5.1 Speaker placement with couch surrounded by 3 walls

[mmuntase]

I have kind of a tight seating area where the 4 recliners are almost right up against the back wall and are actually touching the side walls on both sides, so I'm confused on where to put the surrounds.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[shadyJ]

You might think about just skipping the surround speakers in that scenario. It will be hard to place them in there where they won't draw attention to themselves. You might think about in-ceiling speakers for surrounds maybe.

 

[mmuntase]

if I were to put them on the back wall and try to move up the couches how much space between the wall and the couches is ideal.

 

[lovinthehd]

Having your seating right against boundaries isn't ideal, can you move the seats? Above your seating and to the sides and angled down would be my choice otherwise.

 

[mmuntase]

Having your seating right against boundaries isn't ideal, can you move the seats? Above your seating and to the sides and angled down would be my choice otherwise.

I can move the seats forward a little. It'd just be difficult to reach the receiver which is in a built in bookshelf on the back wall. How far would I have to move the couches up for it to make a difference?

 

[lovinthehd]

I can move the seats forward a little. It'd just be difficult to reach the receiver which is in a built in bookshelf on the back wall. How far would I have to move the couches up for it to make a difference?

A couple of feet would be nice, but not sure what you mean by difficult to reach the receiver? No remote?

 

[mmuntase]

I have a bookshelf in the back wall that has all my stuff on it (receiver, games, 3d glass) and normally I would just lean over the couches but pushing up the couches makes it so I'd have to jump over them, which I guess isn't a huge deal. So if you had to choose:

Option 1: push up the couches mount on the back wall and tilt them down to listener

Option 2: leave the couches where they are and mount them to the side walls above ear level pointing down.

Option 3: push up the couches and mount them in the corner and tilt them down to listener

Option 4: burn down the room and start over

 

[lovinthehd]

LOL option 4 seems a bit extreme. Option 5 - move the gear? Option 1 for (side) surrounds as in a 5.1 setup wouldn't be much of an option. Option 2 or 3 maybe.

PS can you explain more about the layout of the room/furniture?

 

[mmuntase]

lol at this point option 4 is looking pretty good. Option 5 would be ideal but I had the room inconveniently wired to hook up to the receiver at the back of the room ( a decision that keeps me up at night). Its a rectangular room in my basement 13.5' wide by 18' long walled off on all 4 sides. The only furniture i have are the seats which are 2 sofa chairs and a couch all crammed up against the back back wall with the side walls hugging the sofa chairs and a 120 inch screen about 17.5 feet away directly across from the seats. The reason the seats are pushing up against the wall was so I could reach the built-in book shelf which is in the top right corner of my back wall and because the screen is so big. The door to the room opens up to the right of the screen. http://imgur.com/a/XYdV1

 

[lovinthehd]

You'd get better audio by moving your seats away from the boundaries. Maybe a riser for the couch. I never touch my gear, always use a remote, except to slide a disc into the player....never had my electronics behind me...that would keep me up at night 17.5 feet seems to have some room to be a bit closer to the screen?

 

[mmuntase]

So move the couches and place the speakers behind the seats. How high would you put them and would you tilt them down?

 

[lovinthehd]

So move the couches and place the speakers behind the seats. How high would you put them and would you tilt them down?

As long as they're still more to the sides than directly behind since they're not rear surrounds, 90-110 degree range is generally recommended. I'd place them above ear level (2-3 feet perhaps more if necessary) and aimed at the listener's ears. Have you reviewed something like the dolby placement suggestion page...

 

[Pogre]

LOL option 4 seems a bit extreme. Option 5 - move the gear? Option 1 for (side) surrounds as in a 5.1 setup wouldn't be much of an option. Option 2 or 3 maybe.

PS can you explain more about the layout of the room/furniture?

I like option 2 and 3. Move the couches a little more forward and mount the surrounds to the side.