Speaker Placement advice in new HT Design please (1 Viewer)

[Marty D.]

I was hoping to include a diagram but I am having problems with my webpage hosting server. So I will try to verbally explain my set up. I am remodeling a smaller 17D by 11W room. At that time I will be wiring for DD 7.1 In doing so I need recommendation on plug locations etc. My one major constraint is the wall to the left of the seating area. It has a window. After I am done I will have space between the side walls and sitting area (sectional) of only 1.5 to 2 feet and from the rear 2 feet. This is neccessary so the l shaped sectional is back far enough from the front left main.

A few questions. How and where should I mount the l&R surrounds. I am willing to sacrifice looks for sound since this room is dedicated. However, the window has to stay. I was thinking either a cieling mount on the left in front of the window and a wall mount on the opposite side. However, the left surround will be over the listener or slightly behind but out as far. Then having the 2 rear surrounds ready in the back for later use. Or could I use stands for all my rear surrounds.

Since I am ripping apart this room and rebuilding on my own I would like to do it right. My gear:

Pinnacle classic gold towers (mains)

Pinnacle classic gold center (center)

Pinnacle classic gold mini-monitors (surrounds)

Dimmension of surrounds 7W,13H,8D

SUB Sony WMA40

Thanks

 

[Jonathan_M]

Marty,

While this doesn't directly address your speaker positioning question, it might help.

One thing you might think about if it's even an option for you is to go with something other than the L-shaped sectional sofa for seating. The dimensions of those things can be a bear to configure your system around. Would a separate sofa/loveseat combination make speaker positioning easier on you? The only time I've seen a sectional sofa work well was in a larger HT setting with the sectional positioned like a "V" in front of the screen.

I currently have an L-shaped sectional in my HT that's going to be replaced with separate couches.

 

[Marty D.]

Ugh! You just hit a nerve. That was my wife's sole input into the design. However, it does make some. At one time we had a long couch on the side and a loveseat in the back. It seemed crowded and the seat on the side wall was not the best seat for sound. I think the sectional will work well in that room becasue it is so narrow. In fact, 2 seperates and one sectional are almost the same. Thanks

 

[Jonathan_M]

Ugh! You just hit a nerve. That was my wife's sole input into the design.

I had a feeling that might be the case.
So, it sounds like the sectional is there to stay, so let's work with that. Here are some general tips that I've gathered from reading other posts and my own experiences. We're somewhat similar in our setups in that we both have sectionals in an 11' wide room. Mine's 24' deep though so I have a little more space to work with.
I adjusted the seat on the sectional directly in front of the TV as the general rule of thumb is to sit back 3 times the diagonal measurements of your screen (36" direct-view), in my case, 9 feet away.
My mains (9' apart) and center are all in-line together at the front, with the mains toed in ever so slightly. I've also angled my center speaker downward or else it would be firing OVER the listening area instead of AT it.
My surrounds (dipoles) are about 2 feet behind the center seating position and 2 feet above my head when seated. This is at about the 5.5-6' mark on the wall. I do not have any rear channels yet, but have thought about that. I would just mount them at the same height as my side surrounds and use the same spacing between them that I used for my mains.
That's what I did.

 

[Marty D.]

Ok that is what I was thinking. But I have direct radiating speakers. Do they just fire at each other. Since I cannot mount on the window wall I guess using stands would work as long as I can just them to a height 2ft above the listening level.

Thanks for the center channel tip. I had been meaning to do that. I too have a 36" direct view set (for now).

 

[Marty D.]

OK I realize that I am basically talking to myself here but I need to relay this. My problem stemmed from the fact that one wall had a window I could not work around. After 2 days of visiting specialty HT design shops all I came away with was frustration and that I would have to compromise my sound in order to work with that room. Then I read about someone putting up a wall in front of the window. So as an extreme measure I decided to take the window out. Not to mention that they were newly installed 1 year ago.

My wife who is starting to embrace the HT thing said " since you are putting up a wall in the back can't you just reverse the sitting area and tv area around. OK maybe anyone could have said that but not here (so far) or at the stores I visited with a detailed written layout.

It will solve my speaker dilemma and even seating so I can use my current couch. Now all I need to do is shift that $2K for the new couch towards a widescreen tv . Kudos to the lady in the house. Get your signifigant others involved in hometheater. It is worth it.

 

[John Tuttle]

I do not post a lot of this board, but I believe Marty D. wife's suggestion of turning the room around is a good idea that is overlooked a lot.