Odd position for my 7.1 (aka: is 5.1 better in this case?)

[g0bez]

I was working out some speaker placement issues with my contractor (we are finishing our basement) and here is the plan I originally had in mind:

2013-05-13_15-55-25.png - original planned position

The issue is the two sides. The one on the bottom of the picture does not have a wall to mount on, and doing an in-ceiling mount isn't going to work due to the lower basement ceiling.


My contractor (who *very* openly admitted he knows nothing about audio) suggested that we put the left and right side speakers up on the front wall, out on the sides, like this:

2013-05-13_15-55-25.png - contractor's idea for alternate position

(ignore the position of the sub in that one - i moved it just so it wouldn't get confused with the other speaker)

From a visual standpoint, I get it, but I'm having doubts about what that will do to the sound.

My receiver has Audessey MultEQ XT (the 8-position version) but I don't know if that can compensate enough for this positioning.

So my question here is: Are we better off with this odd 7.1 setup, or leaving it with 5.1? Or, based on the layout, is there a better place any of you see for the side speakers (like maybe against the back wall, instead of the front)?

 

[g0bez]

Here is a version with the side speakers on the back wall...

2013-05-13_15-55-25.png - side speakers on the back wall

 

[ACsGreens]

I would say that, without any insult to the contractor who says he knows nothing about audio, that idea is possibly the worst scenario and would provide no surround quality whatsoever. So you cannot use in in-ceiling due to ceiling height or rather the space between drywall and ceiling joist? If those were my options I would use the rear locations and forgo the 7.1.

 

[g0bez]

HAHA -- no insult taken. He's a great contractor, but truly isn't an audio guy. Thanks for your reply.

An in-ceiling mount is not an option for the left-side speaker because he says we don't have the space in the joists to fit it in entirely, so it will be sticking down into the room (which I agree will look funny, and my wife will hate... and our taller friends would potentially hit their heads), and because it would cause a weak spot for the sound proofing between floors.

 

[mtrycrafts]

HAHA -- no insult taken. He's a great contractor, but truly isn't an audio guy. Thanks for your reply.

An in-ceiling mount is not an option for the left-side speaker because he says we don't have the space in the joists to fit it in entirely, so it will be sticking down into the room (which I agree will look funny, and my wife will hate... and our taller friends would potentially hit their heads), and because it would cause a weak spot for the sound proofing between floors.

Is the orientation, where the TV is in that box, in concrete?

Consider the wall just left of the stairs as you are not dooming the front speaker in that box with the TV. Then, you could mount the sides in the right place just behind the couch. By the way this would rotate the couch clockwise by 90 deg. and the rear where it needs to be.

 

[g0bez]

When we first got started, that is actually the way I wanted to orient the theater. Unfortunately, this rendering is my own, and is not 100% to scale (it was my draft that we gave to the contractor, who made a much more accurate one from this) -- so while it looks like there is space for a 90 degree turn, there actually isn't room for that.

The 'stage' area where the TV is in those drawings is dry wall over R19 insulation (or, it will be, when they're done), and it will have a built-in cabinet / shelf so the speakers will be oriented toward the front of that space.


As i was reading through other posts, I also thought about trying a 6.1 setup. The only issue is that the rear center channel would be on the soffit coming in from the stairs, so it would be higher than it probably should be.

Given that the contractor's version is clearly trashed, any other votes / ideas on the following:

=> Good Ol' 5.1
=> High-rear-center 6.1
=> Oddly placed sides-a-bit-too-far-back 7.1
=> Other ideas?

 

[lsiberian]

The third picture with the 4 speakers along the back wall is the best option IMO. Surrounds are fine from behind. Mine are positioned kinda like that and sound fine.

 

[g0bez]

The third picture with the 4 speakers along the back wall is the best option IMO. Surrounds are fine from behind. Mine are positioned kinda like that and sound fine.

Thanks for the input! It is good to have an example of a similar setup that works.

I know it isn't *ideal*, but after sleeping on it, I was thinking that since I already have all of the speakers, the cost is minimal (relatively speaking) to run them all to the back of the room (like you said) and let Audyssey try to make the best of it. As long as it isn't going to cause problems, I'm thinking I should just go for it...

 

[ACsGreens]

Is the orientation, where the TV is in that box, in concrete?

Consider the wall just left of the stairs as you are not dooming the front speaker in that box with the TV. Then, you could mount the sides in the right place just behind the couch. By the way this would rotate the couch clockwise by 90 deg. and the rear where it needs to be.

Just to reiterate what mtrycrafts pointed out....It may not be the best idea to put the speakers back into the tv area if possible. You are going to get some odd reflections off of the wall to the left/right of the speakers and may be very odd sounding. Can you move them to the front of the area? Other than that it looks like a winner! Should be a cool area, enjoy!

 

[Adam]

My vote would be for the third picture, too, as that's closer to the orientation recommended by Dolby. That's also similar to how I have it, but I also had to live within my room options versus going strictly by the recommendations. The picture below shows my rear speakers. The three center most speakers were used in a 6.1 setup, and this picture was taken shortly after I installed the two speakers on the outer edges (and disconnected the center speaker) for a 7.1 setup.

 

[g0bez]

Thanks for the clarification AC -- I hadn't considered moving them that far out, but I definitely will. But it makes sense that having them set back in with the TV could cause some odd reflections. I'll look at what it'll take to get them bumped out.

Thanks!!

 

[g0bez]

Adam -- thanks for the pic -- that is really helpful, and good to know that it will actually work

 

[lsiberian]

You should not place your L-R Mains directly next to a wall. If you can peak them out where at least the front of the speaker is even with the wall that might work while keeping the SO happy.