HT Questions- System info (1 Viewer)

[Dan:L]

Hey guys,I'm new to this forum and I would like to know a few things about my own HT system (may also apply to other systems). Do the sound waves of the Infinity TSS 750 satellite speakers (or maybe all systems) deflect off the walls?

Thanks.

 

[ScottCHI]

yes

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Any sound wave from any sound source will bounce off any surface that is not specifically deisgned to absorb sound (and even then, some reflection is inevitable). No speaker company could design a speaker that would produce sound that would not reflect of any surface it hits, unless Merlin and fairydust were somehow involved (or maybe if the speaker was active in a vacuum!)

-V

 

[Ted Lee]

if it was in a vacuum, would there be sound?

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

In a vacuum there would be no medium for the sound to travel through, so I would say- given the question-- if the sound would deflect off walls- it wouldnt in a vacuum because it would never propigate in th first place.

So, no here would be no sound, and no reflection as a result

-vince

 

[Dan:L]

Thanks guys (gals too maybe? lol). I was wondering because I knew the subwoofer's sound waves would bounce off. But I guess it's kind of obvious lol.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Hi Dan. Welcome to HTF!

Yes, you can get a LOT of volume from the subwoofer reflecting along walls. To get the lowest possible frequency to reflect, many people put the subwoofer in the corner with the 2 longest, un-broken walls.

Most people dont want what are called "early reflections" from the 5 speakers in a HT system. Somtimes people do wall-treatments or put book cases in the way to help prevent reflections.

But these are ... extreme cases. While any room sounds better with treatment - it's a bit of a black-art and has low spousal-acceptance unless you have a dedicated room.

If this is your case, check out the "HT Construction and Interiors" fourm or the "Home Theater Builder" fourm for posts about room treatments (or even inexpensive projects).

Hope you enjoy your stay.

 

[Dan:L]

Thanks for the information Bob, but I'm not going to transform my home into a theater. A good receiver and good speakers properly placed are good enough for me.

However, I have another question. Since my home theater is in my living room, which is "open" and is not a square or rectangle, how should I set up the system?

Thanks.

I'm enjoying it already

 

[ChrisWiggles]

There is nothing at all inherently different with these, except that they are lower in freq. However, the lower the freq, the easier they will go through objects, and the more difficult to absorb they become. Most of the bass will pass through your walls and set your walls in motion, so the lower you go, the *less* they will reflect off the walls. This of course varies significantly with the construction and materials used in a wall. Bass will pass through standard 2x4 sheetrock walls very easily, and will not reflect much. This actually makes the acoustics *in* the room better, since you are reducing the influence of bass reflections in the room, compared with heavy sealed walls that reflect more of the bass (but which also isolate all that noise from the rest of your house, and vice versa).

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Without a diagram, it is hard to suggest things. But some basic suggestions:

- Use this Viewing Distance Calculator to figure out how far away to sit from your television. Even if you cant sit the exact 'perfect' distance, this gives you a guideline.

- Place the TV so you have symetrical seating to either side so several people can watch.

- Ideally, you would then place the speakers in a perfect circle around your central seat. Since most rooms dont allow this, keep this image in mind when placing speakers. You dont want your head 1-2 feet from the rears while the fronts are 8 feet away.

Your problem if your room is 'open', will be to try and position the speakers so they have symetrical/equal distances to rear and side walls. If you have a wall 2 ft from the left speaker, and 9 ft from the right - this can throw off the sound. Try to get the front 3 speakers symetrical as possible, then play with the rear speaker positions. One guy had his living room that opened in the back to the kitchen. He found that his rear speakers, lying on a bookshelf fireing upwards behind his couch gave him the best sound.

Our Primer/FAQ at the top of the Basics fourm has a lot of good, basic setup information. It's written by our members just for people starting out in home theater. It will give you a good basis to start with.