I need help setting up my room

[AbjectEvolution]

I know more about HT than my friends do, but I still consider myself to be a novice. This opinion was strengthened recently when I looked at a bunch of articles about speaker placement and such. Obviously by looking at the picture I'm about to post, I do a lot of things wrong... some of which I have learned recently but haven't done anything about yet. For instance, I have my surrounds (5.1) behind and above the couch. My center is pointing forward. And tons of other things that I have only started learning about and more that I hope to learn here.

I don't like the way the room is setup right now. It can't be good for there to be a wall to the right of my setup but an open area to the left. I would like to change my setup to have my TV on the right wall so that there is a wall on either side of my HT. Look at the picture for more details.

I created the image quickly with MS Paint. Sorry for any confusion and if you need any more info, I'll tell you anything you need to know.

Here is my equipment list.

Sony HTIB 5.1 DTS receiver
Sony HTIB subwoofer
Sony HTIB surrounds
Polk Audio TSi300 floor standing fronts
Matching Polk center
PS3 (movies and games)
TWC HD cable box
Nintendo Wii

I ordered and will receive my new receiver tomorrow. I'm getting an Onkyo 607. Also, I ordered an A2-300 sub, but I won't get it for about 4 weeks. I had a thread on here about opinions on subs and I really appreciate the feedback!

Any and all suggestions, links, help... is appreciated. Like I said, I know I do some things wrong and I'm open minded and willing to create the best system given my room.

Oh and I didn't mention in the picture that the room is 8FT tall.

 

[AbjectEvolution]

Here is a link to the pic if that one didn't work. Linking from MobileMe has been acting weird lately.

http://www.myosismusic.com/hometheater.gif

 

[bpape]

Turning your room would be a big benefit IMO. Your surround speakers are the best they can be given the couch against a wall. HT surrounds in 5.1 should be behind you and up higher on the walls.

In the new arrangement, you'll have more space behind you for better bass response, less boom, and better surround field envelopment.

Bryan

 

[AbjectEvolution]

I read that surrounds for a 5.1 system are supposed to be at the side and above ear level, not behind and above the listening area. Did I read wrong?

I think I'm going to put the rear surrounds on the back 8 1/2 FT wall. They will be fairly far from the listening area, but hopefully the Onkyo 607 MIC calibration will fix their distance.

 

[bpape]

If you look at the Dolby spec, it's closer to 135 degrees from the viewing axis. So, essentially at 45 degrees behind you.

Above ear level is correct. Usually, in an 8' room and for HT reproduction, about 6.5' off the floor works well and avoids boundary issues with regard to the ceiling.

Bryan

 

[AbjectEvolution]

Right and because of my window, if I change my layout, the side surrounds will have to be at almost 7 feet above the floor because of the window. I suppose I could mount them on stands and only set them up when I'm watching movies, but moving the speakers around all the time isn't ideal.

 

[bpape]

From the drawing, it looks like you could do the surrounds just behind the window and have a matching place on the other side, just before the hallway?

Bryan

 

[AbjectEvolution]

I assume you mean the side surrounds? I can't put one at the end of the window and the other one before the kitchen door (if that's what you're referring to) because the window actually extends past the space of the kitchen door and so the speakers wouldn't be an equal distance from the TV. Plus, even if I was able to do that... I would have to have my couch really far from the TV which isn't preferred due to the 47" size of my TV.

I do have another question to ask though. I'm thinking about getting the Polk TSi100's for my surrounds to replace my HTIB surrounds. On the Polk site, it lists the TSi100's in the surround section, but they are listed as bookshelf speakers and the reviews make it seem like people are using them as their main L/R speakers. Are they good to use for surrounds, or should I go with something else? On bestbuy.com it lists a pair of Polk satellite speakers that seem to cost the same as the bookshelf speakers ($200) for the pair. What is the difference between the bookshelf speakers and the satellite speakers?

 

[bpape]

I was referring to those positions for rears in a 5.1 setup. Seating would not need to be far away. Different distances can present a problem with some processors but some will handle it.

If the Polks are bookshelves, they're most likely monopole and just fine for rear surrounds.

Bryan

 

[AbjectEvolution]

Aren't rear speakers supposed to be behind you and not to the sides? Or does it really matter that much? Not like it matters anyway as I can't do that. My only options seem to be mounting them on the 8 1/2' wall equally spaced from the center of the room and hope that the calibration fixes their distance, or mounting them on the ceiling which I have no experience with.

Also, More questions. Thanks for the help so far.

I bought rubber door stoppers and a laser pointer and will be getting some rubber feet this weekend. My center (Polk TSi) is currently sitting on two L brackets that are meant to hold up a shelf, but I never bought a shelf. Obviously I can't use the stoppers without a shelf. I went to Target to see if they had something that would work, and they didn't. The problem is that my center sticks out so far that the shelf will probably have to stick out even further due to the stoppers and however much I have to inch out the center to get it aligned with my listening position.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I could mount my center on the wall above my TV? Should I just buy a piece of wood at a hardware store and paint it myself? What have some of you done?

It seems in most setups that the center is on a TV stand of some sort below the TV instead of above it. I do have a stand that would work well with that, but there isn't enough room for it with the TV on there. Another option would be to mount the TV on the wall to make room for the center on the stand below it. I called Best Buy and a good mount will cost me $120 plus like $350 to have it mounted.

How hard is it to mount a TV by yourself if you have no experience? Should I buy a mount and find someone on CL to come install it for me? I'll probably have to have them put the cables in the wall as I don't think the hanging cables would look good, unless someone here has a better suggestion on cable concealment. I don't own the home I'm in, but I'll be renting it for at least another year or two before buying my own place. I would have to ask the landlord if it's ok if I mount the TV, but I'm positive that he won't care as long as I pay for it. I have had electrical work done on the house out of pocket.

 

[bpape]

Yes. They should be behind you. Mounting on the ceiling would likely be the best bet since the other wall would put them very close together to avoid the hallway. Your seating will be significantly forward in the room from there given the TV size and proper position for best bass response.

For the center, above will work fine on a shelf. Below is less localizable but also runs into resonance issues in a rack as well as boundary reinforcement from the proximity to the floor. In any case, just make sure the front baffle of the speaker is in front of the rack.

Bryan