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Speaker height sanity check when factoring in riser + HT seating

1232 Views 3 Replies 4 Participants Last post by OJ Bartley, Oct 21, 2019

Slaine

Discussion Starter · Oct 20, 2019

So I'm trying to make headway in my oft delayed theater room setup and wanted to ask about surround speaker heights when factoring in a riser + ht seating. Bit of background first...I'm working in a room with 8ft ceilings, pre-wired for Atmos 7.2.4. I've got the HT seating already, and the chairs are 41" in height. Figure that put the listening position at 43" or so in height. I'm assuming I'm going to need a 12" riser based on some initial tv height measurements I took, but this may drop to 10-11" once I've got the TV height dialed in, mounted and re-perform the calculations for the riser. So I figure that puts the listening height for the back row of seats at 55" or so. Less when reclined all around obviously.

Now for the actual question about speakers. Dolby recommends placing the speakers at approx 3.9ft to accommodate the typical listening position/height for the main listening position (MLP). That's no problem in terms of room layout, but how does one accommodate the fact that the rear listening position is going to be 10-12" higher? Do you keep the speaker mount height for the sides and rears ar the 3.9ft level, thus ensuring that the atmos speakers are within the 2-1 height seperation ratio recommended by Dolby? Or do you raise the rear and/or side surrounds to accommodate the added height of the rear listening position? Or do you find some balance in between and split the difference height-wise?

I'm a little split on this, as I selfishly want to ensure that the MLP, which will typically be the center front seat, will receive the best sound. With the 3.9ft height level however, it possible that at least some of the rear surround speaker drivers maybe partially obscured by the rear seating at that height level. Also, being pragmatic, I know I'm going to be in the rear seating when the whole family is using the room so I want to ensure my listening experience in the rear is the least compromised it can be in that situation. Which would make me think that raising the speaker install heights for at least the rears maybe beneficial.

Just curious how this logic is applied in general for new theater builds and if speaker heights are typically adjusted for riser positioned seating. Or if the side and rear speaker heights are varied based on that setup. Thx in advance for any feedback you can provide.

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skylarlove1999

· #2 · Oct 20, 2019

Slaine said:
So I'm trying to make headway in my oft delayed theater room setup and wanted to ask about surround speaker heights when factoring in a riser + ht seating. Bit of background first...I'm working in a room with 8ft ceilings, pre-wired for Atmos 7.2.4. I've got the HT seating already, and the chairs are 41" in height. Figure that put the listening position at 43" or so in height. I'm assuming I'm going to need a 12" riser based on some initial tv height measurements I took, but this may drop to 10-11" once I've got the TV height dialed in, mounted and re-perform the calculations for the riser. So I figure that puts the listening height for the back row of seats at 55" or so. Less when reclined all around obviously.

Now for the actual question about speakers. Dolby recommends placing the speakers at approx 3.9ft to accommodate the typical listening position/height for the main listening position (MLP). That's no problem in terms of room layout, but how does one accommodate the fact that the rear listening position is going to be 10-12" higher? Do you keep the speaker mount height for the sides and rears ar the 3.9ft level, thus ensuring that the atmos speakers are within the 2-1 height seperation ratio recommended by Dolby? Or do you raise the rear and/or side surrounds to accommodate the added height of the rear listening position? Or do you find some balance in between and split the difference height-wise?

I'm a little split on this, as I selfishly want to ensure that the MLP, which will typically be the center front seat, will receive the best sound. With the 3.9ft height level however, it possible that at least some of the rear surround speaker drivers maybe partially obscured by the rear seating at that height level. Also, being pragmatic, I know I'm going to be in the rear seating when the whole family is using the room so I want to ensure my listening experience in the rear is the least compromised it can be in that situation. Which would make me think that raising the speaker install heights for at least the rears maybe beneficial.

Just curious how this logic is applied in general for new theater builds and if speaker heights are typically adjusted for riser positioned seating. Or if the side and rear speaker heights are varied based on that setup. Thx in advance for any feedback you can provide.

You can research speaker height until you are blue in the face and not come up with a consensus, from very reputable and trusted sources. Some say left and right front speakers should be 2 ft above ear level for a larger soundstage. Some experts say the tweeters should be at ear level . Unless you have an AT screen where do you put your center channel above or below the screen? Some suggest having left and right , left and right surround and left and right surround back all at the same height. Some suggest left and right front at ear height but the surrounds and back surrounds 2 ft above ear level to provide better detail separation and spaciousness. I have been zero help. I know. If experts cannot agree who am I to tell you what to do. I have found my ears prefer the center channel below the screen about 18 inches off the ground slightly tilted up. Left and right front with tweeters at ear level. Surrounds and back surrounds about two feet above my front left and right. I would base your speaker heights off of MLP. You paid for it all not your guests and most likely they wouldn't notice any sound quality difference if you split the difference and put the height in between MLP and second row. Most professional audio calibrators take all there measurements from MLP and adjust for what the mic is measuring at MLP.

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SteveCallas

· #3 · Oct 20, 2019

Strike a balance in height between first and second row. I’ve never liked surrounds anywhere near ear height, they always seem better (more realistic, spacious, and call less attention to themselves) being higher than ear level, even with atmos.

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OJ Bartley

· #4 · Oct 21, 2019

You have to work within the constraints of your particular room, and do what works in your situation. Take in as much info as you can, and then you can probably apply that knowledge to what you have to work with. My room-in-progress is similar to yours, and I aimed for around ear height positioning for the side surrounds, and then I raised the rear surrounds up by I think 8 or 10 inches to accommodate the riser. As long as your rear surrounds aren't firing into the back of the seats you should be in good shape I think.

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