Speaker Positioning, Opinions Pls

[Pogre]

The more I look at it the more I think it'll look pretty good. My only reservations are the fact that it's a high traffic area, but I think I have enough room between my chair and the speaker on the right. I'll even be able to hide the cable better coming up from the floor instead of across the wall.

What do you guys think? Is that perfect placement for my surrounds or a disaster in the makings? Right now I have them wall mounted and they're way too high up. WWYD?

*Edit: Pics might help!

 

[Pogre]

I just put a speaker on one. Sold. I think not only are they positioned better, it also looks better. Gimme a few and I'll take a pic. Gonna have to do an Audyssey calibration too. Man, I think I'm really gonna like it. It's not as in the way as I thought.

Plus those stands were always just a little too tall. The tweeters are a little above ear level and they clear the backs of the chair too.

 

[j_garcia]

That's how my old room was except mine were inline with each other. I prefer having them on stands. I had them pointed to the center of the room, not directly at the listening position and it worked really well. Current room they are closer to the listening position but still behind.

 

[Hetfield]

One of my front speakers are in a very high traffic area. I moved it up just slightly and in just slightly giving them just a bit more space between people walking by and it worked out great because I was very worried about it getting knocked over. None of unfortunately have perfect rooms for this hobby of ours.

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[Pogre]

Oh, I like this. I really do. I'm gonna run them like this for a while and see if it poses any problems. If not I'll take the mounts back down. I already think it looks better.

 

[Hetfield]

You really don't have a bad HT room. It's better than mine for sure. Just open to the back where the kitchen is as far as I can tell. Those speakers look really good too. Nice stands too.

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[lovinthehd]

View attachment 21486
View attachment 21487

Oh, I like this. I really do. I'm gonna run them like this for a while and see if it poses any problems. If not I'll take the mounts back down. I already think it looks better.

I prefer my surrounds up but floor would be difficult to do in my case as well. How is it to sit in that chair next to the left surround? Did normal Audyssey surround settings leave that at a decent level or did you need to turn it down a bit?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Hey poges! We all have our compromises and preferences etc. For ME, I hate surrounds on stands. IMO, that layout doesn't present the source material as well as surrounds up higher/behind/ and aimed forward. Not saying that it's wrong for others, and sometimes that's the only thing that you can do in a room. Personally I think even though your wife is an absolute trouper, she's lucky in a way. My surrounds stick out from the wall almost 19". One is in a medium traffic area, and at nearly 30lbs, nobody hits it more than once. Lol! For your room, stands might be just what you need, but since you asked, my opinion is put them on the wall.
Also, since we're on the topic. I was meaning to ask for awhile now about your mains. In your pics (very generous btw) they look very far apart which is fine, but I'm wondering about imaging, and center image. For example, in stereo, is the vocalist in the center etc. I gotta dig up the rabbit hole thread...

 

[shadyJ]

Maybe you should think about some in-wall speakers in this situation or those SVS Prime Elevation speakers, if any of these can be wired through the wall. They won't sound as good, but the surround channels aren't nearly as important as the front stage anyway. I wouldn't sweat sacrificing some of the surround sound in order to preserve the room aesthetics and floor space.

 

[Audiosaur]

Yes, Pogre, I think you should get different surrounds. Then you could sell me the Ultras! How 'bout a hundred each?

Seriously, though, could you move the right to the same position relative to the sofa as the left? Then you won't be walking out of the hallway into a speaker. Just a thought.

 

[Pogre]

I prefer my surrounds up but floor would be difficult to do in my case as well. How is it to sit in that chair next to the left surround? Did normal Audyssey surround settings leave that at a decent level or did you need to turn it down a bit?

It doesn't work so well in the seat next to the left surround (not sure it's working well for me either with it firing right into the back of the loveseat), but nobody ever sits there. One of these days I'm gonna pull that loveseat more into the middle of the room and do a room calibration for 2 people in that seat if I want to have some company over.

Now that I've had a little time with them I think I might just put them back. I left the mounts up on the wall and it'll be easy to do. I just wish these mounts could angle down some more. Even upside down the tweeters are way over my head.

 

[TheWarrior]

I'd look to on walls or satellites that can be hung and positioned as needed in future upgrades.

Above transition (200 hz) I would recommend diffusion products (check out GIK Acoustics) if your measurements show midrange frequencies varying by 10dB or more (or less if you're seeking top performance) and measurements will tell you which frequency ranges are most troublesome so you can select the appropriate diffuser.

Below transition, bass performance is entirely dictated by the room. So first step is actually measure ALL parallel surfaces that are open to the listening space (mine has 15).

1130 / dimension = modal frequency

That's 1130 fps (speed of sound @ sea level) divided by wall-wall/ floor-ceiling parallel measurements.

In addition to that, sound doesn't reflect once and diminish below audibility. You also have higher order resonances so that modal frequency then gets multiplied by 2/3/4+ (4 if you really have some problems in upper bass or midrange). Keep all of this organized by length, width, and height as that really comes in to play when programming multiple subwoofers - like a map.

Take 1/24 octave measurements when tuning bass ONLY. Lower res will mask resonances. Period.
With the above predictions, you will find resonances (are both peaks and nulls) that measure only slightly lower in frequency than predicted (walls have windows, doors which allow flex, lowering the resonant frequency). With products like Minidsp you can program each subwoofer, based on location - using your height/length measurements - to determine which subwoofer can constructively or destructively drive those standing waves. (bass wavelengths are so massive compared to living room dimensions that they can corrupt multiple seats with too much or too little sound). You then apply a minidsp filter based on the frequency at the center of the bump/null with a corresponding increase or decrease in amplitude to bring that frequency to the average sound level as measured. You then select the Q - bandwidth of that resonance. If a peak measures 10 hz wide, Q= 10. If everything has been accounted for, you have just canceled out a peak/null corrupting your bass.

Welcome to my rabbit hole!

 

[Pogre]

Thank you Warrior for that detailed reply. I'm just nutty enough to do what you suggest one of these days.

As it is I put them back up on the wall. I determined that they're a little too low and close to my listening position after watching a movie and a couple of shows last night. I might just see if the clamps are strong enough to angle my speakers down a little lower and hold them in place.

 

[Pogre]

Like this...

I have the clamps pretty damned tight. It wobbles a little (the clamp part of the mount) when you jiggle it, but the speaker itself doesn't slide or shift at all. It looks more precarious than it is, but yeah...

 

[j_garcia]

I really only like mounts that physically attach to the speaker, which means using a speaker that has some sort of attachment point for it.

 

[Pogre]

I really only like mounts that physically attach to the speaker, which means using a speaker that has some sort of attachment point for it.

That's how my Deftechs were. They had a threaded inserts on the back that I simply screwed the mounts into that worked really well. I had a lot more articulation too. I ain't drilling into my speakers tho...

To be fair, I doubt wall mounting was a consideration with the Ultras when they designed them. They're at a good angle now. I'll keep an eye on them to see if they shift or move.

 

[KEW]

That's how my Deftechs were. They had a threaded inserts on the back that I simply screwed the mounts into that worked really well. I had a lot more articulation too. I ain't drilling into my speakers tho...

To be fair, I doubt wall mounting was a consideration with the Ultras when they designed them. They're at a good angle now. I'll keep an eye on them to see if they shift or move.

I'd put a dishpan full of Cheeze-whiz with a loose garbage bag over the top under each speaker for a cushioned landing... just in case!

 

[Bucknekked]

I'd put a dishpan full of Cheeze-whiz with a loose piece of plastic over the top under each one for a cushioned landing... just in case!

cheeze whiz. the ultimate in red neck engineering.

 

[TheWarrior]

Like this...

View attachment 21492

View attachment 21493

I have the clamps pretty damned tight. It wobbles a little (the clamp part of the mount) when you jiggle it, but the speaker itself doesn't slide or shift at all. It looks more precarious than it is, but yeah...

Those speakers are just clamped in place? Thermal expansion/contraction! Those will fall!

Double check with SVS about their construction, but you should put some screws through the bottom of the speaker! I reviewed those once, they have some heft!

Thank you Warrior for that detailed reply. I'm just nutty enough to do what you suggest one of these days.

It's just science. Free from marketing claims and merchandising. I am completely redoing my HT and will be doing a bit of a write up on that procedure in the future. It's knowledge that should be made more readily available for those of us who aren't satisfied with pushing a button to 'correct' a room. It's just takes work!

 

[lsiberian]

That's how my Deftechs were. They had a threaded inserts on the back that I simply screwed the mounts into that worked really well. I had a lot more articulation too. I ain't drilling into my speakers tho...

To be fair, I doubt wall mounting was a consideration with the Ultras when they designed them. They're at a good angle now. I'll keep an eye on them to see if they shift or move.

If you're too worried. You could always drill some hardware into the back to hold them. I suspect you'll live with this instead as I would. I like the setup!