I just purchased the Onkyo S6100 at CC for only $425, I just could not pass on this deal. As many of you already know, it is a 7.1 setup. I intend to use all the speakers, but this is truly the first time I own a surround system at all. Thus, I need all the help I can get with speaker placement. I will draw a simple layout of the room. It is not a dedicated HT room. It is a simple family living room. If you guys need me to measure the walls, I ll do it tomorrow. But for now, here is the layout in the attachment



Any help will be appreciated

oh man..any help here guys?

Tried to send you a link but the forum didnt allowed.
sorry.
Good luck.

Begin by looking at the Dolby Labs suggested layouts -- http://www.dolby.com/consumer/home_entertainment/roomlayout.html. As you will see there is some flexibility in layout.

The side surrounds need not be equally distant from the listening position; most receivers will compensate by varying the delay times.

You can if you must also place the side surrounds a bit forward of the listening position without any harm. In fact it may give you an increased sense of immersion in the soundfield.

I think you are going to have set things up as if the center of the couch facing the display is the primary listening area. The only attention you should pay to the couch on the sidewall is the impact it has on the possible location of the left surround speaker.

Then the question becomes will your side surrounds and rear surround be wall mounted or on stands. Dolby recommends that the surround speakers be above ear level, but it will work if the are close to ear level.

Begin by looking at the Dolby Labs suggested layouts -- http://www.dolby.com/consumer/home_entertainment/roomlayout.html. As you will see there is some flexibility in layout.

The side surrounds need not be equally distant from the listening position; most receivers will compensate by varying the delay times.

You can if you must also place the side surrounds a bit forward of the listening position without any harm. In fact it may give you an increased sense of immersion in the soundfield.

I think you are going to have set things up as if the center of the couch facing the display is the primary listening area. The only attention you should pay to the couch on the sidewall is the impact it has on the possible location of the left surround speaker.

Then the question becomes will your side surrounds and rear surround be wall mounted or on stands. Dolby recommends that the surround speakers be above ear level, but it will work if the are close to ear level.
thank you very much. Actually this thread its so old that I abandoned it a long time ago, but I never deleted my subscription so I suddenly saw it updated and I was amazed. Anyway I ended up using stands for all speakers except my back surrounds and my center. the back surround are well above ear level as well as the center, but the rest are just about ear level. I am still concerned with the subwoofer I have heard so many theories as to how to place it but I'm really not sure about any of them. Right now my sub is right next to my front right speaker. I have been playing around with placing it away and close to the wall, angled or perpendicular to the wall, etc. I am wondering if Im gonna have to buy a long cable to place it elsewhere? Also, because this is my very first surround system, I am not entirely sure as to how loud the surrounds are supposed to be, so I found myself changing the volumes on each speaker, but I am still not sure. Are the surrounds supposed to be considerably lower than the fronts, or about the same volume? .. so many questions..

I am still concerned with the subwoofer I have heard so many theories as to how to place it but I'm really not sure about any of them. Right now my sub is right next to my front right speaker. I have been playing around with placing it away and close to the wall, angled or perpendicular to the wall, etc. I am wondering if Im gonna have to buy a long cable to place it elsewhere?
See the comments below. Subwoofer cables are nothing special, usually just RG59 or RG6 coax terminated with RCA plugs. Buy something cheap --lots of good sources on the net, Bluejeans Cable, monoprice etc or look locally for what ever is cheap. You can use video cable if you have some hand.

Also, because this is my very first surround system, I am not entirely sure as to how loud the surrounds are supposed to be, so I found myself changing the volumes on each speaker, but I am still not sure. Are the surrounds supposed to be considerably lower than the fronts, or about the same volume? .. so many questions..

Your system is equipped with an auto setup that uses the included microphone and internally generated pink noise to set speaker levels, delays, and equalization. If you have not done so, run the auto setup program with the mic placed per the user manual at the primary listening position.

This process should set the levels of each speaker to 75 dB (often called the called reference level) with the test tones. It will also set the subwoofer. In a perfect world that is all you do.

The 75 dB test reference level has nothing to do with how loudly you play the system; it just sets all speakers be at the same volume level at any volume knob setting.

After you do this re run the test tones without the mic and see if the levels are fairly equal to your ears. They should be. If not, go into the set up menu and make small changes in the trim levels. If one speaker is much louder than another, trim it down rather than trying to raise the levels on the others.

In the alternative you could get the ever popular RS SPL meter, but it might not be any better than the included mic or your ears.

However we live in an imperfect world in which room and boundary effects may alter the frequency response at the listening position. This can be very noticeable with subs. The easiest way to find a good subwoofer location is the crawling for bass method. Start the pink noise for the subwoofer. Put the sub on the couch and move about the room (crawling to put your head at the level of the sub when it is on the floor) and find the best (loudest-smoothest) spot. Put the sub woofer in that spot.