Loudspeaker Placement & HT Layout - An Essential Guide

[Clint DeBoer]

<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2><A href="http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/audioprinciples/loudspeakers/hometheaterspeakerlayout.php"><IMG style="WIDTH: 118px; HEIGHT: 100px" alt=[DolbyDigitallayout] hspace=10 src="http://www.audioholics.com/news/thumbs/DolbyDigitallayout_th.jpg" align=left border=0></A>There's a kind of precision about audio/video components, </FONT><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>home theater</FONT><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2> and sound reproduction that's downright addictive, similar to the appeal of other technical hobbies like cameras, cars, boats and aviation. They all have their own vocabulary and jargon, of course, and it's easy to get bogged down or enraged by it. But lack of precision can be equally annoying. Join Axiom Audio's Alan Lofft as he takes you through the Dolby Labs&nbsp;recomended guidelines for <A href="http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/audioprinciples/loudspeakers/hometheaterspeakerlayout.php">loudspeaker placement</A> in various scenarios.</FONT></P><P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>[<A href="http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/audioprinciples/loudspeakers/hometheaterspeakerlayout.php">Read the Article</A>]</FONT></P>

[Takeereasy]

Nice article Alan (if you ever get to read this). Very clear and concise and well written. provides a great starting point for most systems. Thanks for posting it Clint.

[vinny]

thanks for the info as i'm renovating my apt and helpful

[saurabh]

its a good article for beginners, but a word or two about the delay settings would definitely help, as it is part of the standard setup now and noone can escape it.

[scobro]

My confusion is how far apart are the surrounds suppose to be from each other?

[vinny]

Clint Hi,

I have two front standing speakers, one centre, and two shelf speakers on stands next to the couch. I am looking to get two more shelf speakers.

As I see in the diagram I see the rear back surround speakers are above the couch,,,as my apt is small can the rear back speakers be mounted on brackets above the main speakers facing the couch acting as presence speakers or suround???

Thanks in advance

Vinny :

[dbarry]

Nice article: My new home theater wall splits a larger room and essentially creates a corner (re: layout 3 hi-fi configuration).

Question: Should the R/L main speakers be located the same distance away from walls that are behind the speakers. My thoughts are that there may be a difference in sound from identical speakers when one is located further away from a rear wall than another.

I have nearly selected Paradigm Studio 100 floorstand units for R/L mains. The technical support folks inform me that the back of their speakers should be a minimum of 8 inches away from a wall. My current home theater wall design has the left speaker standing in a location that is yards away from any wall behind the speaker while the right main speaker is standing in a location that is only 8” away from a wall. Will this disparity in rear wall distance create a problem with paired speaker sound reproduction?

PS: I guess I could build another wall behind the left speaker if I have to.

[9f9c7z]

Any chance we can get an updated diagram for ideal speaker placement using the newer 12.1 surround?
:D

[ExcessivePirate]

Any chance we can get an updated diagram for ideal speaker placement using the newer 12.1 surround?
:D

Damn. :rolleyes: With a 12.1 system i suppose you could put the speakers just about anywhere hahaha :D

[karsfri]

I think we have almost covered all the round. I think the next locical step is to have speakers in the ceiling and in the floor (that would give the words floorspeakers a new meaning :D )

[mfabien]

its a good article for beginners, but a word or two about the delay settings would definitely help, as it is part of the standard setup now and noone can escape it.

For DTS music, I find that placing all speakers at the same distance from sitting position results in no delay settings and placing the Fronts at 30 degrees from center and rears at 110 to 120 degrees provides the best DTS sound mix listening. The above placement also very good for DVD concerts with DTS surround sound.

For Movies or TV listening, you can back off to normal sitting position and swivel rear speakers to 90 degrees.

[aukevin]

I have a question about ceiling surround speakers if you don't mind. I am installing some ceiling speakers this weekend and I had a question about where they should go in relation to the seating area. Should the ceiling speakers be more behind the seating area or directly above it? Thanks a lot!

[mfabien]

I have a question about ceiling surround speakers if you don't mind. I am installing some ceiling speakers this weekend and I had a question about where they should go in relation to the seating area. Should the ceiling speakers be more behind the seating area or directly above it? Thanks a lot!

Normal surround position for DD 5.1 and movies in particular would be 90 degrees to seating position.

For DTS surround listening to such concerts as Eagles' "Hell Freezes Over" or "Farewell 1 Tour" or Steely Dan DTS concerts or other DTS fine sound engineered music, would be 110 degrees and same distance from listening position as there is for other speakers. And that makes ceiling placed speakers a problem unless the sitting position can be advanced nearly half ways for DTS listening and speaker volume adjusted to same dB level as others.

[mike c]

do we have illustrations of the side elevation for the rear speakers?
meaning the height of the LR surround and the LR back?

[mfabien]

do we have illustrations of the side elevation for the rear speakers?
meaning the height of the LR surround and the LR back?

If they are placed at 90 degrees relevant to your listening location, height is most times dictated by your placement of wires. Normally I would say that the surround speakers should be higher than ear level. And at 90 degrees, they are closer to the audience and both distance and sound level adjustments should be entered in the receiver.

[mike c]

thanks mfabien,
i finally got the 90 degree thing ...

but as to the height of the speakers ...
assuming im sitting on a chair with a backrest of 1meter height. would it be ok to place the 4 speakers (LRsurround and LRback) behind me at a height of 2.4meters?

or should i stick to the 1 meter + 2 feet rule?

[mfabien]

Frankly it will not make much of a difference, in my opinion. The important thing is to use a SPL meter and adjust volume so the surrounds are not producing higher sound volumes than your front speakers at your listening position.

[mike c]

great! thanks!

[Ohmage]

If your front L/R speakers are more than 22-30 degrees from your sitting position, you could compensate by toeing them in?

Ohmage.

[mfabien]

Yes, you can toe them in such as I have them here :

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b281/mfabien/497f8f49.jpg

[Ohmage]

Yes, you can toe them in such as I have them here :

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b281/mfabien/497f8f49.jpg

Nice setup! How far apart are your speakers? What are the benefits of spreading the speakers further apart, and then toeing them in? Does the soundstage get wider?

thanks,

Ohmage.

[mfabien]

They are 91 inches apart. For surround sound, the stage is wider.

I learned the advantage of this placement at:

http://www.bilocation.co.uk/settingup.htm

when I purchased the "Bilocation 1" DTS disc. I then realized that this placement is indeed much better for listening to DTS Music disc's or Concert DVDs with DTS surround sound. For instance, I really do enjoy the Eagles and their productions in DTS is very pleasant with my setup and, may I add, my SVS sub (you can barely see the top of the sub over the right armrest of the love seat on the right side of the picture) uses this Front Towers and the Center speaker to make them the apparent source of bass frequencies.

[vlkcheng]

I've got tower speakers for the surround. Should I aim them directly to the sweat spot or should I aim them slightly to the front??

[mfabien]

I've got tower speakers for the surround. Should I aim them directly to the sweat spot or should I aim them slightly to the front??

The normal placement is 90 degrees to the sweet spot. Audio level should be calibrated to a SPL level equivalent to the other speakers.

[mike c]

is there a minumum distance between the left and right speakers? aesthetically, best i can do is 4 feet apart (width of the tv)

or would that limit the soundstage?

[jaxvon]

It would definitely create a narrow sound stage. Sometimes one has to sacrifice aesthetics....at least I think so. I have mine placed around 6.5-7 feet apart.

[mike c]

figures ...

but wait, a narrow soundfield affects what? a smaller sweet spot? or does it just make effects from left to right shorter (and vice versa)?

because i can live with a small sweet spot since I am the only one into this (in this room)

also, do i need this wide soundfield for BOTH music and HT? or just music?

i can also live with HT only

[mike c]

my front right speaker is kinda in the middle of nowhere ...

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a330/superribbit/email2.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a330/superribbit/IMG_3767.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a330/superribbit/email1.jpg

this is the result of positioning them in an equilateral triangle with regards to the seating position

[doomguardian]

Ok, I have a 6.1 setup from sony, where should I put my 3 surround speakers(not 4). Should one be right behind me and the other 2 speakers just on the left and right sides of my head. Or should they all be behind the couch on the back wall? Please help.:(

Thanks for any help

Doomguardian (Aka the ultimate fragger)

[rolyasm]

I have often seen this picture, the one with one couch and 5-7 speakers. What I don't ever see, is a room with two different rows of seating. So one row is at 12' from screen, the other is say 17' from screen. What is the opinion on that situation? Is one row going to suffer, probaby the row that isn't the Captain's chair? I know where I will be sitting.:)
Roly

[Sheep]

I have often seen this picture, the one with one couch and 5-7 speakers. What I don't ever see, is a room with two different rows of seating. So one row is at 12' from screen, the other is say 17' from screen. What is the opinion on that situation? Is one row going to suffer, probaby the row that isn't the Captain's chair? I know where I will be sitting.:)
Roly

In that style setup, you want 7.1 The side surrounds don't fire outwards, they fire to the sides. This way, the people in the first row have rear speakers as well.

My mains are about 6.5 feet apart, on a 12foot wall. My room is 16x12, and I toe them in just a little so the right front speaker is pointing at the farright listeing position, and visa versa for the left.

SheepStar

[rolyasm]

Doom: So say you want to use direct radiators, instead of bipole/dipole speakers. Have you ever seen a large, multi-row theater using this setup? You wouldn't have the option of the speaker firing both ways but they would be firing directly outwards. I think this is the type of speaker Fosgate uses, but he placed his in the corners.
Also, just looked at the Yamaha RXZ9. I notice it is rated at 170x7 and 50x2. Is this so you could use to sets of side speakers, one set to the side and above the front and back listening positions? So the front rows have their surrounds and the back row has their surrounds also. Then you use the 50x2 or the rears? IS this what 9.1 would be?
Roly

[andy24]

Hi All,
I recently got a new Philips DVD player model. dvp 3007 with 5.1 channel output.
I got a home theatre also with 5.1 channel.
Connected them and tried playing the same but only the two speakers ( front Right and Front left ) play and the subwoofers and other two speakers do not play.
I Tried changing the settings on the DVD player to multimodal output of the Audio but still does not work .
Please help with the installation of the same
thanks a ton in advance !
andy

[mike c]

andy, did you use an optical cable or digital coaxial cable from your DVD player to your "home theatre"? (is that the receiver?)

[andy24]

hi mike ,

It is a digital coaxial cable . i did connect it to the reciver in the Sub woofer of the HT.

but still does not seem to work.

Andy

[mike c]

what is the brand and model of this receiver and subwoofer?

[doomguardian]

Doom: So say you want to use direct radiators, instead of bipole/dipole speakers. Have you ever seen a large, multi-row theater using this setup? You wouldn't have the option of the speaker firing both ways but they would be firing directly outwards. I think this is the type of speaker Fosgate uses, but he placed his in the corners.
Also, just looked at the Yamaha RXZ9. I notice it is rated at 170x7 and 50x2. Is this so you could use to sets of side speakers, one set to the side and above the front and back listening positions? So the front rows have their surrounds and the back row has their surrounds also. Then you use the 50x2 or the rears? IS this what 9.1 would be?
RolyOh sorry, I forgot I posted in here.:o

I only have one row(my bed:D ), so all the surrounds would be focused just on me.

[bbob]

Hi all,

(this is my first forum post...ever...so I hope I'm doing this right). I am setting up a surround sound system in a small room, with a diagonal/corner viewing layout (I can email anyone a visual diagram if interested). I think I have it mostly figured out, except for the "rear" speakers. The viewer/listeners will be in the opposite corner as the TV, in a corner-located couch, so I'm wondering what's the best way to get the widest rear acoustics, even though the speakers can't be physically behind the listener. I've thought of banking them off the side walls, either placed in the side corners and facing toward the listener corner, or locating them together in the back corner, facing out to the left and right, respectively. Any thoughts?

[balearophon]

Read the article. There is another by Audsley, the great author on pipe organs. Though a bit stilted, he was responsible for the magical placement of some of the finest, largest and most majestic instrumental monstrosities ever created. He helped build many of them. George Ashton Audsley: The Art Of Organ Building, Vols. I & II. As a side bar, in the old days before acoustic engineers, opera hall architects used to hire these little eighty year old Florentine and Sicilian masters who would come and view the basic structure and then say, "This sconce goes here. That ballistrade goes there. This orchestra pit should be here, so deep and so high, this overhang goes here and needs to be like this". Carnegie Hall was built like that and so were LaScala and Revenna and Royal Albert Hall. The worst example of engineering trying do what these little guys did was probably the Sidney Opera House. Acoustics more wretched than a professional hockey rink. (So sue me. Please.)
Only the individual human can design these things out of his or her visions and experience. So, its your call.;)

[Phantomguy]

I have often seen this picture, the one with one couch and 5-7 speakers. What I don't ever see, is a room with two different rows of seating. So one row is at 12' from screen, the other is say 17' from screen. What is the opinion on that situation? Is one row going to suffer, probaby the row that isn't the Captain's chair? I know where I will be sitting.:)
Roly

Could we focus a little more on this multi-row/suround/rears issue guys and gals. I have 13' wide x 22' long x 8' high room with 3 rows of seating (2 rows of 2 seat/wedge units and 1 back row of 3 seater - hard against back/brick wall). Will be using Yamaha RX-V2600 7.1 with Presence option and System A will be all in-wall/ceiling Jensen EHT 6ohm speakers, as follows for Zone 1ÒNLY -

FL and FR = 1 pr EHT8 (8" x 2way x 130w, swivel tweeters) - WALL Mount
Centre = I pr EHT6 (6.5 x 2 way x 110w, swivel tweeters) - needing impedence compensation device I think (???) - WALL Mount
Presence L and R = 1 pr EHT4 (6.5" x 2 way x 110w, angled Woofer, swivel tweeters) - WALL mounted
Surround L and R = 1 or 2pr or 3pr (not sure???) EHT4 (6.5" x 2 way x 110w, angled Woofer, swivel tweeters) WALL or CEILING mount (not sure???)
Rear L + R = 1pr or 2pr (not sure????) EHT4 (6.5" x 2 way x 110w, angled Woofer, swivel tweeters) WALL or CEILING mount (not sure???)

(System B is my old pr of Sansui SP2500 (circa 1970) for stereo listening and which I am presently reworking crossovers etc basd on modern day techo info )

OK ...so when 7.1 is source I want each seating to benefit for 7 channels .. ditto for 5.1.

So my Questitons -
1. To achieve 90 -110 degree angle of surrounds could I use 2 or 3 pr parallel EHT4s (with suitable Imp Comp Device back to 6ohm) alligned with Row 1 and 2 (and maybe 3)? Would I be best to ceiling mount or wall (about 7' ht) bearing in mind the woofers are made 30 degree angled and tweeters swivel)?

2. For Rear Surronds, given that they should be roughly in line with FL and FR but at same height as (side) Surrounds, and as there is no space behind Row
should I mount them in the ceiling OR rear back wall?

3. And should I use 2pr in parallel again - 1 pr radiating towards the 3rd row (straight down) and the other pr radiating towards the 1st and 2nd rows? If two pr would be best, should I ceiling mount both - 1 pr EHT2 (straight woofer) above Row3 and 1 pr as EHT4 (angled woofer) immediately in front of EHT2s but their angles firing towards the backs of Row 1 and 2?

4. If 2pr and ceiling mounting (as I asked in Q3) would I best best just to have 2pr (not 3pr) of (side) Surrounds at 90-110 degrees to Rows 1 and 2, so that from the Row 3 perspective, there would still be about 40 -50 degrees separation between the Row 2 (side) surrounds (nearest ones) and the (ovehead) Rear Surrounds?

Any help here please? Ddoes anyone have expeience or know where I can get reliable info on where to place surrounds and rear surrounds in my situation. Surely I cant have been the first to encounter this 7.1/3 rows/hard-back-to-wall-row3 problem?
Thx
Phantomguy
.

[mustang_steve]

I have an odd one for you:

My room is missing a corner, literally...it's a 9x11 room, and looks kinda like this:

----- 9ft wide, 11ft deep ~ characters are to keep the wall spacing right.
|~~|
|
---

My surrounds are currently in the back of the room, where that "missing corner" is.

That said, how would I optimally place speakers in that room? And would dipole speakers actually be of any benefit, or should I stay with standard speakers (currently using 5-1/4" shelf speakers)?

[blowinch]

Can anyone explain the difference between loudspeaker Q and coverage Angle? In a dumb way?

I have a definition of each both saying about -6dB reference level to to the on axis spl, and a rigious and authoritive definition of Q thats alittle broad and difficult to grasp.

Thanks, Ryan.

(from Handbook of noise measurement by Peterson and Gross- ~The directivity factor of a transducer used for sound emission is the ratio of the sound pressure squared, at some fixed distance and specific direction, to themean squared sound pressure at the same distance averaged over all directions from the transducer).

[briansmith]

No one seemed to address these questions:

1. Using the DD guidelines how far apart should your front speakers be from each other? I heard that your speakers should form an equilateral triangle?
2. What is the recommended toe in? Are there some rough guidelines?

Anyone know the answers to these questions?

[Ax-man]

No one seemed to address these questions:

1. Using the DD guidelines how far apart should your front speakers be from each other? I heard that your speakers should form an equilateral triangle?
2. What is the recommended toe in? Are there some rough guidelines?

Anyone know the answers to these questions?


1. Depends on your room size and sitting distance, generally I believe there can be a 10-20% variance between listening position to speaker distance and speaker to speaker distance (mains). For example, my listening position is 15 ft from my front speakers and my speakers are 12 ft apart or within 20% of my listening position.


2. There is not a definitive set in stone point for speaker toe-in, most often you'd want the tweeters aimed for your ears but is not always the case. This is an area where you'll just have to tweak and play until you find a point that suits you.


3. Everything is subjective to each individual...of course. ;)


4. Here's a decent article regarding speaker placement....although not many come close to Alan Lofft's articles. One man's view on speaker placement (http://www.hometheatersound.com/features/videonoise/vn_20051101.htm)

[Room101]

The original post now links to the wrong article. Here's the correct url:
http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/speaker-setup-guidelines/home-theater-speaker-layout-an-essential-guide

[johnmn]

Is there any potential harm/ damages to my Floor speakers (Klipsch Synergy SLX LCR) that I lay them down horizintally flat on my book shelves to save floor spaces ? Thank you for all inputs !

[TLS Guy]

No you can not lay them down horizontally. The lobing pattern of the speakers will be 90 degrees off, and they will sound poor.

[TLS Guy]

Can anyone explain the difference between loudspeaker Q and coverage Angle? In a dumb way?

I have a definition of each both saying about -6dB reference level to to the on axis spl, and a rigious and authoritive definition of Q thats alittle broad and difficult to grasp.

Thanks, Ryan.

(from Handbook of noise measurement by Peterson and Gross- ~The directivity factor of a transducer used for sound emission is the ratio of the sound pressure squared, at some fixed distance and specific direction, to themean squared sound pressure at the same distance averaged over all directions from the transducer).

The coverage angle has been explained to you. I assume by Q you are referring to the total system resonance. Every driver has mechanical and electrical resonances. The Q is the slope or steepness of the resonant curve. The Box also has resonance. The "Q" of a speaker usually refers to the Q of the total system. To guide you, a speaker with a total of of 0.5 or less will have an over tight bass. One that stops before it gets going. A speaker with a total Q over 1.0 or over will tend to be on the boomy side. When I design a speaker, I try to design for 0.7 to 0.8

[Semper Fidelis]

???????????????????

[supervij]

Clint, the article is great, but how about one that covers loudspeaker placement for multi-channel music? It's slightly different than the layout for HT. You could have suggest layouts that will work great for both, and layouts that are more oriented towards each separately.

cheers,
supervij

[Sir Charles]

Thanks for the article Clint. I'm a newbie to Audioholics and to home theater. I read the article on speaker placement but have an additional question. I'm having a combination media/game/party room built and want to be able to use it for watching movies and listening to music.

The size of the room will be approx 20' long by 13' wide and the TV watching will be in one half of the room. Music will be all over the room.

I have an Onkyo DS595 5.1 surround sound receiver with A and B speaker outputs in addition to the surround sound and subwoofer outputs.

I was thinking of positioning the speakers with the A speakers at one end with the TV and subwoofer, the surround sound speakers in the middle facing towards the seating area, and the B speakers at the other end of the room.

Is that a reasonable configuration to be able to watch movies, or listen to music when the TV is turned off?

[am74Gibson]

I know you guys out there will at the very least be shaking your heads at this question, and somehow, I know it's inherentley wrong, but here goes...

I have dual Subwoofers...Is there anything wrong with placing/anchoring small speakers or towers on them? I mean, if they are locked down tight? My room layout seems to beg this question..it would resolve a lot of placement issues if it is ok.

[mfabien]

A drop of water coming down on concrete at a constant interval of time will make a hole in the concrete.

A speaker installed on a subwoofer, no matter how well it is anchored, will be shaken internally by the sub's vibration and internal parts will be affected in a period of time associated with the rate of use and intensity of use of the subwoofer.

You may get away with this for a month, a year but in time, you will have, I firmly believe, a failure.

[pmac]

A drop of water coming down on concrete at a constant interval of time will make a hole in the concrete.

A speaker installed on a subwoofer, no matter how well it is anchored, will be shaken internally by the sub's vibration and internal parts will be affected in a period of time associated with the rate of use and intensity of use of the subwoofer.

You may get away with this for a month, a year but in time, you will have, I firmly believe, a failure.

I totally agree with this statement, I would never hook up or place anything on my sub.

[Trihonda]

my front right speaker is kinda in the middle of nowhere ...

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a330/superribbit/email2.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a330/superribbit/IMG_3767.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a330/superribbit/email1.jpg

this is the result of positioning them in an equilateral triangle with regards to the seating position


http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a330/superribbit/email2.jpg

WHAT I LOVE!!!! Is $2-3000 in HT/Audio equipment and a $4.99 plastic chair from Shopko for a seat!!!! That made my day!

[pg13]

Due to room restrictions, I sit almost right across from the front left speaker and close to surround left speaker. Moreover, I may need to place the fronts higher than I want (about 5 feet high while my ear level is about 3 feet) because otherwise they will be hidden behind the TV. My Yamaha receiver has options relating to distance of listening position from each of the speakers. How much can the receiver correct for such placement issues ?

Sorry if the question is naive but this is the first time I am actually setting up a full blown home theater system. Having spent over $1500, I do want to get it right! Ofcourse, since I live in an apartment, I dont have much flexibility with respect to where things can be placed. the current placement is pretty much dictated by window locations in the living room.

Changing speaker placement would require some drastic changes in my living room which my wife is not going to agree with.

My system is:
Orb audio Mod2 fronts and center; mod1 surrounds; Super8 sub; Yamaha RXV663 receiver.

Thanks for any help.

[lsiberian]

2 feet above your ears isn't going to kill you. Getting it off the ground will help some, simply because the acoustics of your floor will effect the sound.

Just make sure you face the speakers forward and not toeing in.

For reference I can sit anywhere along my couch in my apartment and still get good sound. So sitting off center isn't a huge deal.

I know my gal hates talking about the home theater so my suggestion is just try different things and then ask her which she likes better.

It's better to have a happy wife and a wacky placement then an angry wife and perfect placement. If it really is important to you then you might be surprised how much she is willing to tolerate. Plus you can always move speakers when they aren't being used. You probably need the exercise anyway. LOL

[dgshtav]

Thanks. Nice Article.

[grnmtnboy]

I'm new at this(blog), so apologize for my ignorance. Here goes...

I have an existing older stereo system(Pioneer receiver/Bose 301s), and play music a bit loud. Now looking to purchase a new 7.1 HT receiver system, and some surround speakers, and hoping to use it for both movies and continue blasting audio? Most of the surround speakers I'm looking at are generally rated at/near 50w/channel, which is perfectly fine for movies. Can I incorporate loudspeakers(100-150w) with this? Most 7.1 systems distribute wattage equally between the channels? How would I do this(without killing smaller speakers)? Can I put larger speakers on the front sides and change receiver settings? Appreciate all your help.

[meloman]

Good read. Thanks.

[romantic]

i am so new to this stuff so this is very useful for me

[tigra14i]

NICE guys very nice

[mustang_steve]

Pardon the raging mess....I now live with roomates and it's been hell keeping this place clean...spend 6 hours fixing it up, and they wreck it in a day. Oh well, I need them to afford rent these days.

Here's my setup. I've tweaked the reciever's settings enough that the rears do function rather well. Those are the speakers from a Yamaha CAVIT system....got them on Ebay for $10 (seriously :) ).

The front speakers are all Onix Refernce 0.5, I'm still looking for another pair to replace those yamahas as surrounds. The sub is an old yamaha YST-SW215...it's pleasing, but I wish I had more. The reciever is an old Yamaha RX-496. The monster PC to the right of the reciever is my HTPC/silent gaming PC.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a238/catatonic_cyclist/DSCN0256.jpg

Here's a shot of where the center is....it took some work to get it sounding right in there, but was the best place I could put it with all things considered.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a238/catatonic_cyclist/DSCN0257.jpg

Despite it's flaws, it works very well....well enough that my friends want to come over regularly to watch movies here. The biggest thing to remember is positioning speakers in a bass-neutral location. Oddly enough that speaker in the TV stand has no noticable bass peaks, just the sound is a little lower than I'd like. That will be resolved once I get a better TV stand :)

[eddy123]

Over many years I have red experts advises and my conclusion is that there are many theoretical solutions but most of them are impossible to implement due limitations of the room.

ed

[SDDSfan]

If you can place just two front speaker correctly within any room, I would say your done. Inorder for anyone to establish precise surround, they must no the basics of stereo placement. The two front speakers are the most misunderstood element about home theater to this day. I don't think one can put front speakers just anywhere around the room and they can't even aim anywhere else as well. I've tried for many years. The front speakers are placed with respect to ratios and propportions, ohh yes, there placed in reference to mathematics. Front speaker placement is most important, I think.