[Shady12]

I have a new TV and receiver on the way, just moved to a new place with a 11X17 foot room to set up. I'll have an 82" Mits DLP and plan to seat 10' from the screen(reclining couch and TV longways in the room). My main issue is trying to figure out speaker placement for a 7.1 system.


Fronts no prob, but not sure about the side and rear surround placement. Should the side surrounds be a few feet above my ears? I wonder because I've read everything from a few feet to very high to ear level. One side is going to have the edge of a window about where the right surround would go..A problem if it should be at ear level. Putting it right above the window would put it at almost 3 1/2 feet above ear level(main seating position I'll be 5 1/2 feet from each side wall).


As for rear, I've seen nothing in set up guides or diagrams saying how HIGH they should be. My head will be slightly more than 4 feet from the back wall. That wall is almost all windows, so they'll either need to be above at the same height (almost 3 1/2') as the side surrounds if they were also up high, or on speaker stands. I think that's enough info. Let me know what else you need!

 

[commsysman]

I think that you should set up a 5.1 system and get it working well before you do anything else. Placement issues often make 7.1 more trouble than it is worth.

 

[Shady12]



Quote:
Originally Posted by commsysman  /t/1416226/suggestions-advice-for-my-new-set-up#post_22143194


I think that you should set up a 5.1 system and get it working well before you do anything else. Placement issues often make 7.1 more trouble than it is worth.

Sounds like a good idea. So the side surround, should I try and get them close to ear level, 2-3 feet above, or up high on the wall? If I end up doing 7.1, should the rear speakers be at the same height as the sides? Thanks.

 

[tezster]

Both Dolby and THX speaker placement guidelines suggest placing the surround speakers above ear height - I have mine mounted about 30" above the listening position.

 

[KtrainHurricane]

The tweeters of my Side Surrounds are about 3' above my ear. I had a "traditional" 7.1 setup before recently switching to Front Heights (my room was not the ideal size or shape for a traditional 7.1 setup). When I did have my Surround Back speakers, they were slightly higher than my Side Surrounds. I had created a similar thread to this, and was told that speakers should be on the same plane - not necessarily straight in a line, but on a plane. (Fronts at whatever given height; side surrounds higher; surround backs higher ... as opposed to fronts at whatever given height; side surrounds higher; surround backs lower than side surrounds or on the same level as fronts).

 

[beefjerky21]

Surround speakers are not meant to fire directly at ear height as this can hinder the balance of the sound stage, thus having them higher is generally a good thing as they are designed to add depth and subtle balance to the stage. I would see how it goes with the speakers higher than ear level and if you really think it needs it angle them down towards the listening position as required.