Hello,

I am building a new home at the moment and I have to have my structural wiring done by next weekend. I have already run my coax and ethernet but I am still unsure as to how I want to place my speakers.

My couch will only be about 12-16 inches off the back wall. I know this makes the rears a little trickier to set up. My front 3 speakers are Def Techs BP10s and CLR2000. I am however thinking of in-ceiling for the rears and side surrounds. Specifically the Paradigm SA-15R-30s. Attached is a sketch of the layout that was proposed by my local audio expert. He says to have both the rears and side surrounds 4 feet off the each end of the couch and 2' and 6' off the back wall. He says the Audyssey feature in receivers will adjust the sound accordingly.

In contrast to what he says, the Paradigm people says that 7.1 will not work and that I should do 5.1 with the SA-15R-30 speakers approximately 4' off the back wall aiming them at the back wall and letting them reflect.

I am curious as to any suggestions of these two layouts.

Also, I am not married to the Def Techs in the front. I am a two-channel guy and would like to replace the front sound stage with more musical speakers. Preferably Dynaudio Focus, Totem Hawks or Paradigm Signature. So these in-ceiling speakers must match the corresponding front speakers. My concern is that Totem and Dynaudio do not have the same time of in-ceiling speakers that allow the "entire" speaker being aimed at a certain spot.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Eric

Hello,

I am building a new home at the moment and I have to have my structural wiring done by next weekend. I have already run my coax and ethernet but I am still unsure as to how I want to place my speakers.

My couch will only be about 12-16 inches off the back wall. I know this makes the rears a little trickier to set up. My front 3 speakers are Def Techs BP10s and CLR2000. I am however thinking of in-ceiling for the rears and side surrounds. Specifically the Paradigm SA-15R-30s. Attached is a sketch of the layout that was proposed by my local audio expert. He says to have both the rears and side surrounds 4 feet off the each end of the couch and 2' and 6' off the back wall. He says the Audyssey feature in receivers will adjust the sound accordingly.

In contrast to what he says, the Paradigm people says that 7.1 will not work and that I should do 5.1 with the SA-15R-30 speakers approximately 4' off the back wall aiming them at the back wall and letting them reflect.

I am curious as to any suggestions of these two layouts.

Also, I am not married to the Def Techs in the front. I am a two-channel guy and would like to replace the front sound stage with more musical speakers. Preferably Dynaudio Focus, Totem Hawks or Paradigm Signature. So these in-ceiling speakers must match the corresponding front speakers. My concern is that Totem and Dynaudio do not have the same time of in-ceiling speakers that allow the "entire" speaker being aimed at a certain spot.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Eric

Your "expert" doesn't know what he is talking about. Unless you like your side surrounds in front of you and your rear surrounds next to you. Listen to Paradigm. Audyssey corrects for room response, NOT for illogically placed speakers.

With the couch at or near the back wall, you have no space behind you for the rear speakers, so you're better off with a 5.1 speaker layout. If you're going with in-ceiling speakers, try to get them as far back as you can (against the wall would be fine) and spread them out as far as symmetrically possible (will help maintain a left-vs-right directionality rather than sounding like they're overhead). Try to get the type of in-ceilings that have pointable drivers and aim them towards the listening area.

With the couch at or near the back wall, you have no space behind you for the rear speakers, so you're better off with a 5.1 speaker layout. If you're going with in-ceiling speakers, try to get them as far back as you can (against the wall would be fine) and spread them out as far as symmetrically possible (will help maintain a left-vs-right directionality rather than sounding like they're overhead). Try to get the type of in-ceilings that have pointable drivers and aim them towards the listening area.


I agree with you. I think that 5.1 is the way to go in this situation. I also agree with aiming the speakers at the listening area. However, the people at Paradigm said it is best to place these SA-15R-30 speakers (these fire at a 30 degree angle in relation to the ceiling) four feet away from the back wall and aim them at the wall letting them reflect. They said that this will help in making the audio sound like it is coming from behind you. Paradigm's website recommends that these speakers be aimed at the side walls or rear walls.

Has anybody on this forum aimed their speakers at the back wall to allow the sound to reflect?

Thanks again.

If your ceiling mounted speakers are aimed at the back wall, and you're sitting in front of that back wall, they'll be aimed almost directly at you. You'll hear the sound coming from the speakers in the ceiling, 4' in front of you. In my opinion - just my own personal preference - I would go with in-wall speakers, behind you, and off to the sides a bit. Placing them slightly above your head will help keep it from sounding like you've got a speaker stuck right in your ear.

The best thing to do would be to get a cheap pair of satellite speakers and try moving them around to various locations and see which place sounds best. If your house is still under construction, maybe you could set up a similar seating arrangement in your current home and use that for experimentation. When you've decided where you want them, Then install some in-wall or in-ceiling speakers.

I have a 5.1 with dual sub setup into an Onyko 805 - Oppo bd-83, Toshiba A30 all HDMI to a 50" Samsung DLP. I have never had a 7.1 system but yesterday I helped my Father install an Onkyo 806 /outlaw audio 7.1 AMP. He Also has an Oppo BP & a Toshiba A3 going into a Mits. 73" DLP. Question when playing Dolby tru or DTS-HD the sound is in 5.1 so the surround backs are not operational, is that the way that is? Also if he applies PLIIx which gives him 7.1 sound does that negate the Dolby Tru or DTS-HD he's bitstreaming to his 806? What is the best way to listen to the lossless tracks which are mainly 5.1 recordings on most multi-channel discs.

Question when playing Dolby tru or DTS-HD the sound is in 5.1 so the surround backs are not operational, is that the way that is?

Yes. There are not that many 7.1 BDs out there.

Also if he applies PLIIx which gives him 7.1 sound does that negate the Dolby Tru or DTS-HD he's bitstreaming to his 806?

No. DPL IIX is applied AFTER the lossless codec has been decoded to multichannel linear pcm.

What is the best way to listen to the lossless tracks which are mainly 5.1 recordings on most multi-channel discs.

Whichever way sounds best to YOU!