rear speaker height..is this good enough? (1 Viewer)

[TommyL]

Hi all..well, I know dolby would say no my old setup was 3 feet above, facing each other...but that won't work in the new house...I am thinking about plaster/concrete pillars about 38-45" high...I use paradigm studio 20's in the back...normal couch height seating...but it won't be 3 feet above the ear...it is a fairly large room(21x25) ...should I consider doing this? I can then hide the wires down the backside and out...ceiling/ wall mounts won't work...I don't want wires running down walls thanks! tom...any other thoughts/links are welcome...now to find some tall AFFORDABLE pillars

 

[Kevin C Brown]

I (and others) have found that with the more discrete nature of DD/DTS/DD EX/DTS-ES as compared to DPL (and DPL II), a nice compromise between ambience *and* imaging for the surrounds is about 12" above ear level. In the old (DPL) says, soundtrack audio mastering tended to use the surrounds more for ambient effects. Now with 5.1 (and 6.1) sources, there is a lot more discrete info mixed into the surrounds. Ever see an off-axis freq reponse plot for any speaker? High frequencies dive bomb as you go further off-axis, or similarly, as you increase the surrounds height. I have tried both, and much prefer the surrounds (and rears in a 7.1 setup) lowered to about 12" above ear level. People might disagree, but that's what I've found in my system.