help with speaker location in large LR

D

dmestan

Audiophyte
New to HT, sorry if this is long.

I have a large LR, 20x26 (std 8ft ceiling.) The space is divided into 2 separate 13X20 areas, one of which is the TV/couch area. TV is on one of the 20' walls with couch in the middle of the room. Placing the surrounds on the side is really not an option since one side (26') wall is partially open. Can I place the speakers in the far rear corners? This would place them about 12-13 ft behind the couch. Will this still produce decent sound? In one corner of the back wall the window goes all the way to the inside corner, so I would need to mount close to the ceiling. Any problem with that? I haven't chosen the rec or speakers yet, just in the planning stage. Also, I want the speakers to be small size since they may be located in the corners (this is our main LR, not a dedicated HT) - can small sat speakers produce decent sound in a room this size? I suppose another option would be celing mount speakers, maybe in-walls, but not sure about the sound quality in those. I'm looking at a budget under 1K. I appreciate any avdice

thx, Don
 
AVRat

AVRat

Audioholic Ninja
HTIB! Just joking.

Just a quick 1st round reco.

@ (crutchfield.com)
Speakers
Polk Audio RTi4 Bookshelfs.........$260
Polk Audio CS1 Center..............$180
Polk Audio RC60i 6.5" In-Ceiling..$200 (they sound just fine)

Receiver
Sony STR-DE598 90W, 6.1........$200

@ cadencestore.com
Cadence
MODEL XSUB-12 12" 350W SUBWOOFER .....$229

TOTAL........ $1,069

Bring on the BICs at Ubid.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
You're going to need some decent main speakers and a fair amount of power to fill that room. Satellites definitely aren't going to cut it, IMO. Bookshelf speakers, such as those mentioned, will probably do the trick, though I'd opt for the best front three speakers you could afford with a room that size.

AV123 has a complete set of speakers for $799, then you just need to add a receiver and DVD player & cables, and you are all set.

Don't mount the speakers on the wall. Get stands and mount them in your listening area or go with in-ceiling speakers. 12ft+ behind is a bit too far.
 
D

dmestan

Audiophyte
Thanks for the suggestion.

Are these directional speakers? What is the best placement for the in-ceilings? To the side and slightly behind the couch? If I opt for 6.1 or 7.1, the additional 2 speakers would be further behind the couch than the 1st pair? So, like the x in my primitive diagram below:

x

cc x
tv oo
tv uu
tv cc
hh x

x

I guess the next concern is about having speakers in the middle of the LR ceiling - hopefully the wife will go for that. Any other options for the rears? Would smaller satellites in the back corners work?

thx, Don
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
My buddy has a 7.1 setup almost exactly as you describe. The "side" surrounds are to either side, and slightly behind the couch, while the rear centers are a few feet behind that and toward the center. It works quite well actually, and you don't really notice the speakers that much.

Smaller speakers will have a more difficult time filling the room, and the further they are, the tougher it will be.

I'd avoid the Sony DE receivers too. Not the best money spent IMO. Look at the Onkyo 503 or maybe something from Denon or Harman Kardon.
 
D

dmestan

Audiophyte
Yeah, I was thinking Denon or Yamaha. Does one work better with polk speakers than the other?

Another option for the front - I currently have some old JBL G400 towers (along with my ancient Sony ProLogic rec.) Could I use these and get a JBL CC, then use the Polk in-ceil for the surround? Or are these JBLs junk?

thx, Don
 
AVRat

AVRat

Audioholic Ninja
One man’s junk is another man’s treasure!

Those JBLs should work just fine. JR.com has good deals on JBL in-ceilings (HTI6C - $180), center (EC35 - $180)

My preference is Denon, but you will probably get more bang (Watts) for $$$ with Yamaha or Pioneer as well as good processing.
 
Buckeyefan 1

Buckeyefan 1

Audioholic Ninja
Can small sat speakers produce decent sound in a room this size?
Not too small. Not in that size of a room. An 8 ohm higher spl bookshelf with at least a 6.5" woofer will work better than something smaller.

I'm looking at a budget under 1K. I appreciate any avdice
thx, Don
I can get close to that on a 7.1 system, but not under. This is about the best I can do "new" (not ebay). How about this?

BIC DV62 bookshelves (6) $372
6.5" woofers
* if you get 4, that's $124 in your pocket
BIC CLRS 62 center dual 6.5" woofers $110
Cadence 12" 350 watt XSUB $229
Pioneer 1015 receiver 120x7 THX Select 2 $388

Total $1099 (shipping included)
Prices taken from www.shopzilla.com and www.yahoo.com "shopping"
 
L

luis1090

Audioholic Intern
I'm sure these are excellent speakers, but at almost 2X the price over the ones reviewed here. I wonder if this is an example of diminished expectations. How much of an improvement are these; it begs the question: will we be able to tell the difference? Hey, opting for the supercharged model of a muscle car won't double the price, and you will be able to tell the difference right away. The original S7t reviewed here was described as: "Extremely accurate tonality" and "Tremendously wide dynamic range" among other superlatives; for $30K the should have come with a whole new model.
 

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