Which speakers and where to mount them?

brentski

My current set-up, Room is about 12'W x 15'L
I have a TV at one end and my seating at the other.
(i.e., like the pic. below, however with seat 1' from the BACK wall)
Currently, I have the following Polks; CS-400i-center, RT-55's mains, Rt-35's rears.

I use this primariy for HT use.
I'm purchasing a new Sony 36XBR800 TV and a new 7.1 receiver (yet to be decided)

My room is such that I currently have my rear speakers at ear level,about 2' in front of my listening position
In an attempt at trying a 6.1 set-up, I placed my old center speaker(CS-245) in the wall, 1 ft. behind and 2 ft above my seating position.
What I found is that what I had with the 5.1, now seemed a bit washed out by all the surround sounds, whether they be to the right or left ending up in rear speaker behind me.

My question is this.
If I purchase a pair of FX300's or 500''s to add to the mix, so that I can get a 7.1 set-up, what should go where????

I can mount the side speakers (currently at ear level and 1 ft. in front of me) on the walls so that they'd be about 4 ft. above my listening postion.

At the same time I could mount the rear speakers in the top back,8 ft. high corners of my room so that they face each other or so that they face forward.
Regardless,they'd still be about 1 ft behind me but about 5 ft from my listening position in the corners.

Imagine this picture, with my seat, 1-2' from the back wall, instead of how it is in the pic. and that would give you a decent idea of my layout.
http://www.polkaudio.com/home/technology/bidipole.php?category=6&speaker=45

My questions now are these;

1)do I mount the FX's or the RT's against the side walls? (2 ft in front and 4 ft. above ear level )
*The side spkrs. would be mounted like they are in the pic., with my seat however, near the back wall.



2) how do I mount the speakers in the rear corners above my listening position? Against the side walls facing each other or against the back wall facing forward?
(while the back wall is about 1 ft. behind me, the spkrs. would be about 5 ft. above me in each back corner. about 11 ft. apart)


Any help would be graciously appreciated.
Thank you

brentski

Anyone ???

Any Suggestions?????

Please!!!!!

Frank Z

Brentski,
I have my bi-pole/di-pole speakers on the sides and direct firing speakers for the rear channels. Speaker height should be about 2-3' above and slightly behind your ear when seated. Before you start drilling holes and running wire through the walls you might want to try placing your speakers on some step ladders and try them at various heights and locations. Make sure that you do a quick calibration with your SPL meter after you have moved them around so that you get a good estimate of what the speakers will sound like when you mount them permanently.

If you can avoid putting your primary seating against the back wall you'll be rewarded with better surround effects.

Corner loading your surround or rear channels will result in a lot of reflected sound that will really screw up even the best sound tracks! It will also ruin any decent multichannel music you might otherwise enjoy!

I would also suggest that you check out the following links for more info on proper placement.

www.dolby.com

http://www.polkaudio.com/home/faqad/advice.php?article=placement

Hope this helps.

BTW, don't aim your surround or rear channel speakers at the listener, doing so will cause the surround effects to be VERY localized, trust me...you won't like it!

brentski

In looking at your pictures, the one under the THX poster, it shows your Surround speakers and rear channel speakers.

What is the distance from the surround speaker on the side wall and the rear speaker on the back wall facing forward?
Also,if you don't mind , where is your seating in relation to your surround speakers? Even with, in front or behind??

With the purchase of some surround speakers(FX/300's or 500's) to place on my side walls, I could mount my RT-35's on the back wall, in from the corners, and facing forward, similar to those in your picture.
Make sense?

Thanks very much for the help.

Tour2ma

Originally posted by brentski
I use this primariy for HT use.
I'm purchasing a ... new 7.1 receiver (yet to be decided)

Man, you still looking for an AVR?

Frank Z

Originally posted by brentski
What is the distance from the surround speaker on the side wall and the rear speaker on the back wall facing forward?
Also,if you don't mind , where is your seating in relation to your surround speakers? Even with, in front or behind??

The rear speakers are approx 5' apart. the LsiFX speakers are 26" above ear level ( measuered from the bottom of the speaker), and they are approx. 20" behind the primary seats (recliners).

With the purchase of some surround speakers(FX/300's or 500's) to place on my side walls, I could mount my RT-35's on the back wall, in from the corners, and facing forward, similar to those in your picture.
Make sense?

Yeah, I think your describing an installation that would look like mine.

brentski

Also,what is the distance from the speakers on your side wall to the speakers on the rear wall?

Thank you

Frank Z

The fx's are 57" from the rear wall, and 55" from the 7's (measured from the front of each speaker).