Speaker placement tips

Semper Fidelis

Semper Fidelis

Enthusiast
Hi ...
Sry i can't post attachments...
I have a rectangular room 17'05 wide , 8'20 high and 12'01 deep.
Can you please help me with a tip to best place a Magnat 5.1 surround sistem (2 Standfloor,2 bookshelf 1 center and one sub-woofer)?
Please be so kind and specify also at what distance from the floor and back wall should i place the surround speakers on the side walls,and exactly how.
The seating is of 4,2" riser .
Thank you much.
The lcd is a 32" Toshiba Regza.
P.S. Is there a certain distance where i should put the standfloor at,form the lcd?
P.S.2 Excuse my english i tried my best...
 
ParadigmDawg

ParadigmDawg

Audioholic Overlord
Hey Semper, I am on my way to the gym but I will get with you when I return.
 
Semper Fidelis

Semper Fidelis

Enthusiast
I finally figured out how to upload pictures.
These are two "blueprints" of my room layout,and how i thought i would place the speakers according to the furniture.
Please feel free to tell me everything,in order to have the best sound giving the facts.
Please also explain to me like i was i 4 year old,because i'm really new at this.
I want to know everything about everything,distances,angles how you would arrange the sistem if this were yours.






 
ParadigmDawg

ParadigmDawg

Audioholic Overlord
Semper,

I have never heard of the system you have yet I am not familar in what is available in Europe. I would start by reading the two links posted below.
http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/calibrate-your-system/home-theater-set-up-basics-101

http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/get-good-bass/subwoofer-placement-the-place-for-bass-part-1

All that being said; it looks like you have a pretty good handle on the set-up but I am not certain the HTIB will give you the "punch" you are looking for. Read the articles and try the tips and then post any questions.
 
Semper Fidelis

Semper Fidelis

Enthusiast
Semper,

I have never heard of the system you have yet I am not familar in what is available in Europe.
...............................
Read the articles and try the tips and then post any questions.

This are the product details:
http://www.magnat.de/content/homeentertainment/product_detail_en.asp?p=1424334&pl=1&s=101
http://www.magnat.de/content/homeentertainment/product_detail_en.asp?p=144642&pl=1, 4&s=125
http://www.eu.onkyo.com/products/product_en_5368468.html
http://uk.shopping.com/xPF-Toshiba-32WL66

Now...i read all the tutorials and i still have some questions:
1.If the surround are mounted alongside and slightly to the rear of the seating area on the side walls,at 2-3 ft. above the listeners (or at height level when standing) at what distance from the ceiling and rear wall should i mount them to not enhance too much the bass?
2.Is it necessary to buy a wall mount for surrounds to aim to the listeners aria or as dolby says i will stick to their way which is mounting on opposite side walls facing towards each other?
3.Is it absolutely necessary to align the two standfloors and the center on the same imaginary line?I understood from the zilion tutorials i've read that the 2 standfloors should be at the same level with the top of the LCD line,giving that,the center is above the LCD only the bottom of the center will be in the same line with the standfloors and lcd.
(personally i would like this because it saves me some space under the lcd)
4.Is the position i figured for the subwoofer in the back left corner of the room o.k.?Or should i consider another option?
5.As you allready probably noticed the impedance range of the speakers is in between 4-8 Ohms (?!?) My receiver has an andjustable impedance range (6-16).Should i choose the 6 ohms receiver impedance ?It makes sense for me,beeing a number between 4-8?At the end this impedance is not a straght line?It moves uo and down like a parabola?
6.If i keep the receiver impedance at 6 Ohms would that hurt my sistem when the impedance goes down to 4 ohms ?
Thank you in advance for taking time to solve everybody's problems...but hey...giving is receiving!;)
 
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Semper Fidelis

Semper Fidelis

Enthusiast
Please somebody help...i'm trying today to wall mount the speakers but i'm not so sure about the final placings...
 
ParadigmDawg

ParadigmDawg

Audioholic Overlord
Ok, I took a stab at it below




Now...i read all the tutorials and i still have some questions:
1.If the surround are mounted alongside and slightly to the rear of the seating area on the side walls,at 2-3 ft. above the listeners (or at height level when standing) at what distance from the ceiling and rear wall should i mount them to not enhance too much the bass?

I would try to mount them around 6ft high which should leave you plenty of room to the ceiling. You are not going to affect the bass much with the surrounds as they will not be recieving a full signal. 6-12 inches from the back wall would be plenty but remember, surrounds are beside you, not behind you.
2.Is it necessary to buy a wall mount for surrounds to aim to the listeners aria or as dolby says i will stick to their way which is mounting on opposite side walls facing towards each other?

If your room allows it, just mount them on the side walls facing each other.

3.Is it absolutely necessary to align the two standfloors and the center on the same imaginary line?I understood from the zilion tutorials i've read that the 2 standfloors should be at the same level with the top of the LCD line,giving that,the center is above the LCD only the bottom of the center will be in the same line with the standfloors and lcd.

We all live in the real world so you have to do what works for you. Just get them as close to the same line as possible and you will be fine. If you have to mount the center high then angle it down to the listening position. If you mounts it low, angle it up.
(personally i would like this because it saves me some space under the lcd)
4.Is the position i figured for the subwoofer in the back left corner of the room o.k.?Or should i consider another option?

You really need to do the "crawl for bass" exercise to determine the best place for the sub. I prefer my sub in the front sound stage and dont like subs behind me.
5.As you allready probably noticed the impedance range of the speakers is in between 4-8 Ohms (?!?) My receiver has an andjustable impedance range (6-16).Should i choose the 6 ohms receiver impedance ?It makes sense for me,beeing a number between 4-8?At the end this impedance is not a straght line?It moves uo and down like a parabola?

Leave your receiver at 8 ohms

6.If i keep the receiver impedance at 6 Ohms would that hurt my sistem when the impedance goes down to 4 ohms ?

nope
Thank you in advance for taking time to solve everybody's problems...but hey...giving is receiving!;)
 
ParadigmDawg

ParadigmDawg

Audioholic Overlord
Also, please forgive me for calling your system a HTIB; it is not one and though I am not familar with it; it looks pretty darn good.

Do you understand how to run the auto-cal and then go back and adjust the crossover and speaker size manually?

I also didnt realize that your surrounds were that big; I would probably put them on stands.
 
Semper Fidelis

Semper Fidelis

Enthusiast
Also, please forgive me for calling your system a HTIB; it is not one and though I am not familar with it; it looks pretty darn good.

Do you understand how to run the auto-cal and then go back and adjust the crossover and speaker size manually?

I also didnt realize that your surrounds were that big; I would probably put them on stands.
Thank you for the tips,they're pure gold to me...saved me alotta time,and i addition to that i have de certainty that those tips are comming form someone who eats this on breakfast...:)
P.S. HTIB?No they're not.I didn't buy them in the same box,but separately,2 standfloors one center and 2 surrounds from the same series (Monitor) then i was recommended to consider the Betasub series for the subwoofer,and then i bought the Onkyo for it's capacity to switch impedance level beeing affraid that a normal 8 ohms receiver would be damaged by a 4-8 ohms range speaker sistem.(can you please detail a bit why i should keep de 8 ohms impedance of the receiver,thx)
P.S.2Auto-cal means auto calibration right?If that's right i would let audissey2 to do that for me,i also have a bunch of dvd's form Dolby with calibration of video and sound test samples...
P.S.3 What do you mean when you are saying that the surrounds are big?...they are barely 11 lbs and it's 5.75 inch long,9.25 inch wide,and 7.87 depth.And also wouldn't it be a bigger trouble if i mount them on a 6 foot stands instead i face them on opposites walls(from brick)?
 
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ParadigmDawg

ParadigmDawg

Audioholic Overlord
Since most people dont look way down here for posts; all your help is coming from me which isnt fair to you. I am going to pull my good friend Andrew in here to help; he is much smarter than me on HT things and I turn to him for all my advice.
 
avaserfi

avaserfi

Audioholic Ninja
1.If the surround are mounted alongside and slightly to the rear of the seating area on the side walls,at 2-3 ft. above the listeners (or at height level when standing) at what distance from the ceiling and rear wall should i mount them to not enhance too much the bass?
I wouldn't worry too much about this as generally surrounds won't be putting out too much bass. I would just recommend putting them 2-3ft above ear level when sitting at the angles specified in this article.

2.Is it necessary to buy a wall mount for surrounds to aim to the listeners aria or as dolby says i will stick to their way which is mounting on opposite side walls facing towards each other?
In the end even speaker placement can be a subjective area with some people preferring different things than others. I would recommend placing them how you like them, so experiment. I know many people prefer to have their surrounds slightly behind them and towed in some no matter what Dolby recommends. Also, you don't have to wall mount your surrounds, you could also look into getting speaker stands for them.

3.Is it absolutely necessary to align the two standfloors and the center on the same imaginary line?I understood from the zilion tutorials i've read that the 2 standfloors should be at the same level with the top of the LCD line,giving that,the center is above the LCD only the bottom of the center will be in the same line with the standfloors and lcd.
(personally i would like this because it saves me some space under the lcd)
You will want the two floor standing speakers equidistant from the center of the display if possible. Also, you will want to try and position the speakers so their tweeters are at about ear level. The center and floor standing speakers need not be the same height.

4.Is the position i figured for the subwoofer in the back left corner of the room o.k.?Or should i consider another option?
Placing a sub in the corner will result in more output do to room gain, but can also make for a more boomy sound. I suggest you place your sub according to this articles suggestions.

5.As you allready probably noticed the impedance range of the speakers is in between 4-8 Ohms (?!?) My receiver has an andjustable impedance range (6-16).Should i choose the 6 ohms receiver impedance ?It makes sense for me,beeing a number between 4-8?At the end this impedance is not a straght line?It moves uo and down like a parabola?
Impedance changes depending on the frequency being played and is not a parabolic or linear graph. I would leave the receiver on its 8 ohm setting and not worry about it. If there are problems you will hear audible distortion when the receiver strains and the receiver will go into a "safe mode" if it can't deal with the speakers. As I said though, this won't likely be a problem.

6.If i keep the receiver impedance at 6 Ohms would that hurt my sistem when the impedance goes down to 4 ohms ?
Very unlikely, but I would still put the receiver in the 8 ohm position.
 
Semper Fidelis

Semper Fidelis

Enthusiast
@ Greg Gable & Avaserfi

Thank you very much ... I will post soon images from boom boom room to show you what you made me do !
:cool:
 
ParadigmDawg

ParadigmDawg

Audioholic Overlord
No problem...let us know how it sounds alomg with the pictures.

Just send me a case of Anadrol for my trouble;)

@ Greg Gable & Avaserfi

Thank you very much ... I will post soon images from boom boom room to show you what you made me do !
:cool:
 
Semper Fidelis

Semper Fidelis

Enthusiast
Sure do...
P.S. About the Ana...i have to google it to see what it is ... you know ... i don't want to offend you by sending a different flavour cookie ... :cool:
 
Semper Fidelis

Semper Fidelis

Enthusiast
I finally managed to finish the remodelling in my house so now i'm able the post some pics with the speaker placement .
Also i have to say that i'm so gratefull for your tips , my sistem plays very neat crisp sounds,no booming no annoying sounds ...
Much appreciated your help.







.................................................................................................................AND THIS IS THE PROUD OWNER
 
J

Johnd

Audioholic Samurai
Cool backdrop...I love natural stone. Hopefully, the reflections aren't too hard (front wall). What's up with the Playgirl shot? And the 170's? :p
 
Semper Fidelis

Semper Fidelis

Enthusiast
Cool backdrop...I love natural stone. Hopefully, the reflections aren't too hard (front wall). What's up with the Playgirl shot? And the 170's? :p

I have designed the whole shabang ......... i'm so fond of what it turned out ...
The "playgirl" shot is me myself and i ...
170 it is ... eagle eye ...
;)
 

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