[grendelrt]

I am going to be moving into a 7.1 setup soon and would like some recommendations on various things. This is my current 5.1 Setup:

The floor standings are Inifinity IL-30s. The center is a IL-25. The rear surrounds are Infinity Surrounds out of their mini theater package from a while back.


I want to replace the two surrounds and at the same time buy 2 more for the 7.1 setup. What are my options as far as mounting, placement, and new rear speakers? Right now the couch is against the wall. I included the width of the room for any suggestions. I currently have a 46" TV and may buy something larger this year, but under 60". I dont want to move the couch so close that it kills optimal viewing distance. Something subtle as far as mounting would be optimal as well. Thanks for any help.

 

[davidpa]

7.1 isnt going to be optimal with the way you are setup right now. 5.1 is pretty much the only option. BUT, if you were to utilize the length of the room as opposed to the width, you could easily do 7.1, and actually your 5.1 would be more enjoyable.

The problem as I see it is the F/P, OR the entry into the area.

Two options to make it work.

1)get rid of F/P and locate tv, fronts and center there, which opens up options for your surrounds.

2)Locate your tv, fronts and center into the room a bit away from the entry area to the room, obviously wiring would need to be concealed, but could be ran underneath carpet. Or put as close to the wall as possible leaving access to the room.


My personal choice would be to do something with the F/P wall and locate tv, fronts and center there.


If these options arent viable for WAF reasons, or something else I'm not aware of, I would stay w/5.1, and not worry about the 7.1, the 6.1, or 7.1 is for rear channel info, and the way you are setup now, adding that extra channel or two would be a waste of hard earned cash.


Just my 1/2 cent.

 

[grendelrt]

Yeah thats what I was seeing as the problem as well. I was hoping maybe I had enough width the way I am doing it now to fit 7.1 , by moving the couch forward. Thanks for the reply, maybe someone has a creative solution?

 

[set2374]

I am looking at a similar issue in trying to move from 5.1 to 7.1. I see your room width is 11 feet, what's the length? Is your sofa up against the wall? II have been researching 7.1 placement options for a while now. I don't have the fireplace to contend with, so I think I have it a bit easier then you. However, if you're 46'' is a plasma or LCD flat, you may want to consider mounting it over the fireplace (with a tilting mount so you can angle the screen downward). It's not an optimal viewing height, but i have seen this done before and it's a striking look. Obviously, you would need an appropriate sized chimney. The sofa can be moved so its rear faces the wall with the entrance. Rears can be wall or ceiling mounted behind the sofa. The sides could be wall mounted or on stands parallel to the sofa. It's recommended that the sides and rears be no more than 6' apart (so keep this in mind when you're setting things up.

 

[grendelrt]

Yeah, I am thinking right now my only option is what you are suggesting and putting the sofa in front of the fireplace and the TV in front of the entrance way. I just dont like the TV sitting in the middle of the room is my problem. I will probably just scrap the idea and make a better 5.1 setup. I still need a good set of surrounds though if someone has a suggestion. Those Epos ELS-3s looked pretty nice for the price.

 

[set2374]

I have small room, 17.5'' by 14'', that I wired for 7.1. My tv (40'' Sony KDL-40S2010) is mounted on the 17.5'' wall, and my sofa is against the opposite wall. This is hardly an ideal 7.1 set up. Nevertheless, I moved my sofa about 6 inches away from the wall and my seating position is actually 2.5 feet ( sofa back with cushions is about 20') my actual seating position is about 3 fee from the wall. I mounted my SL/SR 44'' away from the side wall/ parallel to the seated position (although a 2-3 inches further than idea). I put the SBR/SBL speakers over the window and about 6 feet part (aiming at about a 30 degree angle towards the seating position. This gives me about 5 feet hypotenus (spelling?) from the SL/SR. I am using a pioneer vsx-1016 a/v receiver. On Dolby Digital EX DVD's, I am able to hear the differentiation between SBR/L and SR/SL. I am pleased with the overall performance with the system given my design limitations. I would probably place the rears closer to eachother than I currently have (my wire is in wall, so I have less flexibility to change speaker positions). I do believe I am getting the same or better performance out of my 7.1 setup versus the 5.1 setup I had before.



When using Dolby Pro Logic IIx, Neo:6 etc, the rear channels don't seem to be doing a whole heck of a lot of difference. The rear surrounds are not noticeable and it seems most of the rear channel info is being sent to the side surrounds. I am going to experiment with reducing the volume on the sides and increasing the rears to see if there is any improvement. I am very curious to see how this system performs with a discrete 7.1 source material. I'll have to wait until prices on blue ray and/or HD DVD come down to earth before I can let you know how that goes. But overall, I am very happy with the performance.


As for equipment, I am using Polk Monitor 50's for fronts CS1 as my center, Monitor 30's for sides and M10's for rears. I have a pioneer vsx-1016 receiver (which I highly recommend!!!).

 

[grendelrt]

Cool thanks for the post. What I a might do is when I get a new receiver is just move the couch out and have someone hold the extra 2 speakers in a place I could mount, since I have extra speakers, just to see if there is a diffference. Very low tech, but it could give me an idea of how much difference it would make.