Audyssey set up dilemma (1 Viewer)

Hi all,
Like so many people we have a less than perfect room setup to get the best from my home theatre setup given that it is our only lounge. we have a typical Tv in the corner setup so my setup goes across the room corner to corner.

I have a7.2 config however my issue is that for everyday use our main seating is pushed backwards which places my surround speakers a couple of feet in front of the listening position, for basic TV viewing this isnt too bad but if we are watching a movie we pull the seating forwards so that the surround speakers are to the sides of the seating area.

This brings me to my question, my Denon amp has an 8 position audyssey setup and I want to know whether it would be better to go through the audyssey setup with the seating placed in the pulled forward position that we use for movie watching or should I set it up across the whole listening area incorporating both listening positions even though the normal everyday seating placement creates the situation where the surrounds are in front of the listening position. I would add that even in this position the rear surrounds are still behind us.

I hope this explains things adequately to allow people to provide some advice. thanks in advance for any help provided.

Since you should use a tripod for the mic...

As long as the positions you use are always inside the circle, this would end up being the same thing as a multi-row purpose built theatre.

Ie, rear most seats are behind 4/5...

Check out the Audyssey link in my signature. It will guide you through the basics.


Audyssey will help correct for a small area only. Use it for your main seating area. If you try to include seats outside that area you results could be bad for the whole room.


Also, don't be afraid to try the system without Audyssey turned on.

Hi,
Thanks for taking the time to offer advice on this, although it seems to contradict each other so perhaps more explanation is required.

As you would expect, I want the best sound experience to be when watching movies and when doing so the seating is such that speaker placement is as right as we are ever going to get it within the room we have to deal with. Up to now I have run audyssey around this placement.

At all times, other than when watching a movie the seating position alters which places the normaly side placed surround speakers around two to three feet in front of the seating position. Can a proper surround effect ever be experienced with the surround speakers sited so far in front of the listening position?

With my limited knowledge I always assumed not, in which case there would seem to be little point in trying to include this area within the audyssey bubble as I suspect it would reduce the quality of the listening experience when seating is in the primary movie viewing position. That said I assume that in a multi row seating setup there will only be one true sweetspot and that some viewers/listeners will inevitably be seated behind the side surround speakers. Also would the rear surrounds compensate for the side surrounds being in front of the main listening position to create the surround effect?

So I think before going further I need to establish the concensus of opinion on the following.

1) can you create a "proper" surround sound experience with side surround speakers positioned in front of the seating position with a 7.2 speaker setup?

2) If the answer to 1 is yes, then should the audyssey bubble created within the mic positions encompass the second seating position which is probably around three feet behind the primary movie watching position or should it be eliminated altogether and concentrate on just producing settings around the movie watching position which is where we want to ensure the optimum experience.

Thanks again for any advice given.

Is it possible to move the side surrounds back and angle them forward to cover all the seats? If not, why not eliminate the rear surrounds completely and reassign them to the sides (making it a 5.1 setup). While not optimal, it would allow you to get surround for all seats.


I have a similar setup where my sides are in front of the furthest seat. When watching movies we do not use that seat. For sporting events when the seat is occupied we just run the sound in stereo (or use the TV speakers).


Audyssey will make the sound bad for everyone if you extend the 'bubble' too far. Extending it 3 feet may or may not be an issue. Only thing to do is try it. If you really want to see what is happening look up Room EQ Wizard and see if it is something you can do. It will require some effort to learn and some $$$ to get a mic.

FYI - There's a professional version of Audyssey that is designed for multi-row theaters. It is not sold to the public - you would have to have it done by a dealer (and you need the right AVR).


http://www.audyssey.com/technologies/multeq/multeq-pro

Is this "proper spot" vs "normal behind 4/5" a foot or two...or 10 feet?

Also, speakers like Ohm Walsh/Magnepan/Martin-Logan(ESL only) would probably mitigate the entire problem, in both seating arrangements.

Hi all,
Thanks for replying, I think by the sound of things I am better off doing the audyssey setup around the movie watching seating area only as when I sit and think about it most of the non movie content tends to be transmitted in just stereo so isnt as important from a locational point of view so surround output tends to primarily be soundtrack.

Moving the surrounds further back isnt a possibility so I am stuck with the speaker layout I have which to be honest is great for the primary purpose of movie watching, it would have been nice to have achieved a similar soundstage when the seating is in its normal position but it seems trying to achieve that will reduce the sound image quality when watching movies which isnt desirable.

Thanks for all the advice.