Best Placement for 9.2 Speaker System?

fafner

For years I had been running a 5.1 system with 2 pairs of SDA2's as fronts and surrounds and a similar vintage Yamaha center. A couple of months ago I found a pair of Monitor 10's on CL and hooked them up as my rears. The system has been great.

Now, I have lucked into another pair of SDA2's for a great price. Previously, I thought if I found them I use them as my rears and do something else with the Monitor 10's. However, I just realized that my AVR has connections for TWO pairs of surrounds, outputting the same content of course.

My current thought is to place the new pair of SDA's about halfway between my fronts and surrounds (which are slightly behind the main listening position) thinking that this will give a better "all around" sound and also "smoothen" the transition when content moves from the fronts to the surrounds.

I am wondering if any one else has experimented with such speaker placement and what your thoughts were. Also if anyone has opinions on other options, even without actual experience, I would love to hear those thoughs too.

Thanks in advance.

fafner

wutadumsn23

Only advice I can give you is to make sure you have the room to accomodate so many speakers, room size is the biggest determing factor when it comes to speaker placement. A well setup 5.1 will outperform a cramped up 7.1, 9.1 anyday. Use the extra 2B to get a killer 2 c. rig running, lol.

-Jeff

fafner

Thanks. My room is plenty big enough so that is not an issue.

BTW, I just got a CSL 350 for my center and am really excited about that.

By "2c rig" I assume you mean 2 channel setup right? Any more specific thoughts about that?

fafner

fafner

Pycroft

I agree with Jeff.

If I'm not mistaken, you have 4 SDA2's, 2 Monitor 10's, and a CS350, and found 2 MORE SDA2's. 6 SDA 2's in a hometheatre...I'm sure it sounds fantastic, but I hope you are using a badass external amp to help out the AVR on that one. Also, the surround speakers are usually used for ambiance, background noise, and don't shine in a home theatre setup. I would use SDA's as the fronts, surrounds if you need, the CS350, build a 2 channel setup for music, and sell the other two SDA 2's (To me ) and use the money to go towards upgrading amps/preamps etc.

Unless you really have the room and the money, this awesome setup may be underutilized and may be going to waste.

James

fafner

You are correct about the setup I have....although I do not have the 3rd set of SDA's in my possession yet. I am using a Denon 3808 AVR with Denon PLIIx Cinema setting for everything. The PLIIx processing provides considerable full range sound to the sounds and rears....more than just what might be called ambience in a typical 5.1 setting.

I really don't have any interest in a 2 c setup as I can no longer tolerate listening to sound just coming from the front of my room. Just about my only use for the system is movies and classical DVD's. What I am trying to simulate is the sound I hear in a live concert or opera hall, where sounds comes at me seamlessly with no indication at all of there being "speakers" emitting the sound. I realize this will be ultimately impossible but I am trying to get as close as possible to it.

If after I experiment and find the 3rd pair of SDA's do in fact cause a deterioriation of sound in my room, I will likely be putting them on the market and you are welcome to bid on them at that point

Thanks for your comments.

fafner

Pycroft

Fafner,

Are you using the SDA Interconnect cable? I find that it helps provide the feeling that there is, "no indication at all of there being "speakers" emitting the sound". My SDA's have such a wide soundstage, I can be anywerhe in the room and it sounds like I am in the sweet spot.

I would suggest using the SDA cable if you are not and trying it out in 2 channel. Also, with added amplification, the speakers become more detailed. Even if you didn't want to go and buy a seperate amp and preamp, you may want to share where you are located, and seeing if someone near has a 2 channel SDA setup. It's just a differnet sound in a 2 channel. You may still decide it's not for you, but I guarantee you will find it's different than playing just two speakers using an AVR.

James

wayne3burk

Does your owners manual give you any proposed speaker placement diagrams for various amounts of speakers that it will support?

My Yamaha DSP-E300 shows the optimum speaker placement both a 5.1 and a 7.1 setup. I've downloaded and read the Yamaha operating manual for the Yamaha RX-V863 and it looks like it will support a 9.1 setup -- but Yamaha uses front L/R "presence" speakers in that configuration, with Rear L/R and Side L/R. There diagram shows height and position recommendations, as well as degrees off or directly perpendicular from your listening position.

-- wayne --

pitdogg2

fafner wrote: »

You are correct about the setup I have....although I do not have the 3rd set of SDA's in my possession yet. I am using a Denon 3808 AVR with Denon PLIIx Cinema setting for everything. The PLIIx processing provides considerable full range sound to the sounds and rears....more than just what might be called ambience in a typical 5.1 setting.

I really don't have any interest in a 2 c setup as I can no longer tolerate listening to sound just coming from the front of my room. Just about my only use for the system is movies and classical DVD's. What I am trying to simulate is the sound I hear in a live concert or opera hall, where sounds comes at me seamlessly with no indication at all of there being "speakers" emitting the sound. I realize this will be ultimately impossible but I am trying to get as close as possible to it.

If after I experiment and find the 3rd pair of SDA's do in fact cause a deterioriation of sound in my room, I will likely be putting them on the market and you are welcome to bid on them at that point

Thanks for your comments.

fafner

i find that the DTS neo music works better for what your doing. Why not pro-logic II x music ? The music modes do not roll of the highs as much.

wayne3burk

It's nice to see we're having a not 2-channel music thread going here. My Yamaha has a Movie 2 mode that is good for 7.1 music.

-- wayne --

fafner

James,

Thanks for your comments. I bought the two pair of SDA's when they were first introduced and have had them ever since. In the days of vinyl, I used the interconnect cable and had one set of them solely for 2 channel music. I fell in love with them so much I then bought a second set after just a few months and connected them to my TV also with the interconnect cable. Of course then, both vinyl and TV were only 2.0 and I kept my systems that way for many years. Actually at that time I also had a 3rd set for a second TV room but sold them when I moved. So from that experience I remember quite clearly how the 2.0 system sounded.

By the time I moved, Dolby 5.1 was just coming out and that is when I decided to use the second set of SDA's as surrounds (without the cable), then added an M&K sub, then later a 2nd sub, and finally just this spring added the Monitor 10's as rears. As it happened, I also sold my set of Sony ES amps and AVR at the same time I moved. After looking around for a new AVR I bought my first Denon AVR and have upgraded 3 times as newer models came out.

I have not tried using the cable on the SDA's that are the surrounds as it would be difficult and am unsure if that would be of any value as surrounds. I might give it try however when my third set arrives.

Perhaps, I have engaged in "overkill" but I really won't know until I try. I am a very "aural" person and I love being enveloped in sound. Also I am a person who likes to dabble with electronics and the amount of money I have spent for the Monitor 10's and the 3rd SDA's has been well within my "play money" budget.

I will know within a couple of weeks how this experiment turns out and will share my results here. Thanks.

fafner

fafner

wayne3burk wrote: »

Does your owners manual give you any proposed speaker placement diagrams for various amounts of speakers that it will support?

My Yamaha DSP-E300 shows the optimum speaker placement both a 5.1 and a 7.1 setup. I've downloaded and read the Yamaha operating manual for the Yamaha RX-V863 and it looks like it will support a 9.1 setup -- but Yamaha uses front L/R "presence" speakers in that configuration, with Rear L/R and Side L/R. There diagram shows height and position recommendations, as well as degrees off or directly perpendicular from your listening position.

-- wayne --

I have my fronts, surrounds and rears set up as indicated in the AVR manual. there is no recommendation for adding a second set of surrounds.

However, I have the DVE HD Basics Blu-Ray calibration disc, and it shows that if a second set of surrounds are used the would be placed as I have proposed...ie along the side about half way between the fronts and the surrounds. That has been the basis for my starting point.

Thanks.

fafner

fafner

pitdogg2 wrote: »

i find that the DTS neo music works better for what your doing. Why not pro-logic II x music ? The music modes do not roll of the highs as much.

For some reason PLIIx Music does not show up in my AVR menu, as I recall. However, I will check again later today. Thanks for your suggestion.

fafner

pitdogg2

fafner wrote: »

For some reason PLIIx Music does not show up in my AVR menu, as I recall. However, I will check again later today. Thanks for your suggestion.

fafner

Well i have the Denon 3805 and it shows up when i go thru the surround modes on my remote. My remote is much different that yours so i can't walk you through it but they should be there. the DTS neo also spreads the sound out much more between the front three channels where PLIIx keeps a lot of it in the center channel My.02:cool: