General Home Automation OT - Good forum for questions on surround sound speakers?

Can people identify a forum for good information about placement of surround
sound speakers in a room?

Not a fancy system.  I really DO NOT want BS from people who are convinced
that turning the wire around will change the sound or who are into litz wire
for it's supposed improvements.

The room is far less than optimal.  There is a lack of space behind to
listening position to position two sets of speakers for a 7.1 system.
The rear side speakers could be mounted straight out at the side, either at
ear level or at a higher position.
The rear central speakers would be uncomfortably close to the heads if
mounted at ear level.

--
Bill Fuhrmann
Remove DELETE to reply

The AVS forums are probably the only place with a wide enough range of
participants to get worthwhile answers.  Given the number of variables,
however, it's hard to say exactly where will work.

In my setup I pulled the wires with about 6' of slack.  Then I moved them
around over an area 4' from where I expected they'd work.  The front
speakers ended up being better off about 2 feet lower than I expected (about
3' off the floor not 5'.  My center speaker seems to work OK directly under
the TV itself but some prefer it above the screen.  The subwoofer ended up
working better about half-way between the seating and the screen along the
left-hand wall, about 2' further back than I'd expected.  The rears are
somewhat problematic in that I'd like to put them lower but there's not yet
a wall there for them.  So they're on the ceiling about 2' behind the
seating.  I followed the usual rules of speaker placement but ended up
having to tweak them a fair amount based on actual room conditions and
listening desires.

-Bill Kearney



surround

wire

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In general, the front speaker will be ideal at ear level.  The center
ideally be behind a perforated screen, otherwise you can use either the TV's
speakers if they are decent quality, or place the center channel above or
below the TV.  Ideally as close to the TV as possible.

The Left and Right Front speakers, will be to the side of the TV.  Try to
stay within 30-45 degree offset from the listening position.  The speakers
should be equal distance apart from the TV, but try to stay at least 6" from
the side walls.

The rear channel speakers are less critical than the front speaker.  Try to
place them so they fire to the listening position.  The biggest concern you
want is the distance from the listening position is equal for the pair.

--
Brett Griffin, Technology Consultant
Architechtronics, Inc.
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