5.1 Speaker Placement Question

[Disturbed932]

ok I'm going to buy a HTIB soon (HT-SS2300) and i have a question about the speaker placement in my room. my room is 12x12 and is perfectly square except for the small entrance to the doorway which indents the room maybe 1.5 or 2 feet. anyways, i was wondering, for a perfect square room like i have, is placing speakers in a corner a good idea or dont you recommend it? i was just wondering because i want to wall mount my two rear speakers and my room is on the small side (12x12). any help would be appreciated.

 

[lsiberian]

Square rooms can reak havoc on acoustics, but if that's the hand your dealt it should be workable. Since your budget is 400 and your desire for a home theater in box. I first want to suggest you go a different route.

Get a http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/ONKHTS6100/Onkyo/HT-S6100-7.1-Channel-Receiver/-Speaker-Package-BLACK/1.html

I know its 100 more than what you were looking at, but this system processes all the audio formats and does sound much better than a sony system IMO.

It won't hold a candle to most of our systems, and I would suggest you at least consider starting small and adding as the funds come. Start buy getting some really nice front speakers and a used receiver off ebay. Then add a matching center as you get funds. Then add a subwoofer as you get funds. Then add a couple of surround as you get funds. Then upgrade to a 7.1 receiver. Then add too more surrounds. Then add another subwoofer. (and then You start the process over) Stop whenever you get to a sound that you think is good enough for you.

instead. If you can spare the funds that will be a nice fairly future proof system with a better sound than the sony system.

http://www.dolby.com/consumer/home_entertainment/roomlayout2.html
follow the guidelines they give you here and you should have a nearly perfect setup. Remember to get the couch to be 4 feet away from the back wall.

 

[Chitown2477]

Placing speakers directly in the corner will not be the best option as you more than likely will get reflections off the wall. Moving the speakers even 12 inches off the wall, however, can make a big difference in sound quality. I recommend you set it up and try out different placement scenarios. To the previous poster's point, I would HIGHLY recommend you consider a component system or start with a different HTIB.

A component system allows you to upgrade fairly easily into the future. If you go with a component system now, the upgrade options are limitless – along with the prices.

If you stay with the HTIB, I suggest something like the Yamaha YHT-390 5.1 HTIB system at about $400.00; see the link below. I suggest this due to the traditional A/V receiver you could use as you upgrade speakers in the future. The Sony you stated has a proprietary type receiver that is designed (more than likely) only for the speakers it comes with out of the box. I started this route and now have a Klipsch 5.1 reference setup with a better A/V receiver. The original A/V receiver was used for a few years with OK results.

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/productdetail.html?CNTID=567702&CTID=5000800

At the end of the day, it all depends on your future goals. You can buy the Sony HTIB now and then buy a great component system later. And then place the Sony HTIB in the bedroom, garage, or other room. There is always a place for something like that.

Drell

 

[jliedeka]

I would agree that putting the speakers in corners probably won't work. With small HTiB speakers, however, you may get better bass by having them closer to the walls rather than out in the room. You may try putting the sub in a corner for more low bass output.

A square room is problematic for getting the best sound. Your best bet is to try to have the speakers' distance from the side walls not the same as their distance from the wall behind them.

Jim

 

[no. 5]

ok I'm going to buy a HTIB soon (HT-SS2300) and i have a question about the speaker placement in my room. my room is 12x12 and is perfectly square except for the small entrance to the doorway which indents the room maybe 1.5 or 2 feet. anyways, i was wondering, for a perfect square room like i have, is placing speakers in a corner a good idea or dont you recommend it? i was just wondering because i want to wall mount my two rear speakers and my room is on the small side (12x12). any help would be appreciated.

Corner mounting a speaker and room shape are two separate acoustical matters.

Given the nature of the speakers in question, it may not be a major issue to corner mount the surround speakers, the boundary effects introduced from placing the speaker in the corner may 'fix' the upper bass roll off that is typical of small HTIB type speakers (I say "may" because it really depends on the characteristics of the Sony's speakers).

A square room may not have "ideal" modal distribution, but it is still possible to put the sub and your chair in locations that produce a satisfactory frequency response.