[makanan]

All,


I'm sure you've heard it before: I am setting up a 5.1 system but wife wants the couch back against the wall. I know Dolby recommends the surround speakers be placed a few feet above, to the side of and slightly behind the seating, radiating toward each other. With couch against the wall I obviously can't get placement behind the seating position.


My dealer recommends in-ceiling speakers radiating down to the seating. I am thinking about putting speakers on shelves above and to the sides of the couch, radiating toward each other. That seems closer to the Dolby spec (but not slightly behind listening position).


Anyone have recommendations on either of these setups (or an alternative I am overlooking)? Thank you for any ideas.

 

[bob_vdi]

On shelves even with couch point towards each other should sound fine.

This is how I have my 6.1 system and had my 5.1 system.

Experiment! Move couch out about a foot. be creative

 

[makanan]

Thanks Bob. I will try it. After posting I also realized I could just pull the couch away from the wall when using the HT. Spouse can't (or shouldn't) object to how it looks in the dark!

 

[pevend]

You might try telling the wife that it is trendy to have a narrow table-top behind the couch at the height of the seat back; that would get the couch a foot or so away from the wall.

 

[makanan]

Thanks for the input guys. pevend - my neighbor who also haunts this forum suggested the same as you. I will go with the fashionable couch table and put the surrounds on shelves. My dealer also agreed that would be the better approach (and I assume he is being honest because the in-ceiling speakers I was considering are more expensive).

 

[mrkaos]

hmm...I am about to have the same problem except that I cannont move the bed from its place (king size bed would have to move to touch the tv as I live in a small manhattan apt). my bedroom is my ht room I would have to attach the speakers to the wall I lean against or put them on shelves that flank the bed. any suggestions on how to place them?

 

[makanan]

As I understand it, Dolby wants the speakers slightly behind your seating position and does not recommend mounting them to the wall. Maybe you could mount the speakers close to the wall radiating in and put some kind of bed seat between you and the wall to get you away from the wall a little?


If we could not move my seating forward, my dealer wanted to use in-ceiling speakers slightly to to the sides of the seating position and radiating (obviously) downward toward and beside the seating. We were looking at Speakercraft speakers with a pivoting tweeter (sorry I can't remember the model).