Speaker Placement ? W/PICS

Agent

I have a rather large living room and with the way the ceilings work, along with the opening in the back it is probably an acoustic mess. My question has to do with the front speaker placement. From my center speaker it is about 16ft to the listening position. Quite a long ways indeed. How far apart should I put my fronts. I have read the triangle placement but that won't work because of how far back my couch is. Should they be closer, farther apart, straight, toed in, etc. I have included some pictures to help you get an idea of what my room is like. We just bought this house a few months ago so the walls are still a little bare. The speakers are RTiA7s, CSi5, PC12-NSD.

From the seating position


Standing in front of TV..Ignore the dumb placement of surround, waiting on upgrade so I haven't mounted them yet.


Standing in corner by sub...view of hallway


Standing at edge of hallway


The speakers are currently toed in to point toward the middle of the couch. Also in the picture is XPA-3 and Pioneer VSX-9040TXH and Samsung LN52A650. Thanks.

mdaudioguy

Beautiful! Nice setup, room, everything! Amp looks good too. I'll have to look closer at your pics later to give you some more feedback. They're not displaying so nicely on the iPhone...

krauley

nice setup! imho i would move the couch away from the back wall some bringing your sitting position inline to keep your fronts where they are. that would give you room behind the couch for stands if thats what you were thinking or... wall mounts which would aim the backs right at you . seems like the area behind the couch is dead space anyway and if you moved it up to almost even with the doorway you could put somekind of shelves or something to make better use. I think you are sitting too far from the tv @ 16 feet. well you asked

cnoat

With your couch so far back I wouldn't trianglate the fronts.Play with them until you get the best sound.

Nice Setup

Agent

krauley wrote: »

nice setup! imho i would move the couch away from the back wall some bringing your sitting position inline to keep your fronts where they are. that would give you room behind the couch for stands if thats what you were thinking or... wall mounts which would aim the backs right at you . seems like the area behind the couch is dead space anyway and if you moved it up to almost even with the doorway you could put somekind of shelves or something to make better use. I think you are sitting too far from the tv @ 16 feet. well you asked

No your right, I did ask, and I appreciate the advice. That sectional couch is huge, but very comfortable. I have honestly thought about moving it forward but if I do, I would probably have to take a piece out and put it somewhere else. Every piece comes apart and they all kick back. That part behind the couch is like one of those windowsill bench seats that lift up to store stuff under. Hmmm decisions. So you wouldn't recommend going any closer together with the fronts eh? Well, I have the next week off so I will have some time to tinker with things. Could you explain exactly what you were talking about with the shelves, I'm all ears. Keep the suggestions coming, I enjoy everyones input.

mdaudioguy

Oh, wow, that IS a tough surround speaker situation. I can see where you might not want to move the sectional forward, because it's wall to wall. Looks nice and comfy too! Another idea - I know you were thinking FXi, but have you considered an in-wall/in-ceiling option? Maybe you could mount some in the angled part? My son just looked at it and said the same thing!

Agent

mdaudioguy wrote: »

Oh, wow, that IS a tough surround speaker situation. I can see where you might not want to move the sectional forward, because it's wall to wall. Looks nice and comfy too! Another idea - I know you were thinking FXi, but have you considered an in-wall/in-ceiling option? Maybe you could mount some in the angled part? My son just looked at it and said the same thing!

I would definitely consider it if I could somehow hide the speaker cables coming down. I hate seeing cables if at all possible. If I mounted them just over the couch so the couch would conceal them they would probably be too close. How could I mount a speaker, flush with the wall, on an angle like that? I was planning on mounting the fxi's on the side walls but I wonder how that angle would affect the sound?

mdaudioguy

You could definitely run the wires into the wall near the bottom and fish them up. It requires a little patience and effort (and joint compound and paint), but I'd consider doing something like that. If mounting speakers on the sides, the problem to me seems to be that the higher you place them, the farther forward they'll have to be - almost in front of your seating position.

Agent

Well, it doesn't look like it in the picture but there is room to mount an xfi3 on the "side" just above the top of the couch in the far right corner, and then match it on the left. It would be exactly aligned with my ears at the seating position. Now if I wanted to do 7.1, that would be a little tricky and I would probably have to do something like you suggested. I may just play around with pulling the couch out some or take a section out. I don't know, I like how it wraps around the room and would hate to break it up into two section couches. I don't know if the wifey would even go for it.

mewisemagic

have you tried reversing your setup? system where the sofa is,and sofa behind the three windows? just a thought

mdaudioguy

mewisemagic wrote: »

have you tried reversing your setup? system where the sofa is,and sofa behind the three windows? just a thought

Or that might work... Also, I see no benefit at all of 7.1 in that room layout.

Agent

mewisemagic wrote: »

have you tried reversing your setup? system where the sofa is,and sofa behind the three windows? just a thought

I have considered this but that opening in the back is off center to the left quite a bit. In order to look good, I would have to center the television there and by doing so would put it too far to the left. By the time I center the tv and put the A7s around it one A7 would have to be almost touching the wall while the other would be aways away. Wouldn't look good imo, maybe I'm just picky. Don't get me wrong, it sounds pretty darn good where it is, however, like most of you, I just wonder how much better it can be.

krauley

mewisemagic wrote: »

have you tried reversing your setup? system where the sofa is,and sofa behind the three windows? just a thought

i think he means to put the equipment centered to the room and not to the window, at least thats what i was thinking when i read it. youve got that week to try it