Surround speaker distances… help needed please….

[Bahtman]

I know the recommended placement is 90-120 degrees, but what about the optimum distance between them?

I’ve looked and looked and all I could find was… ”They should be raised to a height of approximately six feet and should ideally have a minimum space of six feet between them, as well.”

I have two options available to me and would like some opinions.

1. I can locate the left surround at only about 80 degrees and 15 ft. from the mlp and the right side at the recommended 90-120 at about 13 ft. from the mlp.
   
2. I can increase the size of the area rug and get both at the 90-120 degree mark but then they’d only be about 6.5 ft. each from the mlp.
   

Getting a rug that big would allow me to run the wires from the AVR under it and to their locations L and R of the mlp but at an added cost of about $1000.00. (Rugs are costly here in Thailand and I’d be combining three to get the size I need.)

Additionally, given these parameters, would monopole or bi-pole work the best given your recommendation on 1 or 2?

It’s a large room, 22’ front to back and 35 ft. left to right.

I’ve got either Focal 926’s or KEF Q 900’s in mind using a Denon X4100W and Martin Logan Dynamo 1500 sub using a 5.1 setup.

Surrounds to be determined based on your opinions.

I know the Audyssey MultEQ XT32 calibration will help in whatever location I select, but what would be your choice?

Thanks in advance for all the input and suggestions.

 

[Bahtman]

Nobody?

 

[PENG]

Did you Google this topic? If you did you would have found many good articles to read but I like this one http://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/surround-speaker-dipole-vs-bipole a lot.

Bi pole probably would work for you, though 80 degrees can't be that bad.

 

[Bahtman]

Ya know Peng, I've probably read more than I should have over the last 4-5 months to be dangerous.
There are camps that go both ways and the link (read it prior) suggests bi-poles work well in a smallish multi seat environment

My room is huge and with volume of about 12000 ft./3.

As such I was concerned about the distances to the surrounds as well as the axis.

Given your advice about "80 degrees cant be that bad" should I make them symmetrical or move the RS to the 90-120 degree locations which is doable on that wall.

Thanks for the input

 

[herbu]

When you EQ the room, you will adjust the L/R Surrounds to the appropriate volume AT YOUR SEAT. Move the speakers closer, and EQ will lower their volume. Farther away and EQ will raise their volume. So as long as the volume eq is within the capability of your AVR, it doesn't matter so much.

As for rugs being so expensive to cover your speaker wires... duct tape is cheap. But if you place the speakers at/near the walls, you can run the wires along the bottom of the walls and cover with a variety of channels or mouldings if you want.

 

[Bahtman]

Thanks herbu,
The right side is easy to deal with as I can put it anywhere along that side. Remove the baseboard, insert and reinstall.
It's the left side that's the issue. In theory I could do the same thing. Remove baseboard and door trim to get to the 80 degree location but at the greater distance. I know the AVR EQ will adjust volume as needed but when does one get to the point of "it's to far from the mlp?"

I can hit these distances and offsets using the rug over tile floor. I'm just not sure how important off axis and distances are. I do have a tendency to "over-engineer" things and make them more complicated than they should be.

 

[herbu]

I know the AVR EQ will adjust volume as needed but when does one get to the point of "it's to far from the mlp?"

An AVR has a max amount it can boost the signal to a speaker. I think it's usually between 6-12dB. See what yours is. The distance that requires more than your AVR's max, is too far.

Another consideration, the overall max volume of your AVR is limited by how much your speaker(s) is already boosted.

In other words, say the max volume of your AVR is 80dB. But your equalization boosted the volume of one of your speakers by 6dB. Now the max volume of your AVR is 74dB. (74dB overall volume + 6dB boost = 80dB max.) And since the actual sound from your boosted surround speaker is very small compared to your L/R/C, the decreased overall volume could be quite noticeable. Now it's time for an amp.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I don't think surround speaker placement is important enough to warrant $1000 or even $200 cost. If the sides are least expensive, then that's where I would place the surrounds.