Need advice on Speaker options and locations

mccarthy814

Hi All,

I am looking for some advice on Speaker placement in my new living room set up. It's not a dedicated theater so, I have some constraints on speaker locations.
I have a few things going on. I just upgraded my receiver to Onkyo TX-NR609 so, I have 7.1 capability now. Depending on best placement options I'll probably need to consider some combination of Ceiling and other surrounds besides the FXi30s

I can not mount the FXi30s to the wall. My wife wants more of a streamlined look in the room.

I considered tucking the FXi30 on stands at eitehr end of the couch but, am not sure where to find stands and if you take a look at the layout that may not be ideal anyway.

Ideally, I'd like to figure out where everything should go in the 7.1 configuration.

I attached the design/measurements and the placement of my VM10s in L/C/R are noted.

If I can figure out how to use the FXis that would be good, but if not I think I will need to consider selling off the extra speakers I have to purchase speakers that will blend in better.

Any feedback would be great.

Thanks

Inspector 24

Tough room to optimize speaker placement.

Ideally, put the TV where the long side of the couch is, couch on the wall with the bay window, blackout curtains on the windows, run a 5.1 or a 6.1 setup with the surrounds on stands near the corners of the room to the L and R of the couch, and maybe a rear center high mounted above the bay window.

If the SO doesn't go for that, pretty much what you said...surrounds on stands at the far ends of the couch, put a RC by the lamp at the corner of the couch near the wall by the narrow doorway.

Without re-arranging everything, or getting creative with wall mounting speakers I don't see a 7.1 system working well at all...

mccarthy814

Yeah. it's tough. I am stuck with the current furniture configuration though. i tried to get it flipped around the other way, but lost that battle.

One thought I had was to have in ceilings (80F/X-RT or similar) in each of the corners: above the couch (right, Middle, above small doorway and one in the corner above the desk. I see polk has those OWM3 speakers now which I guess could be an option as well.

Where the FXi30s are big, the only place I can actually put them on stands are at either end of the couch along the long wall. I am not sure how that would sound if you were sitting in the seats closer to the bay window wall though.

The last option I thought of was additional VM10s, they are smaller but figuring placement so the whole couch gets the surround is still tricky.

It's a lot to figure out with the room this way.

Inspector 24

If you can do in ceiling speakers that may allow you to get your 7.1 channels, however I would think that sticking with just two rear surrounds placed at the corners of the couch would still be better as the sound would be coming at you from the sides, and somewhat behind you, rather than from above.

Perhaps you have another room in the house the SO doesn't care for?

mccarthy814

bumping this up. see if there are any additional ideas (diff speaker choice, placement around the room etc). Room has to stay in its current configuration

thanks

Joe08867

There is nothing optimum about that setup.

In ceilings are probably your best bet.

Maybe a surround bar instead of separate speakers. The distance is your biggest factor. Maybe the Surround Bar 50.

27dnast

I was going to suggest the same thing... look at speakers that go in-wall/ceiling for your surrounds. Probably your best bet... I think you're also looking at 5.1 (using the in-wall/ceiling for surrounds) as your best option.

Secondarily... what about Polk's sound bar and wireless rear surround (http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/fx/).

Those would make the wife happy... and would cost less than running wire through your walls (unless you are a great handyman!).

20hz

mccarthy814 wrote: »

Hi All,

I am looking for some advice on Speaker placement in my new living room set up. It's not a dedicated theater so, I have some constraints on speaker locations.

Any feedback would be great.

Thanks

Wow its a lot like my impossible room !
I could never get a sub to sound good , so I have my tv in the cornor (like yours) my mains are on each side of the tv and my sub behind it in the same cornor , your rear speakers on each side of the couch in the upper cornors .
My setup sounds great but I get more bass rumbling down the hall but thats okay since it goes past me to go that way .