New to Polk and New to home audio help!!

wickedg8gt

Hello everyone, I'm new to the Polk family and semi new to home theatre audio. My last home theatre surround sound was a cheap 5.1 in a box type deal and were good but not good enough. I just bought my first house and time to upgrade. And I would love your all's input.

I'm looking to do a 5.1 or 7.1 setup. The room is 13ftx13ft and one wall having my couch against it and the other is my projector screen. If I go 5.1, I would do s60's and s35 upfront with either s20's or FXi A6 mounted on the wall behind and above the couch for the rears. If I go 7.1, I would do the same upfront but 4x s10's for the rears. What is your all's opinion on what would give me the best sound for 90% movies? Thanks.

Nightfall

I'd do 5.1 with that size room and with the couch being against the rear wall. 7.1 far rear channels are supposed to be behind you a good ways, not on the wall directly behind and above your head. With 5.1 it's okay to have the rears 90 degrees.

wickedg8gt

Nightfall wrote: »

I'd do 5.1 with that size room and with the couch being against the rear wall. 7.1 far rear channels are supposed to be behind you a good ways, not on the wall directly behind and above your head. With 5.1 it's okay to have the rears 90 degrees.

Ok, thank you sir. Would you have a diagram of the 5.1 also? And with the 5.1, which speaker configuration would you go with for the rears; the s20's or FXi A6?

F1nut

FXiA6

Nightfall

What I've heard is that bipole is better for movies (you don't want localized sound) as well as if the speakers need to be close to the seating. I've not heard bipole rear speakers though so I can't say from experience. I use normal bookshelf speakers with no complaints but for all I know I'd like bipole better. Coming from a home theater in a box, you won't be disappointed no matter what you choose to be honest.

5.1 diagram would be the same as the picture above without the left/right rear speakers.

wickedg8gt

Ok, thanks guy. I know those A6's have dipole/bipole switch; which one do you use and what is best placement of them wall mounted?

F1nut

Try it both ways, you'll figure it out.

The popular way seems to be 6' up the wall. To me that's too high as the sound is way above your head. I have mine slightly above ear height on stands, but I'm not sitting against the wall either.

[Deleted User]

I would get rid of the couch and add more speakers, but that is just me.

msg

Especially since that couch in Josh's diagram is too small to sit on comfortably anyway.

afterburnt

Nightfall wrote: »

I'd do 5.1 with that size room and with the couch being against the rear wall. 7.1 far rear channels are supposed to be behind you a good ways, not on the wall directly behind and above your head. With 5.1 it's okay to have the rears 90 degrees.

Dude those speakers are huge!

mdaudioguy

msg wrote: »

Especially since that couch in Josh's diagram is too small to sit on comfortably anyway.

Uhh, and it faces the rear speakers!

lightman1

No worries....it's a Josh sized couch. Should fit nicely.

wickedg8gt

Thanks everyone. I heard also 3 foot or so above ears. I just wasn't sure if they should be placed right directly above the head or more off to the side towards outer shoulder.

mdaudioguy

wickedg8gt wrote: »

Thanks everyone. I heard also 3 foot or so above ears. I just wasn't sure if they should be placed right directly above the head or more off to the side towards outer shoulder.

2 to 3 feet above ears is fine in my book. The further back they are, the higher you can get away with. If you're talking surrounds in 5.1, set them as wide as your room permits - well, at least not directly over your head.

polrbehr

And don't forget a decent subwoofer. Get as much as your budget allows, even in a smaller room it will have a significant impact on your setup. The current Polk offerings
(DSW PRO line) are reasonably priced, have a small footprint, and have a lot more output than their size would indicate.

EndersShadow

As everyone has suggested I'd do 5.1. Now there is some back and forth as to how high to mount your surrounds as of late.

A lot of it depends on if you plan to do ATMOS or not apparently.

If your not doing ATMOS most folks "suggest" 2-3 feet above ear level when seated. However its a "suggestion" so I would find what works best for you on that one.

I've seen folks do it right at ear level, and folks like myself, who did it higher up.

My reasoning was because ear level for one of them would put them directly in head smashing mode as I'd be tall enough to walk right into them. Higher up also helped them look a bit better, which my wife liked.

Here is how I have mine mounted.













If you ARE going to likely do ATMOS then the recommendation is the speaker at ear level.

mrloren

nice setup.

Dmega

wickedg8gt wrote: »

Hello everyone, I'm new to the Polk family and semi new to home theatre audio. My last home theatre surround sound was a cheap 5.1 in a box type deal and were good but not good enough. I just bought my first house and time to upgrade. And I would love your all's input.

I'm looking to do a 5.1 or 7.1 setup. The room is 13ftx13ft and one wall having my couch against it and the other is my projector screen. If I go 5.1, I would do s60's and s35 upfront with either s20's or FXi A6 mounted on the wall behind and above the couch for the rears. If I go 7.1, I would do the same upfront but 4x s10's for the rears. What is your all's opinion on what would give me the best sound for 90% movies? Thanks.

Firstly, welcome to the Polk Forums. Secondly, The "best" setup for movies imo is an atmos setup. I could go on and on trying to explain it to you but here's a link to the horses mouth .
https://www.dolby.com/us/en/technologies/home/dolby-atmos.html

If you want to know more about atmos, I'm happy to share any experience I have gained.

F1nut

Just like 3D, Atmos will be a distant memory.

lightman1

Rick88 wrote: »

F1nut wrote: »

Just like 3D, Atmos will be a distant memory.

And curved televisions...

And tube amplifiers......

tonyb

F1nut wrote: »

Just like 3D, Atmos will be a distant memory.

Maybe so Jess, but it sells receivers and speakers.....and that's the ticket. Next it will be Atmos xx, and you'll have to buy new receivers and speakers again.

No thanks, some dig that merry-go-round, not this cowboy.

EndersShadow

To the OP, ignore the suggestions to go ATMOS. I would focus on doing a properly setup 5.1 system and be done. Your room is fairly small in the scheme of things, and your layout is NOT setup for 7.1 as you have no spacing between the rear wall and the couch (which is fine, just dont do 7.1).

ATMOS is also likely a waste IMHO in that room given its size, and its pricey to do in-ceiling stuff right if you dont have a drop ceiling, and even then its more speakers and channels needed.

I am VERY content with my 5.2 setup and while I'd likely enjoy 7.2 more, the cost to do it v the benefit to the sound quality wouldn't make it worthwhile for me.

Additionally go with the dipole/biple speakers and mount them either on the sidewalls fairly close to the back of the room, or on the backwall above the couch.

I think with that setup you will be very happy, and additionally you are able to use some less expensive receiver as you dont need any more channels than just about ANY AVR comes with.

This does not mean I suggest buying the CHEAPEST receiver you can, but you don't need to spend TONS to get a decent midgrade receiver, or even a last years model because, again you dont need the newest codec's to do 5.1.

mrloren

F1nut wrote: »

Just like 3D, Atmos will be a distant memory.

Maybe or maybe not.

Movies are already mixed in it so I think yes Atoms will be around much longer than 3D was.

Thing about these "NEW" audio formats is you will need height speakers. I was lucky my house was pre wired for in-ceiling speakers, if not I would be at 5.1 and done.

If someone can do in-ceiling easy or inexpensive then it's something to think about and not a must have.

rpf65

I'd recommend going 5.1 also.

Personally can't say enough about how good the FXI A6 is, I have mine mounted about 6 feet high and about a foot behind the main listening position. Have to work with what I have.

Tried the RTI A3' as surrounds, but the FXI's are much better in that position. Tried the FX's as rears, just to see if I wanted another set, but preferred the A3's as rears. There about 5 foot back from the MLP, and I just preferred direct firing speakers. No right or wrong answer, just a listeners preference.

I would probably go with the S 50's in a room your size. I'd take the difference and apply it to a good sub:
SVS PB 2000
HSU VTF-2 MK 5
Just to name a couple that I think would wirk well in you room. Don't really need those bass drivers if you have a good sub properly set up.

Welcome, and good luck.

afterburnt

Give a thought to the musical aspect. I started building a home theater system and I use it way more for music than movies. I have hundreds of great records and 3 great movies. I am not into many movies that multi-channel comes into play.

wickedg8gt

Hey everyone, hope you guys are having a good weekend. I work weekends, so first chance I've had to respond. My name is Brett, by the way. Nice to meet all of you.

Now, as far as my setup goes, I'm not going to do Atmos. This is my first home, and I'm not ready to call an electrician or a professional installer to wire speakers to the ceiling or anything. Plus, if I ever have a family, I'll move anyway. So as of RIGHT NOW I'm going to take your all's suggestions doing 5.1.

I do have a receiver already, it's a Denon AVR 1912 with 7.1 and 3d and the works. Just not 4k. It's like 2 years old.

I am going to get a sub woofer. I was recommended by Polk the PSW111 or the Pro 440.

wickedg8gt

EndersShadow wrote: »

As everyone has suggested I'd do 5.1. Now there is some back and forth as to how high to mount your surrounds as of late.

A lot of it depends on if you plan to do ATMOS or not apparently.

If your not doing ATMOS most folks "suggest" 2-3 feet above ear level when seated. However its a "suggestion" so I would find what works best for you on that one.

I've seen folks do it right at ear level, and folks like myself, who did it higher up.

My reasoning was because ear level for one of them would put them directly in head smashing mode as I'd be tall enough to walk right into them. Higher up also helped them look a bit better, which my wife liked.

If you ARE going to likely do ATMOS then the recommendation is the speaker at ear level.

You have a beautiful setup sir. I admire.

wickedg8gt

rpf65 wrote: »

I'd recommend going 5.1 also.

Personally can't say enough about how good the FXI A6 is, I have mine mounted about 6 feet high and about a foot behind the main listening position. Have to work with what I have.

Tried the RTI A3' as surrounds, but the FXI's are much better in that position. Tried the FX's as rears, just to see if I wanted another set, but preferred the A3's as rears. There about 5 foot back from the MLP, and I just preferred direct firing speakers. No right or wrong answer, just a listeners preference.

I would probably go with the S 50's in a room your size. I'd take the difference and apply it to a good sub:
SVS PB 2000
HSU VTF-2 MK 5
Just to name a couple that I think would wirk well in you room. Don't really need those bass drivers if you have a good sub properly set up.

Welcome, and good luck.

That's awesome you have the FXi also, you like them pretty well?

wickedg8gt

After catching up, it seems placement should be around 6ft off ground, which is +/-equal to about 3ft above ears. Now I just need to figure out where horizontally/left/right or in/out to place them. I know not right above the head, so I'm thinking more outer as in towards outer shoulder.

I can't wait to get it all and show you all my first true HT.

dalylaleahthor

Welcome to club Polk.

arekon

do not put the couch against the rear wall! HT 101 advises against this. 12.5% of the rooms length should be left open for audio deflection.
the psw 111 is an under acheiver. bang for buck is top notch.