Need thoughts on finding optimum speaker placement, and speaker choices

gmcman

What I have is not the ideal listening room, but unfortunately unless I take out some permits...I need to make the best of it.

The room is rectangular with 8' ceilings, an equilateral triangle as a sweet spot has turned into quite the isoceles. I thought of relocating the door into the spare room to the left but the HVAC ducting will leave some head scars.

I have a couch on the left wall and the 2nd smaller couch is turned sideways as my main seating position, however it's roughly 17' from the speakers.

The room is 158" wide (13'2) with the speakers next to the TV, they are 64" apart (5'4") If I place the right speaker near the wall, then they are 90" apart ( 7'6")

The room is 23' long so that puts the seating position 6' from the rear wall, which consists of a fireplace in the center. I've been asking around about this room but want to ask the Polkies since that will likely stay as my main gear. I have some rockwool so I can build some panels at varying thickness up to 3 1/2"

I'm also currently looking for a pair of SDA's so before I finalize a pair, I would also like to know if what I have is either doable or just not worth having SDA's alongside of trying to make regular speakers work.

My fronts are RT800's with a CS400 center, I can move some things around but obviously i'm limited.

There are a few more kids toys but for the most part this is what I have, the cat tree has been replaced with legos and such.

Also the slider does have a thick curtain for it.

quadzilla

Those other doors go to the rest of the house, yes? If so, I'd start with centering everything on the back wall. Also, the seating is wrong for HT. The seating should be aligned with the front sound stage. It doesn't have to be, but you're never going to get good surround with the seating on the side walls.

gmcman

quadzilla wrote: »

Also, the seating is wrong for HT. The seating should be aligned with the front sound stage. It doesn't have to be, but you're never going to get good surround with the seating on the side walls.

I have the small couch from the right turned sideways and is facing the TV, which is 6' from the rear wall. My bad..I should have been clearer on that.

gmcman

Could I get a pair of SDA-2A's to work in this room if I take the current speaker location and aim towards the center of the room?

The listening position will be roughly right next to the right edge of the dark coffee table.

Joe08867

I didn't realize this was the room your were talking about. I think the 2B's would work better for you. I actually think the original SDA2 would be a bit bass heavy in your configuration. Corner loading the SDA2 is tricky and usually yields a boomy bass situation. You would loose some mid detail with them. The SDA2B's would be easier to place and give your more detail than either 1C's or SDA2 orig.

Can you give us a shot of the other end of the room? How against moving things around are you?

I would place a speaker where the cat tree is and try to straighten your whole system out a bit. Just a thought.

gmcman

It makes all the sense to center everything and walk around to the door, but for now I need to keep it offset to the right.

The right speaker is now against the tv, giving it some breathing room...that's where the SDA will sit also.

gmcman

Wanted to update that I went with the 2B...love em.

Allright....after debating this for awhile..I think i'm going to center everything and add a door to the back room. I still want to use the door behind the TV but only if needed...don't want to block the entire wall.

Not sure if I should build a wall unit to house the components or just use a rack on one side. Would like access to the door but keep the TV, speakers, and components on the same plane...i'm open to all suggestions.

Another area is room treatment.

Going on a rough estimate for a RT60 chart, I came up with neding 8 panels 24"x48"x2" for this room....does this sound like alot?

I have about 8 pieces of rockwool left over from a project to make panels, don't think 8 panels would look right.

Does the size of the panels matter or just total sq.ft? I thought about running a strip down the narrow side of the HVAC duct along the left side which would give me a consideral amount of absorbing material.

What about sound absorbing paint? This is something I could possibly apply to the ceiling.

jbooker82

Heck the door behined the tv would be so you can get behind the equipment with out moving it, bonus.

F1nut

The room is 158" wide (13'2)

That's not wide enough for SDA's. You need a minimum of 15'. I'd put the rig along the long wall where the big sofa is now.

gmcman

F1....you're not the only one who has told me that.

I was hoping I could make the narrow wall work if I moved the couch within 12' of the rig.

The long wall can work......I just need to get rid of the conveyed "Holly Hobbie" couch, not that I'm complaining too much.

My main concern was being too close to the set, CRT RPTV's don't have a great off-axis viewing angle, and I love that set.

That would put me 10' from the display panel, close but could possibly work.

gmcman

Heres another thought.....would there be an effective way of adding sound panels to the side walls where the TV is now, that would "falslely" create a wider room, almost like adding polyfill to a sub box?

Would this deteriorate the SDA effect too much?

Just a thought, would like to explore and discuss all possibilities.

Joe08867

gmcman wrote: »

Heres another thought.....would there be an effective way of adding sound panels to the side walls where the TV is now, that would "falslely" create a wider room, almost like adding polyfill to a sub box?

Would this deteriorate the SDA effect too much?

Just a thought, would like to explore and discuss all possibilities.

No the panels will just dull the room which is probably already dull being carpeted as it is. The long wall is your better bet. Plus the TV will look huge sitting that much closer.

rebuy

What kind of TV is that?

gmcman

rebuy wrote: »

What kind of TV is that?

Hitachi 57X500

rebuy

The reason I was asking was because it did look like a rear projection TV. Having viewed these types it seems you have to be at a certain distance from them to get the best viewing experience. If having the TV on a long wall opposite the couch, would that make the TV too close for viewing?

drummer86

gmcman wrote: »

Hitachi 57X500

Had that exact tv in college. Loved it. Great set.

mccarty250

Agreed, placement is not optimal for SDA's unfortunately.