9.2.2 vs 7.2.4: sofa against wall

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xcd

Enthusiast
I have an NAD m17 v2, and will be doing 11 channels. I was wondering if I should configure them as 7.2.4 or 9.2.2 (with two front wides)?

I know 7.2.4 is a more normal setup. The only reason I am considering something different is because my sofa is already against the back wall. Therefore all my ATMOS speakers are in front of me. In that case, does it make sense to have 4 ATMOS height speakers?

I am using a NAD m17v2. I’ve also heard it doesn’t handle 9.x.2 very well from a room correction standpoint.

I will be using 11 channels regardless, so while I know neither setup is ideal, what I want to know is which is relatively better?
 

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shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
If you are absolutely determined to use all those channels, go with 9.2.2. that will do you a lot more good with that seating arrangement than 7.2.4.
 
Montucky

Montucky

Full Audioholic
William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
If your absolutely stuck with the couch on the back wall I wouldn’t use rear surrounds at all. It also doesn’t make any sense to use 4 overhead speakers with all of them in front of you. You will get some messed up imaging that way. IMO you’ll get the best playback by using 2 over heads with wides. If all 4 are in front of you, object panning won’t be effective behind you, or in the room. Lots of guys enjoy wides, and that will work better than putting rears and top rears where they don’t belong.
Now, if you can move the couch, that will open up a lot more options. His is a case of less is more, because more will put speakers where they don’t belong and it just won’t work.
7(wides).x.2 is what is recommend unless you can move the couch.
 
X

xcd

Enthusiast
If your absolutely stuck with the couch on the back wall I wouldn’t use rear surrounds at all. It also doesn’t make any sense to use 4 overhead speakers with all of them in front of you. You will get some messed up imaging that way. IMO you’ll get the best playback by using 2 over heads with wides. If all 4 are in front of you, object panning won’t be effective behind you, or in the room. Lots of guys enjoy wides, and that will work better than putting rears and top rears where they don’t belong.
Now, if you can move the couch, that will open up a lot more options. His is a case of less is more, because more will put speakers where they don’t belong and it just won’t work.
7(wides).x.2 is what is recommend unless you can move the couch.
Pardon my ignorance, I'm rather new to home theater terminology. But I'm a little confused by what speakers you're referring to as "wides"? Are they the orange circles on my diagram?
 
William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
Pardon my ignorance, I'm rather new to home theater terminology. But I'm a little confused by what speakers you're referring to as "wides"? Are they the orange circles on my diagram?
I don’t think so? I don’t believe you indicated any wide channel speakers although your OP mentions them. I had assumed, based on your labels, the orange circles were side and rear surrounds. This will not be effective since the rear surrounds are designed to be behind the listening position(LP). And the side surrounds are designed to work at 90-110 degrees, or directly to the sides of the LP and possibly a little behind.

I have an NAD m17 v2, and will be doing 11 channels. I was wondering if I should configure them as 7.2.4 or 9.2.2 (with two front wides)?

I know 7.2.4 is a more normal setup. The only reason I am considering something different is because my sofa is already against the back wall. Therefore all my ATMOS speakers are in front of me. In that case, does it make sense to have 4 ATMOS height speakers?

I am using a NAD m17v2. I’ve also heard it doesn’t handle 9.x.2 very well from a room correction standpoint.

I will be using 11 channels regardless, so while I know neither setup is ideal, what I want to know is which is relatively better?
In your first question here, you mentioned wides, and 9.2.2. That’s where I picked up that you were going that way.
To answer the last question, 5.2.2 would be ideal if you absolutely can’t move the couch. If you’re bound and determined to install all 11, the system won’t work as it’s intended, but it’s your room. You’re right, 7.2.4 IS a “more normal” setup, but you need a few feet behind the LP for it to work right. The only Hail Mary I might try is to install 4 atmos speakers BUT install the top rears as close to the back wall as humanly possible.
 
X

xcd

Enthusiast
My room is quite oddly shaped, so I hope I can clearly convey that here. Three sides of the ceiling are slanted (they are indicated by the green shaded region in the diagrams below). They rise to meet at a flat area at the top (the white region in the diagram). The slant begins at around 7ft around the edges. They rise to a maximum of perhaps 14ft at the top.

It’s sort of like a trapezoid if you can imagine it.

This also means that the closer the speakers are to the edges of the room, the lower they will be. The closer they are to the center of the ceiling, the higher they will be

I have placed my 4 regular surround speakers around the edges. This means they are only about 7ft from the ground. And since they are slanted, I think they function more like on-wall speakers than in-ceiling ones.

As for the ATMOS speakers, I can place them directly above the sofa (“Plan 2”). But then this means that they are on the same elevation as the regular surrounds. If I place them closer to the center (“Plan 1”), then there’s elevation difference between the regular surrounds and ATMOS speakers. But then, in that case, I will have 4 ATMOS speakers all in front of me.
7.2.4 Plan 2.jpg7.2.4 Plan 1.jpg
I’d very much like to use all 11 channels. Drilling holes will be very difficult later on. Even for a 1% improvement, I think it’ll be worth it to have 7.2.4. However, if people think it will be having those two extra speakers not only won’t help, but will damage my movie-watching experience, then I’ll go with 7.2.2.
 
2

2channel lover

Audioholic Field Marshall
First off, it's a beautiful space.

In a case like this one...where you don't have the ideal room for an 11 channel HT system....before your force it in there, think about content...where do you intend you get your content from? How much of it is produced in 7.1?

I had a very similar situation...HT space is an odd shaped loft space with only one viable screen wall and seating intially was right against the back wall and some 17' away from the screen....I eventually convinced the wife that seating had to come forward and she relented.

Now seating is about 65" off the back wall...barely enough to squeeze a 7.2.4 in there...I decided to to go 5.2.4 and I'm glad I did...I'm not the biggest movie buff and but I am developing a taste for hi res multi-ch music and most everything movie wise from my normal sources, is 5.1 so my content favorites match up well with the system.

I say that, but I also say I am wired for 7.2.4....so you have to do it the way you want in the end, but 5.2.2 does sound like the best option without being in the space.
 
William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
A beautiful room indeed. I don’t know the room dims, and it’s hard to tell but I can’t see a reason you couldn’t move the couch off the back wall. Even a couple feet would help a lot. IMO any 7ch system will need 5’ behind the LP but even a couple feet will help with rear heights and getting the surrounds closer to 110deg. That’s what I would try to do and use these for Atmos speakers.
http://www.jblpro.com/www/products/installed-sound/control-60-series
If not, then yes 5.x.2 would work better than putting speakers in the room just for the sake of using them. Atmos is pretty forgiving BUT there are still physics at work.
 
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shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Why wouldn't you go 9.2.2? It would be so much better than a 7.2.4. Human hearing is much better tuned to hearing differences in azimuth rather than altitude.
 
William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
Why wouldn't you go 9.2.2? It would be so much better than a 7.2.4. Human hearing is much better tuned to hearing differences in azimuth rather than altitude.
The problem with that is that at Best his rears would be at 90deg and his sides would be in front of the LP. Useless.

Another thing, is that the bed layer is at 7’. That won’t lend itself to atmos either. So to me, the couch has to move forward and the surrounds have to come down. If that can’t happen, then 7.2.2 with wides(not rears) is as good as it will get. One diagram shows top rears at the wall. This would possibly work but imo wouldn’t be worth it. I don’t think running “top middle” and “top front” is a setting option either.
 
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Drunkpenguin

Audioholic Chief
Can you spin the room 90 degrees around and use the longer side to your advantage?
 

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