Please help me decide placement for speakers in a 5.1 setup. My Energy Take 1 center will sit on top of the tv stand, in front of the tv. I'm not sure of the best place to mount my four Energy C-50s. Take a look at the pictures.

If I mount the front speakers in position A, they're off center and close together. The left speaker wouldn't be completely to the side of the screen. The right would be further over because of the window. I could center the fronts better in position B, but they'd be near the ceiling and about 6 feet higher than the center speaker. Which location is preferred?

Placement for the rear speakers is also challenging because of a large window. Position C is well-centered around the seating, but up near the ceiling. Position D is a better height but one speaker would be further out, past the window. The left surround speaker would be about 6 feet to the side of the primary seating position and the right surround speaker would be only a couple feet to the side.

Any recommendations?


[Notes: 1) The old tube tv is used for Wii. 2) The blue boxes in the side picture are blocking out family photos for privacy purposes.]

Any ideas?

Looks like we have little ones running around?

I think I would opt for the up towards the ceiling placement at the rear, and angle them down towards the listening area.

The fronts? I think towards the ceiling also, but not the best spot. But it looks like it will keep them out of the way of your cabinet and shelving.

I think a surround bar and a sub would be a better choice for that particular room. But that is just me.

Just my .02

Mike

Fronts depend at little on how far from the set you sit and how high that ceiling is ... for imaging, I would choose the greater separation of position B near the ceiling (as long as the angle between them using the listening position as apex is not >60 degrees... angle them down towards the listener, but move the center to the top of the tv so it's closer to being level with the LR...

Alternatively, move the sub so it's next to the doorway, move the tv over to the right, so it's at least centered on the A position of the speakers... still would move the center to the top of the tv so it's closer to in-line with the LR...

On the rears, you have a tradeoff... separation or symmetry... depends if your AVR allows you to set different distances/delays for each rear speaker, or has one setting for both... if you can set individually, I would say position D, otherwise, try each and see which gives you the most uniform, diffuse sound field... in either case point them across the room at each other... better if the couch can be moved forward a few inches...

Thanks for both responses. Looking for any advice before I set it up this weekend.

Fronts depend at little on how far from the set you sit and how high that ceiling is ...
Sitting about 12 ft from the screen. Ceiling is 8 feet.

move the center to the top of the tv so it's closer to being level with the LR...
Any ideas how to do that? Can't mount on the wall because of the window. I couldn't find any stands that are tall enough (55 inches).

On the rears... in either case point them across the room at each other...
So the rears should actually face each other rather than pointed down and in towards the couch?

Sitting about 12 ft from the screen. Ceiling is 8 feet.
At that distance, putting the fronts say 6 ft apart will give you an angle between them of only 30 degrees... to achieve the 45-60 optimal angle you need 10-14 ft separation... so go with the position near the ceiling... don't worry too much about assymetry, the center will help anchor the dialog to the screen...

Any ideas how to do that? Can't mount on the wall because of the window. I couldn't find any stands that are tall enough (55 inches).
A buddy of mine found a shelf that sits on top of his SXRD... not quite a flat panel, but close... run a search...

So the rears should actually face each other rather than pointed down and in towards the couch?
Well, THX ideal is always for dipoles on the side wit hthe null facing the listener (again, not same as Dolby)... but if directs are to be used, yes, behind the listener, above, and not point directly... idea is to create a diffuse sound field where sounds cannot be localized... localizing surround sounds can distract your attention from the screen, losing that immersive experience...

It's a shame dolby and THX differ in their recommendations, I'm not sure why that is...

Here is the center channel stand/shelf. http://www.amazon.com/OmniMount-CCH1B-Center-Channel-Speaker/dp/B00067AIEU/ref=pd_cp_e_0?pf_rd_p=413863501&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00164GXC8&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=01G5CGS5XPM7WP4KFKN2

And if you have a heavy sub, I would not use one of these. This is HTIB type gear, smaller light weight stuff.

Hope this helps.

And if you have a heavy sub, I would not use one of these. This is HTIB type gear, smaller light weight stuff.

Hope this helps.

I might be a little dense here, but what's the correlation between the sub's weight and putting hte center channel on this shelf? It's not like the shelf has to support the sub? Sure, the sub will create vibrations, but then shouldn't we talk about it's frequency/output, rather than it's weight?

I might be a little dense here, but what's the correlation between the sub's weight and putting hte center channel on this shelf? It's not like the shelf has to support the sub? Sure, the sub will create vibrations, but then shouldn't we talk about it's frequency/output, rather than it's weight?

I did some reading on these at Amazon. One of the reviewers put a 30lb center on on this baby, and guess what happened? It went crashing down in the middle of the night as all were sleeping. Damaged the tele. I believe the rear support legs use simple 3M tape to secure it to the back of the set. I would beef these up, and even try to run some screws through the pads into the back of the set. As long as there is nothing to hit on the inside, if you know what I mean.

I would say stay below the manufacturers weight limit, and you should be ok.

I should have clarified that better in my last post.

I did some reading on these at Amazon. One of the reviewers put a 30lb center on on this baby, and guess what happened? It went crashing down in the middle of the night as all were sleeping. Damaged the tele. I believe the rear support legs use simple 3M tape to secure it to the back of the set. I would beef these up, and even try to run some screws through the pads into the back of the set. As long as there is nothing to hit on the inside, if you know what I mean.

I would say stay below the manufacturers weight limit, and you should be ok.

I should have clarified that better in my last post.

Ah... fair enough... yes, I strongly recommend never exceeding the mfrs weight limit... also, follow any and all installation instructions exactly... I didn't read u pon the device, but I would guess they either put too much weight on it or screwed up the install...

My own buddy has had his set up for a while now (don't remember exactly how long, definitely less than 2 yrs...) with no such incident...

Here is the center channel stand/shelf. http://www.amazon.com/OmniMount-CCH1B-Center-Channel-Speaker/dp/B00067AIEU/ref=pd_cp_e_0?pf_rd_p=413863501&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00164GXC8&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=01G5CGS5XPM7WP4KFKN2

And if you have a heavy sub, I would not use one of these. This is HTIB type gear, smaller light weight stuff.

I had looked at this earlier... saw it at CC. It's designed for a DLP. Won't work on a 3 inch deep plasma. Thanks for the idea though.

A and D are the best spots... but that said... yikes!

Position B puts the sound along your ceiling and nobody wants that, it will sound most crappy. As has been gone over, you keep calling the C/D positions "rears" but they are suppose to be your surrounds and belong on the side walls facing each other. D at least puts them at the right height. It would be nice if you could mount them facing each other and pointing down a bit, but that could be tough. I would also consider a soundbar for this room.