Where to position rear pair of ceiling speakers in a 5.1 setup (1 Viewer)

[TomZ]

In our living room we have the 60" TV flanked by two MK-S85 speakers (left/right) and a MK-S85C below the TV (center). The TV is in the corner of the room and there is no where else we want to place it. I purchased a pair of Yamaha NS-IC800 ceiling speakers to work as the back surround speakers. Problem is I'm unsure where to place the speakers and would like some advice. The attached rough sketch is to provide an idea of the room layout. The main seating area is a sectional with equal amount of seating on both sides labeled A and B. Behind seating area A and B are the main traffic areas. The rectangles on the back wall are windows. So, the two possible positions for the ceiling speakers are (labeled 1 and 2); 1) place both above/behind seating A along the same line or 2) place one above/behind A and the other above/behind B so they more-less make a rectangle with respect to the front speakers. My concern with option 2 is that one or the other ceiling speaker will not be "behind" the person sitting in either position A or B, respectively. If it makes any difference, my receiver is a Yamaha RX-A2060 and I can perform room acoustics optimization using YPAO.
View media item 4700

 

[JohnRice]

The surround speakers really should be more to the sides of the viewing area, rather than so much overhead. Are there options that place them closer to the side walls?

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

My concern with option 2 is that one or the other ceiling speaker will not be "behind" the person sitting in either position A or B, respectively.

And that is the problem with corner arrangements in general: it’s impossible to optimize speaker locations. Since you’re unwilling to relocate the TV appropriately centered on a wall, it’s what you’ll have to live with. In addition to what you noted about Option 2, Option 1 gets only one channel of sound to those sitting in the B seats

IMO, the best option would be to get a third surround speaker, and put a speaker at the end of both the A and B sections, with the third at the corner (i.e. like your Option 1, but with another speaker at the other end of the B seating). They would be connected (going counter-clockwise) Left-Right-Left. This way everyone would get both rear channels behind them (albeit with reverse “polarity” for the B seats). The extra speaker will require outboard amplification.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[TomZ]

Thank you for the responses. It might be possible to install in-wall speakers but that would look bad because the rear-right would probably go in the middle of the wall. I hadn't considered a third speaker and perhaps a single stereo speaker such as NS-ICS600 would work in that central-corner position.