[set2374]

My project for this weekend is to set up a 7.1 system in my den (soon to be media room). The dimensions are 17.5'' x 14''. The room opens into a hallway (no door). The opening is 6.8''. The T.V. (Sony KDF-40S2010 LCD) is being mounted this weekend on the wall (wired through the wall). I purchased a pioneer vsx-1016 receiver (picking it up on Friday

) and a pair of Polk Monitor 40s for my mains. In the current set up, I have monitor 30's as my mains (I am a polkie), CS1 center and M10's as my rears.


Question 1: Should the M30's be mounted be the sides or rears. Where should the strongest speaker be positioned?


Question 2: How much distance should there be between the sides and the rears in this setup?? Also, How far apart should the rears be from eachother?


Thanks!!!

 

[svsneo]

Based on Dolby's recommendations you should put the sides at around 90-110 degrees and back surrounds at 130-150 degrees.

http://www.dolby.com/consumer/home_e...oomlayout.html

 

[sdurani]



Quote:
Originally Posted by set2374 /forum/post/0


The room opens into a hallway (no door). The opening is 6.8''.

Where is the opening: back wall or one of the side walls? Also, how far is the seating area from the back wall?

Quote:
Should the M30's be mounted be the sides or rears. Where should the strongest speaker be positioned?

The front speakers and side speakers are adjacent pairs. Of all the surrounds, the sides are the ones that have to blend in with the front speakers to stretch the soundstage out and bring the sound into the room. Therefore, if you have two different pairs of surrounds, choose the ones that sound most similar to your fronts (Monitor 40s) and use those for the sides (in this case, the Monitor 30s).

Quote:
How much distance should there be between the sides and the rears in this setup?? Also, How far apart should the rears be from eachother?

There's no specific distance, just recommended angles. I would place the side speakers directly to the sides and place the rear speakers at least 60 degrees apart on the back wall. See the link svsneo posted.


Sanjay

 

[set2374]



Quote:
Originally Posted by sdurani /forum/post/0


Where is the opening: back wall or one of the side walls? Also, how far is the seating area from the back wall? The front speakers and side speakers are adjacent pairs. Of all the surrounds, the sides are the ones that have to blend in with the front speakers to stretch the soundstage out and bring the sound into the room. Therefore, if you have two different pairs of surrounds, choose the ones that sound most similar to your fronts (Monitor 40s) and use those for the sides (in this case, the Monitor 30s). There's no specific distance, just recommended angles. I would place the side speakers directly to the sides and place the rear speakers at least 60 degrees apart on the back wall. See the link svsneo posted.


Sanjay

Thanks so much for the advise. The opening is on the side wall... right side.



My sofa is right up against the back wall (under a window). If the L/R satellites are directly to the side walls facing the sofa and the rears are right over head, I would think there may not be enough separation. Then again, I have never heard a 7.1 set up before (aside from a movie theater), so maybe this isn't important?


Since my source content will all be in 5.1, I am "assuming" that that the Dolby Pro Logic IIx or the proprietary THX DSP will split the rear channels through a matrix logic across the side and rear satellites. I would have thought the stronger speakers would go to the rear, so thank you for the input. I'll take your advice. I think all the polk monitors (although the M10 isn't a monitor it's made to fit in with the same harmonic quality, if not the frequency range of the Monitors). I probably be ok either way, so I'll go with your set up.

 

[sdurani]



Quote:
Originally Posted by set2374 /forum/post/0


My sofa is right up against the back wall (under a window). If the L/R satellites are directly to the side walls facing the sofa and the rears are right over head, I would think there may not be enough separation.

You're correct, there won't be enough separation. With the sofa against the back wall, stick to a 5.1 set-up; there's literally no room behind your seating area for the rear speakers to be placed properly.


Instead, place the Monitor 30s in the back corners of the room; a couple of feet above ear level and pointing towards each other. The multiple reflective surfaces in the corners will help give a more enveloping sound. The wide spread will help maintain left-vs-right separation with stereo surround channels.


Better to do a good 5.1 set-up than a poor 7.1 layout.


Sanjay

 

[set2374]



Quote:
Originally Posted by sdurani /forum/post/0


You're correct, there won't be enough separation. With the sofa against the back wall, stick to a 5.1 set-up; there's literally no room behind your seating area for the rear speakers to be placed properly.


Instead, place the Monitor 30s in the back corners of the room; a couple of feet above ear level and pointing towards each other. The multiple reflective surfaces in the corners will help give a more enveloping sound. The wide spread will help maintain left-vs-right separation with stereo surround channels.


Better to do a good 5.1 set-up than a poor 7.1 layout.


Sanjay

I know you're right, but it's really not possible to have a 7.1???

I love the idea of being completely surrounded by the sound. I guess I can bi-amp the fronts or put the extra pair into the living room as a separate zone?? Right now I have my rears in the back corners facing eachother (top of the side wall). I don't love the way the sound in this position. At certain frequencies, there's a bit of dischord. Not sure exactly what the cause is but one thought was that the the sound waves may have have been cancelling eachother out or otherwise distorting eachother. I did prefer the rears at a 30 degree angle. I was toying with the idea of placing the sides angled 20 degrees to the rear to the rear with the rears mounted on the rear way angled in (basically aiming at the t.v. at a 30 degree angle (opposing the fronts in a manner of speaking). The speakers do need to be high on the wall (wife doesn't want this to be my speaker room... need to be able to hang pictures.

I guess you're suggesting that any sort of concoction I am going to come up with to keep my den in a 7.1 set up is going to sound lousy.

 

[sdurani]



Quote:
Originally Posted by set2374 /forum/post/0


...it's really not possible to have a 7.1???

I love the idea of being completely surrounded by the sound.

You can do what you mentioned earlier: place the rear speakers overhead. Understand though that sounds intended to come from behind you will now come from above.

Quote:
I guess you're suggesting that any sort of concoction I am going to come up with to keep my den in a 7.1 set up is going to sound lousy.

Not lousy, just not have the proper directionality. If you don't mind that, then try out your 7.1 layout idea.


Sanjay

 

[quadriverfalls]

Sanjay, as usual, is spot on with his advice. A poorly set up 7.1 system will sound worse than a well laid out 5.1 system.

 

[dmestan]

If you really want 7.1, why not move the sofa fowrard? 14 ft is kind of far to be sitting from a 40" screen. Move the sofa off the wall into the room (maybe 4ft of the wall, you can put a sofa table behind it), then you have some space to put the rears behind the sofa, and you're a little close to the tv.


don

 

[set2374]



Quote:
Originally Posted by dmestan /forum/post/0


If you really want 7.1, why not move the sofa fowrard? 14 ft is kind of far to be sitting from a 40" screen. Move the sofa off the wall into the room (maybe 4ft of the wall, you can put a sofa table behind it), then you have some space to put the rears behind the sofa, and you're a little close to the tv.


don

Because of the window, baseboard heating, and shape of the shape of the couch, my seating position is about 2.5-3 feet from the wall. The t.v. will be on an atriculated mount (4.5 inch clearance from the wall and th t.v. is just under 4 inches thick). The actual viewing distance will be between 10 and 11 feet from the T.V. (a 46 inch would have been ideal, but was outside the budget). If i move the couch out a little, I could probably get closer to 9.8, 10 feet. I would also gain another 6 inches of space for the speakers. I would then have about 36-40 inches of space from the wall, and 4 feet in hight.... The rears could be spread so they are 3 feet from the corners and angled in at 30 degrees. I would probably like to mount the sides at the same height as the rears and about 4.5 to 5 feet from the rear wall. The distance between sides and the rear would be under 6 feet (which is inside the specs) but the sides would still probably be a little in front of, instead of parallel to, the seating position. (I want to get this right, because I am sick of patching, spackling and painting my walls).


I think this is probably the best balance I can reach between separation and the dolby ideal position for the room. I could do better, of course, but that might not jive with my wife's decorating tastes.