5.2 with proper speaker placement? Or 7.2 with modified placement?

[bstan]

Seeking feedback on what will be best. I've read other threads but still not clear on what to do as each post doesn't really answer my specific question. I'll try to be succinct. Thanks in advance.

Space is 10'x17 and open to the rear (open-concept space). The TV/LRC and sofa are centered across the 17' width facing each other. Due to traffic patterns, the sofa must stay in this position.

Current set up is 5.2 with surrounds on stands beside the sofa. to the left of the sofa there are sliding glass doors, and in the wall to the right is the AC return vent.

I have two in-wall, 6.5' 2-ways speakers that could be placed in the side walls as surrounds, and I would then move the stand-mounts behind the sofa to be used as rear surrounds. The tweeter in the in-wall speakers can be pointed toward the MLP, the woofer cannot.

Keep the 5.2 or convert to 7.2 despite the surrounds forward placement?

 

[lovinthehd]

Doesn't sound like you have sufficient space behind the sofa for rear surrounds what with only 10' between walls (maybe a better chance if you had the 17' dimension to work with). I'd stick to your current setup most likely, but maybe a diagram/pic to help?

 

[bstan]

Sorry, I was unclear. The room is 25ft long, with the sofa 10' from the wall with the TV/LCR speakers, so 13 feet behind the sofa is open space.. The rears will be on stands and mobile. I'll move them to the sides when not in full 7.2 mode.

 

[lovinthehd]

Sorry, I was unclear. The room is 25ft long, with the sofa 10' from the wall with the TV/LCR speakers, so 13 feet behind the sofa is open space.. The rears will be on stands and mobile. I'll move them to the sides when not in full 7.2 mode.

3-4 feet space for rear surrounds should be fine (well, except for perhaps getting in the way ).

 

[bstan]

Green are suggested in-wall placement

 

[ryanosaur]

Those positions are not ideal.

will they work?
…perhaps?…

Is it worth the risk?
I wouldn’t cut holes in my wall for that.

 

[TLS Guy]

View attachment 62555

Green are suggested in-wall placement

I really advise against doing any sort of surround in a space like that. It is a bad idea and wastes money. The best solution for a room like that is LCR plus one or two subs. That is a large space and you are much further ahead with good and potent LCR speakers. The longer I do this, the more I am convinced this is the right approach. I am firmly of the opinion that those great room spaces are not suitable for anything other than two or three channel plus subs. Done right it can sound very good indeed, as I have done it. You are much better off finding a more suitable space in the house for full blown HT audio.

 

[bstan]

I really advise against doing any sort of surround in a space like that. It is a bad idea and wastes money. The best solution for a room like that is LCR plus one or two subs. That is a large space and you are much further ahead with good and potent LCR speakers. The longer I do this, the more I am convinced this is the right approach. I am firmly of the opinion that those great room spaces are not suitable for anything other than two or three channel plus subs. Done right it can sound very good indeed, as I have done it. You are much better off finding a more suitable space in the house for full blown HT audio.

Thanks. To clarify one last time before we sign-off. I don't need to invest any more money, everything is already here. The stand bookshelves have been placed next to the sofa on each side without much of a problem for a 5.2 (I have 2 subs). The question is will this 7.2.2 layout improve me experience, or degrade from it? I was considering adding two ceiling speakers too, so could go 5.2.2 or 7.2.2. I could make a dedicated theater in the basement but I know I'd rarely use it, and that would truly be a waste of money.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I vote for 5.2.

 

[TLS Guy]

Thanks. To clarify one last time before we sign-off. I don't need to invest any more money, everything is already here. The stand bookshelves have been placed next to the sofa on each side without much of a problem for a 5.2 (I have 2 subs). The question is will this 7.2.2 layout improve me experience, or degrade from it? I was considering adding two ceiling speakers too, so could go 5.2.2 or 7.2.2. I could make a dedicated theater in the basement but I know I'd rarely use it, and that would truly be a waste of money.

View attachment 62556

You can add all the speakers you want, but I would bet that the room will sound best with just a front sound stage. I suspect the more speakers you add, the worse the result.

 

[ryanosaur]

You should look at the Dolby diagrams for proper placement.

Your proposed in-wall placement is too far forward for proper surrounds.

Only you can decide for yourself if the work of installing such Speakers for potentially poor payoff is worth it.

In true 5.1, the free-standing locations you show above are pretty good. They should not actually be immediately beside you.
In a 7.1 layout the ideal placement would be to have Surrounds beside you and even slightly behind (90-110º) with Rears further behind you, and more inline with the placement of the mains.

I absolutely understand and get that we all have sacrifices and compromises that we must make. I did that for a while with having my Rears mounted above a closet.
Yes, they worked. But when I finally reset them at proper level on Stands, they were significantly better. Both locations were in the right placement according to Dolby, just that originally they were too high.

Contrast that with placing a Speaker where it is "out of place" according to the way the system is programmed...

I'm not saying it will ruin the experience, but you should be aware that you are changing the location of where the sound is meant to be coming from.
At that point, as I suggest above, it is a dice roll as to whether you will enjoy it or not. Thus becomes a personal values choice about whether you want to cut a hole in the wall for something you can't predict.

 

[bstan]

You should look at the Dolby diagrams for proper placement.

Your proposed in-wall placement is too far forward for proper surrounds.

Only you can decide for yourself if the work of installing such Speakers for potentially poor payoff is worth it.

In true 5.1, the free-standing locations you show above are pretty good. They should not actually be immediately beside you.
In a 7.1 layout the ideal placement would be to have Surrounds beside you and even slightly behind (90-110º) with Rears further behind you, and more inline with the placement of the mains.

I absolutely understand and get that we all have sacrifices and compromises that we must make. I did that for a while with having my Rears mounted above a closet.
Yes, they worked. But when I finally reset them at proper level on Stands, they were significantly better. Both locations were in the right placement according to Dolby, just that originally they were too high.

Contrast that with placing a Speaker where it is "out of place" according to the way the system is programmed...

I'm not saying it will ruin the experience, but you should be aware that you are changing the location of where the sound is meant to be coming from.
At that point, as I suggest above, it is a dice roll as to whether you will enjoy it or not. Thus becomes a personal values choice about whether you want to cut a hole in the wall for something you can't predict.

I've looked at all the diagrams, and I know where the ideal placement is. Unfortunately, ideal is not possible, so lets take that off the table. If my "less than ideal" placement will have a small improvement in the surround experience, it would be worth it to me. If adding the 7.2 speakers will DETRACT from the experience, I'll stop here. But I guess, like you said, I may just have to try it and see. If i do I'll be sure to update everyone.

 

[bstan]

I've looked at all the diagrams, and I know where the ideal placement is. Unfortunately, ideal is not possible, so lets take that off the table. If my "less than ideal" placement will have a small improvement in the surround experience, it would be worth it to me. If adding the 7.2 speakers will DETRACT from the experience, I'll stop here. But I guess, like you said, I may just have to try it and see. If i do I'll be sure to update everyone.

Thanks all! Your input was much appreciated and helpful.

 

[lovinthehd]

I'd think for improvement in basic surround two Atmos ceiling speakers would be better than rear surrounds. Wouldn't need to move 'em around either.

 

[bstan]

I'd think for improvement in basic surround two Atmos ceiling speakers would be better than rear surrounds. Wouldn't need to move 'em around either.

Good idea.

 

[Wardog555]

I have a strict policy of not having any surrounds in front of listening position so my advice is keep the stands and do it properly.
The one exemption is front wide speakers and that only comes into play when you have 9.x.x
If you wanted the green positions you must move you seating position to compensate.
If this means losing the l shaped part of the couch then do so!

If you have a basement for proper placements for everything this is the highly recommend option. What's with the trying to avoid doing it correctly In the first place?

 

[ryanosaur]

I've looked at all the diagrams, and I know where the ideal placement is. Unfortunately, ideal is not possible, so lets take that off the table. If my "less than ideal" placement will have a small improvement in the surround experience, it would be worth it to me. If adding the 7.2 speakers will DETRACT from the experience, I'll stop here. But I guess, like you said, I may just have to try it and see. If i do I'll be sure to update everyone.

If you could try it with standmounts somehow... just as a temporary experiment...
*shrugs

Once you cut a hole in a wall, though, you are committed.

 

[bstan]

I have a strict policy of not having any surrounds in front of listening position so my advice is keep the stands and do it properly.
If you wanted the green positions you must move you seating position to compensate.
If this means losing the l shaped part of the couch then do so!

If you have a basement for proper placements for everything this is the highly recommend option. What's with the trying to avoid doing it correctly In the first place?

I'm not interested in finishing off my basement as a home theater, and even if I did, my wife will never join me. She could care less about any of this, doesn't understand it, and will not join me in the basement no matter how great it is. In fact, she doesn't like HT! It's too loud. We stream whatever is latest on netflix, peacock, hulu, whatever, and we're not rewatching the the Marvel series, etc. I enjoy good sound even for basic programming, and for the occasional movie I'll turn it up. Putting thousands of dollars in AV equipment in the basement will be a waste. I also like my music, and put on the headphones when she's is watching her Housewives bs.

We have three college-age children who come back and forth, and two decent size dogs, and everyone wants a seat on the couch. Shrinking the couch is not an option. And If I did as you suggested and moved it closer i'll be 6 feet from the screen! No thanks!

I like my sound, but it's clearly not the top priority in my whole life. i want the best I can have given my situation. I'm not moving rooms, I'm not buying new furniture. I'm looking to make the best with what i have. I might even be ok with the surround effects not being perfectly located! The horror!

 

[bstan]

If you could try it with standmounts somehow... just as a temporary experiment...
*shrugs

Once you cut a hole in a wall, though, you are committed.

Holes in walls don't scare me. Just sheetrock, spackle, and paint. I can run the wires through the unfinished portion of the basement so hook-up is easy-peasey.

 

[Wardog555]

Look. You don't care for this hobby.

Stick with what you have already and don't ever discuss making a change that will ruin a properly correct system.

I'm prepared to help you on your journey however any refusal of any kind will end the discussions immediately. You have no passion or care therefore it's not worth wasting time or effort on you.

Stick with what you have and lock the thread.

What's the point of this thread only to ruin what you already have?
Good bye and enjoy living the rest of your ether life without care.
I tried to help you. You won't help yourself.

You're welcome!