Where to put back surrounds?

aubrey jeffcote

I'm setting up my first home theater and need a little help.We don't have a dedicated room for TV so it's the living room/dining room that 's getting wired.Living room to front of house(north) open to dining room on south end.Lroom is 16 ft wide and narrows to 13 ft midway of 28 ft total(combined) depth.Where we normally sit is 13 ft from TV leaving 13 ft to the back wall. Where do I put the rears? 13 ft behind,on the back wall? Maybe on the side walls a few ft behind the surrounds firing forward or angled to the front corners? Ceilings are 12 ft. Would like to hang them from the ceiling but my better half won't go for that. And what about equipment? Got the HK AVR430,Monitor 40's + CS1 up front,Monitor 30 surrounds + R15 rears. Maybe go with something more substantial on the back wall? My thinking here is that 40's would do a better job way back behind than the little R15's. What do y'all think?

unc2701

Sadly, there's no right answer. Crank up the volume a little on the surrounds so you can really hear them, get a pair of step ladders and experiment. Find a movie you like and a good scene for surround (personally I like Kill Billl vol 1....) and try different heights & locations. Take your time and with an asmyetrical room, the best location might not have the speakers in the exact same spots.