Home Theater Living Room Configuration help (pics) (1 Viewer)

[RobbieP]

Finally got my 15 posts so I can post URLs. I need some advice on configuring my living room for best sound quality. Thanx to all who have been so receptive to newbs such as I thusfar.

Living Room:

My house (new) was pre-wired for 5.1 surround sound...the 5 red circles show the wiring blocks in the wall near the beginning of the cathedral style ceiling up top. My tv is on a small entertainment stand where the blue rectangle is, and my couch and love seat are placed as shown also...

I am going to use Sonance Speaker wall mounts to mount the speakers next to their appropriate wiring blocks on the front (tv) wall of course aiming slightly inward and down. But I'm not sure what I should do about the rear wall...the fireplace area does not have a squared top...what you see there for that diagonal line in the corner goes all the way to the ceiling like this:



You can see the blank wall plate that has since been replaced with a wiring block to give you an idea of what I'm talking about...

My biggest question though is should I mount the rear left speaker next to the wiring point right above the couch or should I mount it centered above the fireplace or should I mount it to the right of the fireplace? or is there some other place?

I wish I had a better place to put the love seat because I hate it being in front of the window like that...but...I dont' see any other option...the furniture isn't necessarily to scale.

The front door into the house is the one at the bottom, and the one on the left wall goes to the spare bedrooms...the door at the top goes to the kitchen.

Any ideas?

 

[Rex.G]

I would suggest mounting your surround above the fireplace the same level as you mount you right surround speaker. Since you will have your mains so far apart this will keep the sound field more natural.

 

[RobbieP]

above as in centered above the fireplace?

 

[RobbieP]

I cleaned up the image a bit and added some blue numbers for my "proposed" rear left surround speaker mount location...let me know which one ya think is best or if I should pick another spot...

How important is it that the surround speakers are actually behind my listing point as opposed to the sides? Because the current best seat in the house is of course the leftmost spot on the couch closest to the fireplace.

 

[Dave Poehlman]

The problem with the space above the fireplace is that it's in front of the seating area. I think that would be a little distracting.

Personally, I think you should stick with #3 and adjust the level on the left rear to make up for the shorter distance (compared to the right rear) to the listening area.

 

[RobbieP]

yeah thats what I was figuring...but wasn't sure...

how abotu directional aiming? should I aim it more downward than the other one?

 

[Dustin Harrison]

What about a compromise between position 1 and 2.

That's about where I have mine positioned and they sound great.

Prewired...I'm impressed. How cool is that.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

That's the smallest 36' wide fireplace I've ever seen

 

[Cees Alons]

Funny. I was going to say: half way between 2 and 3. Make it side-surrounds (adjust the place of the other one too: to the side wall). Both could be at the sides of the couch.

I don't see another place for your love seat, unless you turn it 180 degrees and place it to the wall at the left of the TV (seeing from the couch), or 90 degr. and then next to the TV. That looks a bit too far away, I'd say, and people sitting there cannot watch the screen too well...

Cees

 

[Gary Thomas]

I would have wired the room differently. The trouble, IMHO, is that the seating arrangement for optimal tv viewing is lousy for optimal fireplace viewing.

I would have put the tv where the couch is located (next to the fireplace). That way you could watch tv or sit & watch a crackling fire!

You can still use the "pre-wires" for the surrounds. Just run normal wires from the tv to the fronts & center.

 

[RobbieP]

Gary I thought about that too...I agree...Problem is, all the wires that are pre-wired go to the access panel already where the tv is currently...I'd have to move all of them...yuck.