Help a newbie with surround speaker placement (1 Viewer)

[Trent_N]

This is my first post so if I am breaking ettiquette or am on the wrong forum, I apologize.

I am a renter and am in an unfortunate situation of having no room worth a dang for a halfway decent surround experience. My setup is like this (bare with me):
I have a large room that comprises the living area, and logistics (and my wife) necessitate that the home theater is set up on basically the left half of the room. The television is against the back wall and the primary seating is against the front wall, so the left speakers are against the left wall and the right speakers are just kind of out in the middle.

My problem is that I'm unsure exactly how to place my surround speakers to get the best surround experience possible. From what I've read, they need to be placed about 6 feet high (on either side of the primary seating), with the speakers facing the middle. Am I correct?

Thanks for any help!

 

[joe rizzuto]

about 2 to 3 feet from your seated ear level is good.
there are other ways also that sound ok if not the best depending on the room.
i suggest you try the dolby website for some some set-up ideas also. some of the speaker/hardware websites also have set-up solutions.
not having a dedicated room for the h/t makes it a necessity to be inventive and experiment lots.
and don't forget to actually listen to your set-up as your ears will ultimately be the best deciding factor.
that being said, do you have a set up dvd and spl meter? these are your basic tools for 'best' sounding room.
hth and good luck!

 

[Neil Joseph]

As yopur seating is on the back wall, you have a couple of viable options both of which will work with slight changes in the way they will sound. Option 1 is to have the speakers face each other and option 2 is to have them face towrd the front of the room but I would say this is preeferrable only if the speakers were well behind the listening position. For your room I would take option 1. Can the speakers be mounted off the back wall or are they large enough for stands?

 

[Bob McElfresh]

so the left speakers are against the left wall and the right speakers are just kind of out in the middle.

My room is similar. When you get the SPL meter, you will find that the left front speaker is likely louder than the right. The left speaker has that wall to reflect from giving a larger apparent volume. You will need to use the SPL meter and your "balance" knob. Once you do, you will be fine.

Rear Speaker Placement: Some movies sound better with the wall mounted option, others sound better mounted at ear height. So there is NO true answer.

Since you are a renter, it sounds like wall-mounting is out because of the need to drill holes for mounting. Try to find some inexpensive stands and position the tweeters on the rears to match the height of the tweeters on the fronts. Put them to the side of your couch and play with:

- Speakers facing in towards the listeners
- Speakers facing BACK to reflect sound off the back wall

Be careful to use the SPL meter to adjust the rear volume if you angle the speakers. A small angle change can have a large volume change, and your ears will perceive the louder position as 'better' even if it's not really superior.

Good Luck.