Loudspeaker Placement & HT Layout - An Essential Guide

[mustang_steve]

I have an odd one for you:

My room is missing a corner, literally...it's a 9x11 room, and looks kinda like this:

----- 9ft wide, 11ft deep ~ characters are to keep the wall spacing right.
|~~|
|
---

My surrounds are currently in the back of the room, where that "missing corner" is.

That said, how would I optimally place speakers in that room? And would dipole speakers actually be of any benefit, or should I stay with standard speakers (currently using 5-1/4" shelf speakers)?

 

[blowinch]

Definition of Q

Can anyone explain the difference between loudspeaker Q and coverage Angle? In a dumb way?

I have a definition of each both saying about -6dB reference level to to the on axis spl, and a rigious and authoritive definition of Q thats alittle broad and difficult to grasp.

Thanks, Ryan.

(from Handbook of noise measurement by Peterson and Gross- ~The directivity factor of a transducer used for sound emission is the ratio of the sound pressure squared, at some fixed distance and specific direction, to themean squared sound pressure at the same distance averaged over all directions from the transducer).

 

[briansmith]

How far apart?

No one seemed to address these questions:

1. Using the DD guidelines how far apart should your front speakers be from each other? I heard that your speakers should form an equilateral triangle?
2. What is the recommended toe in? Are there some rough guidelines?

Anyone know the answers to these questions?

 

[Ax-man]

No one seemed to address these questions:

1. Using the DD guidelines how far apart should your front speakers be from each other? I heard that your speakers should form an equilateral triangle?
2. What is the recommended toe in? Are there some rough guidelines?

Anyone know the answers to these questions?

1. Depends on your room size and sitting distance, generally I believe there can be a 10-20% variance between listening position to speaker distance and speaker to speaker distance (mains). For example, my listening position is 15 ft from my front speakers and my speakers are 12 ft apart or within 20% of my listening position.


2. There is not a definitive set in stone point for speaker toe-in, most often you'd want the tweeters aimed for your ears but is not always the case. This is an area where you'll just have to tweak and play until you find a point that suits you.


3. Everything is subjective to each individual...of course.


4. Here's a decent article regarding speaker placement....although not many come close to Alan Lofft's articles. One man's view on speaker placement

 

[Room101]

Incorrect Link

The original post now links to the wrong article. Here's the correct url:
http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/speaker-setup-guidelines/home-theater-speaker-layout-an-essential-guide

 

[johnmn]

Can I lie the front floor speakers down (horizontally)?

Is there any potential harm/ damages to my Floor speakers (Klipsch Synergy SLX LCR) that I lay them down horizintally flat on my book shelves to save floor spaces ? Thank you for all inputs !

 

[TLS Guy]

Lobing pattern

No you can not lay them down horizontally. The lobing pattern of the speakers will be 90 degrees off, and they will sound poor.

 

[TLS Guy]

Total system Q

Can anyone explain the difference between loudspeaker Q and coverage Angle? In a dumb way?

I have a definition of each both saying about -6dB reference level to to the on axis spl, and a rigious and authoritive definition of Q thats alittle broad and difficult to grasp.

Thanks, Ryan.

(from Handbook of noise measurement by Peterson and Gross- ~The directivity factor of a transducer used for sound emission is the ratio of the sound pressure squared, at some fixed distance and specific direction, to themean squared sound pressure at the same distance averaged over all directions from the transducer).

The coverage angle has been explained to you. I assume by Q you are referring to the total system resonance. Every driver has mechanical and electrical resonances. The Q is the slope or steepness of the resonant curve. The Box also has resonance. The "Q" of a speaker usually refers to the Q of the total system. To guide you, a speaker with a total of of 0.5 or less will have an over tight bass. One that stops before it gets going. A speaker with a total Q over 1.0 or over will tend to be on the boomy side. When I design a speaker, I try to design for 0.7 to 0.8

 

[Semper Fidelis]

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[supervij]

Clint, the article is great, but how about one that covers loudspeaker placement for multi-channel music? It's slightly different than the layout for HT. You could have suggest layouts that will work great for both, and layouts that are more oriented towards each separately.

cheers,
supervij

 

[Sir Charles]

Speaker Placement

Thanks for the article Clint. I'm a newbie to Audioholics and to home theater. I read the article on speaker placement but have an additional question. I'm having a combination media/game/party room built and want to be able to use it for watching movies and listening to music.

The size of the room will be approx 20' long by 13' wide and the TV watching will be in one half of the room. Music will be all over the room.

I have an Onkyo DS595 5.1 surround sound receiver with A and B speaker outputs in addition to the surround sound and subwoofer outputs.

I was thinking of positioning the speakers with the A speakers at one end with the TV and subwoofer, the surround sound speakers in the middle facing towards the seating area, and the B speakers at the other end of the room.

Is that a reasonable configuration to be able to watch movies, or listen to music when the TV is turned off?

 

[am74Gibson]

At the risk of getting flamed

I know you guys out there will at the very least be shaking your heads at this question, and somehow, I know it's inherentley wrong, but here goes...

I have dual Subwoofers...Is there anything wrong with placing/anchoring small speakers or towers on them? I mean, if they are locked down tight? My room layout seems to beg this question..it would resolve a lot of placement issues if it is ok.

 

[mfabien]

A drop of water coming down on concrete at a constant interval of time will make a hole in the concrete.

A speaker installed on a subwoofer, no matter how well it is anchored, will be shaken internally by the sub's vibration and internal parts will be affected in a period of time associated with the rate of use and intensity of use of the subwoofer.

You may get away with this for a month, a year but in time, you will have, I firmly believe, a failure.

 

[pmac]

A drop of water coming down on concrete at a constant interval of time will make a hole in the concrete.

A speaker installed on a subwoofer, no matter how well it is anchored, will be shaken internally by the sub's vibration and internal parts will be affected in a period of time associated with the rate of use and intensity of use of the subwoofer.

You may get away with this for a month, a year but in time, you will have, I firmly believe, a failure.

I totally agree with this statement, I would never hook up or place anything on my sub.

 

[Trihonda]

my front right speaker is kinda in the middle of nowhere ...

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a330/superribbit/email2.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a330/superribbit/IMG_3767.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a330/superribbit/email1.jpg

this is the result of positioning them in an equilateral triangle with regards to the seating position

WHAT I LOVE!!!! Is $2-3000 in HT/Audio equipment and a $4.99 plastic chair from Shopko for a seat!!!! That made my day!

 

[pg13]

Can a receiver correct for suboptimal placement ?

Due to room restrictions, I sit almost right across from the front left speaker and close to surround left speaker. Moreover, I may need to place the fronts higher than I want (about 5 feet high while my ear level is about 3 feet) because otherwise they will be hidden behind the TV. My Yamaha receiver has options relating to distance of listening position from each of the speakers. How much can the receiver correct for such placement issues ?

Sorry if the question is naive but this is the first time I am actually setting up a full blown home theater system. Having spent over $1500, I do want to get it right! Ofcourse, since I live in an apartment, I dont have much flexibility with respect to where things can be placed. the current placement is pretty much dictated by window locations in the living room.

Changing speaker placement would require some drastic changes in my living room which my wife is not going to agree with.

My system is:
Orb audio Mod2 fronts and center; mod1 surrounds; Super8 sub; Yamaha RXV663 receiver.

Thanks for any help.

 

[lsiberian]

2 feet above your ears isn't going to kill you. Getting it off the ground will help some, simply because the acoustics of your floor will effect the sound.

Just make sure you face the speakers forward and not toeing in.

For reference I can sit anywhere along my couch in my apartment and still get good sound. So sitting off center isn't a huge deal.

I know my gal hates talking about the home theater so my suggestion is just try different things and then ask her which she likes better.

It's better to have a happy wife and a wacky placement then an angry wife and perfect placement. If it really is important to you then you might be surprised how much she is willing to tolerate. Plus you can always move speakers when they aren't being used. You probably need the exercise anyway. LOL

 

[dgshtav]

Thanks. Nice Article.

 

[grnmtnboy]

playing loud music with 7.1 HT system?

I'm new at this(blog), so apologize for my ignorance. Here goes...

I have an existing older stereo system(Pioneer receiver/Bose 301s), and play music a bit loud. Now looking to purchase a new 7.1 HT receiver system, and some surround speakers, and hoping to use it for both movies and continue blasting audio? Most of the surround speakers I'm looking at are generally rated at/near 50w/channel, which is perfectly fine for movies. Can I incorporate loudspeakers(100-150w) with this? Most 7.1 systems distribute wattage equally between the channels? How would I do this(without killing smaller speakers)? Can I put larger speakers on the front sides and change receiver settings? Appreciate all your help.

 

[meloman]

Good read. Thanks.