you get from the display, the less critical things become. And as you mentioned, the auto-calibration should be able to compensate for the speaker placement.


Oh, and the subwoofer should probably point "forward" (unless it's downward firing). Is it a sealed sub or is it ported? If rear ported, leave some room between the port and the wall.

 

[CB750]

Troy,


You have to understand that many spouses have neither the ability, inclination, or appreciation necessy to follow recommended HT set up guidelines. They look upon those large screens, electronic equipment, speakers, and all those wires as an intrusion into their domestic space, and personal expression of home decorating. All we can do is reinforce the principles we know to be true as far as set up problems like mounting TVs over fireplaces, and proper speaker placement and leave it you you to fight the battle with your lady.

 

[JoeCool6972]

Have you looked at the Dolby guide to speaker placement?

Wow! That is very helpful. And I realize if I want to get my setup right, the only way is to MOVE INTO A NEW HOME! Right now I have the TV in a corner on a stand turned at an angle, One tower directly beside it, on in the far corner. Center channel on a shelf over the firewood closet facing straight ahead. Rear and presence are OK, have them on outer walls and on each side of the couch. I swear I hate the fireplace! Why in the hell must every builder put the damn thing in the center of the wall?

 

[cheapsurround]

Originally Posted by Jason Charlton

Troy,


You have to understand that many spouses have neither the ability, inclination, or appreciation necessy to follow recommended HT set up guidelines. They look upon those large screens, electronic equipment, speakers, and all those wires as an intrusion into their domestic space, and personal expression of home decorating. All we can do is reinforce the principles we know to be true as far as set up problems like mounting TVs over fireplaces, and proper speaker placement and leave it you you to fight the battle with your lady.

I agree with this so completely. I can only imagine how many other men out there have this problem