5.1 rear speaker placement

P

Peterwinkle

Enthusiast
I'm finally getting around to setting up my rear speakers for surround and would like some feedback on placement. I've been trying to figure out a good way to run wires through the walls, and found a good route up to the attic and over. The problem is I cant find a decent way to run them down the walls to the speakers. My idea right now is to run the wires over to the wall and down through the ceiling. Then mount the speaker high, up close to the ceiling and face them inside towards each other to. Good idea? Bad idea?

My couch is set against the back wall so I cant mount them more than 90Deg on the sides. The speaker ports are on the back, so I cant mount them against the wall without turning them in to each other, which would point towards the couch anyway. Is it a bad idea to face the speakers towards each other? Is it a bad idea to mount them up high on the wall?
 
JohnnieB

JohnnieB

Senior Audioholic
Hey pete,
You want to mount rear speakers so the tweeter is at or slightly above ear level when seated, same as your mains. Since your seating is against the wall, the surrounds almost have to face each other, more or less. Its not the preferred method, but sometimes it's the only option. If the wire running down the wall is not something you can live with, there are options.

1: Get some flat plastic wire (raceway) tracks to run down the wall. You should be able to find it at a home improvement store or office supply. The wire runs inside the track and the track can be painted same color as the wall. Not perfect, but less noticeable.
2: I believe electricians have handy tools for running wire in finished walls. I think its called a "flex bit". You can then pull wire and mount a terminal for connections where you plan to place the speaker without tearing up your walls. A friend of mine had this done. I can't be too much more specific about it as I have not seen the process, but he said it was relatively simple. His brother in law was the electrician, so I can't attest to the cost either. Ask an electrician and see if that sounds right. In fact, it might be a wise choice to have a certified electrician do the work. I'd hate to see you drill through some existing wiring.

A pair of speaker brackets should solve your mounting issue. Take a look at something like this.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000X9O8SI/ref=s9_top_hm_b1FUB_g23_i1

The mount you choose will depend on speaker size and whether or not the speaker has provisions for mounting.
 
Last edited:
Alex2507

Alex2507

Audioholic Slumlord
That's a good mount. It will move the speaker far enough off the wall to allow the port some room to do it's thing.

My couch is also against the wall. My surrounds are on the side walls about 10" away from the corner pointed about a foot or so in front of the main listening position. I think the tweeter is like 2' down from the ceiling which is like two feet up from the MLP. I think there are like two different standards for this height. The other being closer to ear level as Johnnie mentioned.

Make sure your speaker wire has an in wall rating. Anybody even remotely familiar with electrical work can fish that wire down through an open attic into a wall below. I just have the raw wire sticking out without the added binding posts. I could have done better but I had enough to do that day.

 
P

Peterwinkle

Enthusiast
Thanks for the feedback. I had actually already looked into getting that bracket, it's looks like it will work just right for what I need. I might see if I can find a decent spot to run the wires down the wall to be able to mount the speakers lower. There isn't any really good access in the attic above that wall and they are old lathe and plaster walls so I cant really start cutting access holes because repairing them will then be difficult.
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
Wow, Those mounts look like B Tech knocks offs or it could be the other way around..Who knows?? But they are good mounts. I use them as shown below for my setup on the left and right sides. The center channel is self masterpiece of engineering if I do say so myself. :p

IMG-20130924-00100.jpg IMG-20130924-00098.jpg IMG-20130924-00099.jpg
 

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