Surround speaker placement in a 5.1 system (1 Viewer)

[Caboosh]

My question is regarding where to place my surrounds in a 5.1 system. My choices boil down to in-ceiling vs. on-wall. The problem is that my odd shaped family room won't really allow me to have the speakers on-the wall or even floor-standing if I want to keep the angles to my main seating position symmetrical. With floor-standing or wall-mounted speakers, I would need to place the speakers directly to the side of my listening position and the left speaker would be several feet further away from my main seating position than the right speaker. My only choice in placing the surrounds angled behind, and symmetrical with, my main seating position is to place them in the ceiling. So, what am I losing by placing them in the ceiling?

 

[schan1269]

You can't set the "floor standing surround speakers" anywhere in the room? I have (when not reviewing SVS) my DCM TF350 sitting twelve feet from the wall. 4 feet from the couch.

 

[Caboosh]

I have slab floors and need to run wire through the walls and ceiling. The wife won't go for speaker wire across the bare floor.

 

[schan1269]

That is why you have a rug...maybe... And... http://www.amazon.com/Sewell-AWG-Adhesive-Speaker-Wire/dp/B005SUM1PO/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1361406680&sr=1-2&keywords=flat+speaker+wire http://www.amazon.com/Sewell-Ghost-Wire-Terminal-Block/dp/B00BHIVVCA/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1361406860&sr=1-1&keywords=Sewell-Ghost-Wire-Terminal-Block

 

[Caboosh]

I have slab floors and need to run wire through the walls and ceiling. The wife won't go for speaker wire across the bare floor.

 

[schan1269]

Then yes you can put them in the ceiling...or mount them on poles from the ceiling.

 

[Caboosh]

I'm really having trouble with the whole design. I will post a room diagram to get some ideas. Is this the best forum for that type of advice?

 

[schan1269]

Yes it is. Most of us adhere to either Dolby Surround standards...or SACD/DVD-A standards(and those of us who have SACD/DVD-A put sound first, aesthetics 2nd). So, we'll tell you where you should put the speakers...then it is up to you to figure out if you think you need to run in-wall wire(which is called CL rated wire for building code) or if you can use the flat wire I linked prior and just paint it to match your wall and ceiling.

 

[mpompey]

Kevin, Welcome to the forum, you are going to find a lot of good advice here. The difference in distances doesn't really matter, as your receiver can take that into account when you setup your speaker configuration. Your receiver can adjust delay times so all the sounds arrive at your primary listening position at the same time.

 

[Caboosh]

I think I'm ready to go on this. I attached a diagram of my family room for reference. The red areas are not usable space for wall mounted speakers. The green diamonds are the front and left bookshelf/floor standing speaker locations and the green arrow is the center speaker. There doesn't seem to be any way to place the fronts symmetrical with the TV and the center speaker location. The total distance between the left and right speaker is about 13'-14'. I don't like the idea of going right next to the T.V. because it is too narrow and only covers half of the room. The left would be two feet wider but cover the seating area pretty closely. Do you have any thoughts or see any issues with this?. The space to the yellow line is pretty close to 20" x 20". The green triangles would be the approximate ceiling surround speaker locations. Not really any wall or floor options on this is my thinking because of windows, entryways and kitchen nook. I have no way to lay speaker wire through my floor and do not have carpet to hide it under. Most likelly system: Yamaha HTR-4065 (may switch to Denon 1713 or Onkyo NR616) Def Tech SM 45s Def Tech CS-8060HD Def Tech in-ceiling rears 6.5 or 8's? Def Tech Pro Sub 1000 or Super Cube Also looking at Martin Logan Motion 4's and Motion 6 Center but their in-ceiling speakers are pricey.

 

[gri1981]

Probably this would help you. http://www.dolby.com/us/en/consumer/setup/connection-guide/home-theater-speaker-guide/index.html this was given to me by the experts in this forum. My set up is : 1) Pioneer 1122k AVR 2) Martin Logan surrounds & center. 3) BIC f 12 Subwoofer 4) 14" wires connecting the receiver to the speakers. All the above components of my HT i have taken after consulting with folks in this forum. So i am pretty sure you are indeed @ the right place Good luck!