[jayeberg]

To any who can help,

I am trying to get my living room decked out for the release of Interstellar guys night, and came across some strange setup questions.

I have a Sony STR-DN1030 7.2 receiver currently hooked up to 5.1 Aperion Audio Intimus 4t as mains, 5C as center, 4B for surrounds, and Fluance XLBP as FH. (unused atm is the 4C in the back)

Running movies in 5.1 with PLIIz selected on receiver is how I have been testing out the FH, but I am wondering if there is a better way to maximize the sound stage like bringing down the rear surrounds to just above ear level. I imagine i should be using the 4Bs as FH instead of the bipoles but the back and side walls in the house forbid such placement at the sides or rears with the bipoles. I thought about placing bipole speakers on stands and placing them to the left and right of the love seat but stands would be a last resort if minimal gain results from doing so, since money is an last resort.

I would thoroughly appreciate some critiquing to make the best use of my setup and oddly shaped room.

Thanks!
-John
NAS Whidbey Island, WA

p.s. and not as important --Has anyone heard if windows 7 supports FH or a round about way using some software?

 

[Alan P]

First off, I prefer DTS:NEO X for front height matrixing over PLIIz.

If I was you, I would use the direct radiators you have in back for front heights...dipoles are not recommended there for good reason, you need direct sound from the FH speakers.

That is a tough room for surround and surround back speakers....can you mount the dipoles where your surround speakers are now, using the same brackets?

 

[jayeberg]

I wish I could, the walls are facing opposite directions as well as the bipole speakers are not mountable in such a way as they also would exceed the weight limit on the surround brackets I've got.

Here is the rest of the room to further show how f'd up the layout is.

 

[Alan P]

Could you mount the left surround next to the window and above the key rack??

 

[tezster]

I agree with Alan P in many respects. My keys to maximizing the effectiveness of front height speakers are as follows:

• Maximize separation between your front L/R and the height speakers (install them just below the ceiling, and a little out towards the corners).
• User direct radiating speakers.
• Point speakers towards the MLP (using a tilting/rotating speaker mount).
• If your AVR has adjustable trim, increase the trim by +3-6dB relative to the front speakers.

For those who have an Atmos-capable receiver, placing ceiling-reflecting Atmos speakers on top of floorstanding speakers would actually be a simpler upgrade and yield a more audible benefit (no wiring/mounting/placement issues to contend with).

 

[jayeberg]

If I move my left surround and left front height speakers to the farthest corners as mentioned above I will have a sound that is off center from the TV. I can mount the bipoles in the rear at a cost, I would have the left surround bipole very close to the corner, unless thats not a big deal. If what I mentioned about the off centerness and having a bipole in a corner isn't a big deal, I would happily experiment and try it out.

 

[fbov]

...I have a Sony STR-DN1030 7.2 receiver currently hooked up to 5.1 Aperion Audio Intimus 4t as mains, 5C as center, 4B for surrounds, and Fluance XLBP as FH. ...

While I run fron wides, I believe the idea's the same: get the front soundstage set correctly and let the surrounds fall where they may for home theater. Then use the AVR's room correction capability to correct any issues with level or transit time from the asymetric locations. That means moving the 4B's and their nice little swivel mounts to the front, mounting as close as possible to the ideal locations shown in your AVR's manual, and move the bipoles to the back, wherever they can be easily mounted.

If that results in asymmetric surround locations, as I suspect it would, rely on the AVR's DCAC (auto calibration) feature to match transit times and loudness levels among the 7 locations. That's well within its capability. Being bipoles, your surrounds will lose much of their location sensation, which is the objective of surround speakers in HT.

HAve fun,
Frank