Newbie planning surround sound (1 Viewer)

[therris]

Hello all. I'm a newbie to the forum and to home theater stuff. My wife got me this receiver for my b-day:

Amazon.com: Sony STRDG720 7.1 Audio Video Receiver - Black: Electronics

I'm wanting to get a 7.1 system going with it. Not a full blown ht as I'm still using my 27" crt with a plain ol dvd player. My wife is a clutter hawk, so I'm looking more at in-wall or in-ceiling speakers. First question is how does sound from these speakers compare to typical stand-alones?

Also, we live in a small townhouse. Here's an image of our plan with my proposed speaker placement (red), tv (blue) and primary sitting (green). The shaded area is what I'm wanting to fill with sound. Ceilings are 10'. Carpet in family room, linoleum in kitchen/breakfast. Drywall throughout. Center channel will be below or above tv. Would in-wall or in-ceiling be best or does it matter?



I'm leaning more toward the ceiling since the front and back walls are shared (don't want to bother the neighbors too much). Also leaning more toward HTD due to the price. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[therris]

You guys got nothin for me?

 

[chuckg]

I have questions...

Are you permitted to put holes in the walls and ceilings in a townhome? If there is even the slightest question, you should opt for regular speakers, which usually have better sound anyway.

How about running wires? Can you put them in the wall? If not, then there is no decent way to do in-wall speakers.

Have a look around the nearest home-do-it-yerself store: there are lots of options for hiding wires on the wall. A small amount of clutter is unavoidable!

 

[David Willow]

Ceilings are one of the worst places to put speakers. It can be done, but if given a choice, in-walls are better. If it comes down to in-ceiling vs those cute little cube speakers, go for the in-ceiling.

Second observation, the rear surrounds should be behind and facing the front and a few feet apart. If you cannot do this, then 5.1 is better.

Have you considered bookshelf speakers?

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Many speaker manufacturers make both in-wall and enclosed speakers, often with the same drivers and cross-overs, so you may be able to timbre-match a combination of both. I agree with the comments about in-ceiling speakers (nice for a public address system, not a serious choice for home audio - this is one of those "form defeats function" things, like mounting a TV above a fireplace, that was invented by an interior designer with no regard for the intended purpose of the device.) With your layout it looks like rear surrounds for a 7.1 arrangement aren't an option, so I'd also recommend a 5.1 system. (Like all surround speakers the two rear speakers in a 7.1 surround sound system should be slightly above ear-level and slightly behind you when you are in a seated position in the primary listening spot. Yours would be somewhere up near the ceiling and in the next zip code. )

Regards,

Joe

 

[therris]

Cool, thanks. The wires and holes aren't a problem. We own everything from the brick/demising wall in, so I could rip out the whole inside and completely redesign the place if I wanted to.

We'll be designing the entertainment center for this as well, so we could easily make it long enough that I could have bookshelf speakers for the front channels rather than the in walls. The side surrounds will probably be in walls because there's just no place for bookshelves there. As far as the rear speakers go, I guess my mounting locations are too far away and thus the suggestions for the 5.1, but how close does the rear channel need to be for decent sound? I can get them into the nice angles (according to the Dolby Speaker setup guide anyway), but yes they are back there, and could be in the counter-top backsplash of the kitchen rather than the ceiling.

I'm leaning more toward good sound for the whole room rather than great sound for the primary viewing area, and so the 7.1 is my preference. Is this a foolish goal for me and should I just go for the 5.1?

thanks for all your help.

 

[David Willow]

Good sound for the whole room comes from the front speakers (L/C/R) and the sub. The surrounds are for effects. Adding speakers just to add them will only lead to disappointment with the sound stage. The "imaging" will be off.

For the side surrounds, could you deal with on wall speakers? You have more options with on wall (bi-polar and such).

 

[therris]

I doubt I could do the on wall speakers. I feel like the speakers mounted on the wall will look out of place and random. Since I can't make a true HT, the HT components have to play second fiddle to the look and function of the living room and kitchen.

Thanks for you help and explanations.