Distance Between Front Speakers & TV

[RotelDBA]

Hi,
I have always kept a decent distance between the front LR speakers and the TV and I have noticed that the Audioholics Loudspeaker Setup Guide even recommends a 1.5' - 2' distance between the LR speakers and the TV.

That being said, I am looking to upgrade my current 50" plasma to a 77" OLED. If I do this it would leave approximately 3" on either side between each of the front speakers and the television screen and I don't really have the space to move the speakers a whole lot. I could probably push the speakers out another inch.

Is the distance recommendation left-over from the days when television cabinets were these large surface area boxes? Is this still the recommendation with today's much thinner televisions, especially the OLED's which are extremely thin?

Would having the speaker this close to the television cause problems for me? I really would rather not go with the 65", but if there is a legitimate reason to steer clear of this setup, I would.

For reference, the seating position is 9' 8" from the screen and the distance between the LR speakers is 6' 2". The 77" OLED TV is 68" wide.

Thank you in advance for any input or suggestions!

 

[lovinthehd]

The bit of ocd in me says move the rack (nice looking btw) and place those speakers more symmetrically . I have more room in my main system, so my speakers are in front of my rack, which sits between my left speaker and the tv, and pull the mains more out into the room. Looks like it's kinda hard to spread your speakers out any more than that at least, the room is somewhat narrow. While many aim for an equilateral triangle with mains, many have their speakers a bit closer together by necessity, room placement is often simply a compromise. How far off the front wall are the speakers?

 

[RotelDBA]

The bit of ocd in me says move the rack (nice looking btw) and place those speakers more symmetrically . I have more room in my main system, so my speakers are in front of my rack, which sits between my left speaker and the tv, and pull the mains more out into the room. Looks like it's kinda hard to spread your speakers out any more than that at least, the room is somewhat narrow. While many aim for an equilateral triangle with mains, many have their speakers a bit closer together by necessity, room placement is often simply a compromise. How far off the front wall are the speakers?

@lovinthehd thank you for the reply! Haha...I completely understand the OCD piece . I guess I should have posted more pictures of the room. The room has a strange layout. What you can't see is that to the left the room bumps out a couple of feet for a span of approximately 7' 8" before bumping back in again. That bump out is actually where the SVS tube subwoofer is located. I thought about trying to move the rack into that bump out, but there is a door in the way. The couch is centered in another bump out, which lines up symmetrically with where the front speakers are. So, those front speakers are actually exactly 9' 6" each from the listening area. The front speakers are 13.75" off from the front wall.

 

[TLS Guy]

Hi,
I have always kept a decent distance between the front LR speakers and the TV and I have noticed that the Audioholics Loudspeaker Setup Guide even recommends a 1.5' - 2' distance between the LR speakers and the TV.

That being said, I am looking to upgrade my current 50" plasma to a 77" OLED. If I do this it would leave approximately 3" on either side between each of the front speakers and the television screen and I don't really have the space to move the speakers a whole lot. I could probably push the speakers out another inch.

Is the distance recommendation left-over from the days when television cabinets were these large surface area boxes? Is this still the recommendation with today's much thinner televisions, especially the OLED's which are extremely thin?

Would having the speaker this close to the television cause problems for me? I really would rather not go with the 65", but if there is a legitimate reason to steer clear of this setup, I would.

For reference, the seating position is 9' 8" from the screen and the distance between the LR speakers is 6' 2". The 77" OLED TV is 68" wide.

Thank you in advance for any input or suggestions!

The common wisdom on this is wrong and suboptimal from an acoustic point of view.

The problem is that these arrangements get the front speakers far too close, and you get significant interference between the speakers from comb filtering, especially below 500 to 400 Hz which results in uneven frequency response. It is OK if you just use the left and right speakers, and only use the center for watching TV and news programs etc.

The left and right speakers need to be at least six feet from the center and a little more is possible.

In my theater I have no speakers closer together than seven feet. In my living room in wall system where conditions do not allow for proper spacing, I only engage the center speaker for TV, like news broadcasts etc.

I have said often that the commonest mistake I see in members pictures, is speakers too close together.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Hi,
I have always kept a decent distance between the front LR speakers and the TV and I have noticed that the Audioholics Loudspeaker Setup Guide even recommends a 1.5' - 2' distance between the LR speakers and the TV.

That being said, I am looking to upgrade my current 50" plasma to a 77" OLED. If I do this it would leave approximately 3" on either side between each of the front speakers and the television screen and I don't really have the space to move the speakers a whole lot. I could probably push the speakers out another inch.

Is the distance recommendation left-over from the days when television cabinets were these large surface area boxes? Is this still the recommendation with today's much thinner televisions, especially the OLED's which are extremely thin?

Would having the speaker this close to the television cause problems for me? I really would rather not go with the 65", but if there is a legitimate reason to steer clear of this setup, I would.

For reference, the seating position is 9' 8" from the screen and the distance between the LR speakers is 6' 2". The 77" OLED TV is 68" wide.

Thank you in advance for any input or suggestions!

What I would do since you are upgrading the display is wall mount the tv, and find a horizontal solution below it for all the gear. The rest of the room seems like it’s gonna be what it is. So moving the rack gear below the tv would allow you to spread out the LCR and raise the tv a bit to get the center closer in line with the LR.

 

[RotelDBA]

The common wisdom on this is wrong and suboptimal from an acoustic point of view.

The problem is that these arrangements get the front speakers far too close, and you get significant interference between the speakers from comb filtering, especially below 500 to 400 Hz which results in uneven frequency response. It is OK if you just use the left and right speakers, and only use the center for watching TV and news programs etc.

The left and right speakers need to be at least six feet from the center and a little more is possible.

In my theater I have no speakers closer together than seven feet. In my living room in wall system where conditions do not allow for proper spacing, I only engage the center speaker for TV, like news broadcasts etc.

I have said often that the commonest mistake I see in members pictures, is speakers too close together.

@TLS Guy, thank you for the reply! I don't disagree with anything you are saying, unfortunately this is the only room in the house I have available for my theater and the wall you see is the longest straight wall in the room.

 

[RotelDBA]

What I would do since you are upgrading the display is wall mount the tv, and find a horizontal solution below it for all the gear. The rest of the room seems like it’s gonna be what it is. So moving the rack gear below the tv would allow you to spread out the LCR and raise the tv a bit to get the center closer in line with the LR.

@William Lemmerhirt, thank you for the reply and suggestion. The problem I would have by moving the rack and spreading the speakers is that currently the speakers and display are centered with the seating, which can't move because of the available space in the recess on that side of the room. I don't think I could handle everything being off center by that much.

 

[RotelDBA]

Thank you to everyone who has replied! I agree with most of the replies that the current layout is not necessarily an optimal layout and I can tell you that before landing on the current layout I spent a lot of time going through numerous configurations before landing on this one. Unfortunately, the only available room in the house for my setup is a spare bedroom and I have to work within the constraints of that room.

That being said, if I put a new OLED television that will be set back approx. 10" from the front of the LR speakers and 3" from the sides of each of those speakers, will it introduce any problems?

 

[RotelDBA]

Even though the intent of this post is to understand the impact of having a larger OLED screen very close to the front LR speakers, there have been enough questions and suggestions around the room layout that I through together a quick floor plan of the room and attached it to this post. I just eye-balled the dimensions for this diagram, so it is not to scale, but it's probably not too far off either.

 

[j_garcia]

IMO, if the speakers were more "flush" or near flush with the TV, the Audioholics recommendation applies more. If you flat wall mount the TV, you will get a greater separation from the TV and the front of the speakers, which helps. They look to be 6" or more ahead of the TV, so that's a good start. I have my speakers about 1.5-2ft in front of a 75" TV. The larger display allows you to push it back a little.

Your treatments behind the TV don't help as well as they should because the TV becomes the reflection point instead of the wall. I agree, relocating the rack and moving the left speaker to be more like the right one would be a good thing, if possible.

 

[Replicant 7]

You gotta find away to spread out your L/R mains. Doing that alone would give you a wider sound stage. Have you thought about building some shelves along the wall to put your gear?

 

[RotelDBA]

IMO, if the speakers were more "flush" or near flush with the TV, the Audioholics recommendation applies more. If you flat wall mount the TV, you will get a greater separation from the TV and the front of the speakers, which helps. They look to be 6" or more ahead of the TV, so that's a good start. I have my speakers about 1.5-2ft in front of a 75" TV. The larger display allows you to push it back a little.

Your treatments behind the TV don't help as well as they should because the TV becomes the reflection point instead of the wall. I agree, relocating the rack and moving the left speaker to be more like the right one would be a good thing, if possible.

@j_garcia, thank you for the reply! Currently, the speakers are currently 8" ahead of the TV. Because I will be moving the stand back a bit and the new TV is thinner, the new TV will be approx. 12" behind the front of the speakers.

The treatments behind the room are actually part of an overall room treatment for controlling echoes in the room.

I agree moving the speakers farther apart would be ideal, however the issue (even if I had another place to put my rack) is that because of how the room is laid out and the fact that the listening area cannot move, it would mean that the left speaker would become about 2' farther away from the listening area then the right and it would also mean that the television would look strange in the room being off center between the speakers because currently the TV is centered with the listening area.

Thank you for your input and suggestions!

 

[RotelDBA]

You gotta find away to spread out your L/R mains. Doing that alone would give you a wider sound stage. Have you thought about building some shelves along the wall to put your gear?

@Replicant 7, thank you for the reply! Though the system sounds fantastic right now, I agree moving the speakers farther apart (even if I could find another place for my equipment) would be ideal and would create a wider sound stage.

However, the issue is that because of the floor plan of the room and the fact that the listening area cannot move, it would mean that the left speaker would become about 2' farther away from the listening area then the right and it would also mean that the television would look strange in the room being off center between the speakers because currently the TV is centered with the listening area, which is where I would keep it.

Thank you for your input and suggestions!

 

[j_garcia]

@j_garcia, thank you for the reply! Currently, the speakers are currently 8" ahead of the TV. Because I will be moving the stand back a bit and the new TV is thinner, the new TV will be approx. 12" behind the front of the speakers.

The treatments behind the room are actually part of an overall room treatment for controlling echoes in the room.

I agree moving the speakers farther apart would be ideal, however the issue (even if I had another place to put my rack) is that because of how the room is laid out and the fact that the listening area cannot move, it would mean that the left speaker would become about 2' farther away from the listening area then the right and it would also mean that the television would look strange in the room being off center between the speakers because currently the TV is centered with the listening area.

Thank you for your input and suggestions!

I didn't catch the floorplan. Are the surrounds overhead then, or is that sort of a cubby with a short wall there so the couch is fixed? I'd still probably swap the rack and the sub, put the sub on the inside of the left speaker and expand the stage IF you can slide the couch and TV left to center things. If not, proceed as is and ignore what I said 12" in front of the display should be good.

I've had to do less than optimal corner setups and other odd things too. My current setup has the TV on a floor mount because I have a window right behind it. It was the only good placement for this room, so I chose to give up that window (left has a window and baseboard heater, right wall has a fireplace and door).

 

[Mark E. Long]

How well do you like that window a thought you could move the system over in front of the window put the equipment in the closet that’s behind the couch now . Put heavy drapes on the window to block light and absorb some reflections mabey . Put the sub by the tv stand and spread the mains out some probably not the best spot for a single sub but doable.

 

[RotelDBA]

I didn't catch the floorplan. Are the surrounds overhead then, or is that sort of a cubby with a short wall there so the couch is fixed? I'd still probably swap the rack and the sub, put the sub on the inside of the left speaker and expand the stage IF you can slide the couch and TV left to center things. If not, proceed as is and ignore what I said 12" in front of the display should be good.

I've had to do less than optimal corner setups and other odd things too. My current setup has the TV on a floor mount because I have a window right behind it. It was the only good placement for this room, so I chose to give up that window (left has a window and baseboard heater, right wall has a fireplace and door).

Yes, the surrounds are a couple of Paradigm Studio ADP-590 v5 speakers mounted to the walls approx. 20" above ear height. We have a couple of the smallest end tables we could find wedged in on either side of the sofa. We don't have even an inch to move the sofa.

Haha...a little while back, when I was trying to figure out options, I also thought about swapping the sub and the rack, but then came to the conclusion that it would be a lot of work and ultimately would be unable to spread the speakers and move the TV because of the awkward floorplan.

BTW...thank you for answering the question about the impact of having the TV so close to the LR speakers!

 

[RotelDBA]

How well do you like that window a thought you could move the system over in front of the window put the equipment in the closet that’s behind the couch now . Put heavy drapes on the window to block light and absorb some reflections mabey . Put the sub by the tv stand and spread the mains out some probably not the best spot for a single sub but doable.

How well do you like that window a thought you could move the system over in front of the window put the equipment in the closet that’s behind the couch now . Put heavy drapes on the window to block light and absorb some reflections mabey . Put the sub by the tv stand and spread the mains out some probably not the best spot for a single sub but doable.

@Mark E. Long, thank you for the reply! A little while back when I was performing an evaluation of the layout in the room, I did briefly consider putting things against the window wall. I don't have a problem covering over the window, but because of the awkward floorplan in order to put the sofa (and it's a normal sized sofa) across from the TV and speakers, avoid the doorway, and give enough room to get around to sit down, I would end up being at a 4-5 foot distance from the TV.

Thank you for the input and suggestions!

 

[Mark E. Long]

@Mark E. Long, thank you for the reply! A little while back when I was performing an evaluation of the layout in the room, I did briefly consider putting things against the window wall. I don't have a problem covering over the window, but because of the awkward floorplan in order to put the sofa (and it's a normal sized sofa) across from the TV and speakers, avoid the doorway, and give enough room to get around to sit down, I would end up being at a 4-5 foot distance from the TV.

Thank you for the input and suggestions!

Much welcome Sir sometimes it’s hard to get it all to fit I know . It was a thought after seeing your floor plan and it’s hard to visualize from a picture the actual size . Another thought mabey a different tv stand that will hold the gear and allow for a wall mount for the tv . There are some very nice options in the entertainment stands these days and would allow for spreading out the front stage a bit . Good luck with your system .