Need Help with 7.1 Speaker Placement

[speedobandit]

I just recently bought an Onkyo 7.1 htib. It was no problem for me to setup the 5.1 speakers, but don't know how to go about placing the two surround speakers that go behind you (135-150 degrees). My problem is that a wall is directly behind my couch and there's really no other way to arrange my furniture. Would it sound alright to put the extra two surround speakers on the wall right behind me or should I just keep it 5.1? I currently have two rears at 90 degrees on either side of the couch.

If this helps, my receiver can auto calibrate, and I can manually adjust the delay and volume of each speaker.

Thank you!!!!

 

[jostenmeat]

No, forget the rears in this case. If you ever move, or change your setup so that you have significant distance behind you, only then would I reconsider.

This is coming from a 7.1 user: It's not worth it in your case; in fact its very likely that you will do more harm than good.

 

[DD66000]

If by "directly behind my couch" you mean the couch is right against the back wall, then no, don't use 7 channels.
If though, you have about 3 ft between the couch and wall, then place the speakers about 8 ft apart on the wall.

 

[speedobandit]

ya, the couch is butted right up against the wall. I guess I'll have to make due with 5 then.

 

[jostenmeat]

ya, the couch is butted right up against the wall. I guess I'll have to make due with 5 then.

A very common recommendation is to move the couch away from the back wall.

-escape muddy bass collecting at boundary
-delays the reflection off back wall enough so that it doesn't smear audio from speakers
-makes your tv look bigger

then you might even have space for those rears. usually at least a few feet recommended, perhaps even 4 ft.

The only problem, of course, is the aesthetics of the room, or just being able to get around. Otherwise, yes, this is a very, very common recommendation.

Starting seating position has 38% of room length as the de facto recommendation, varying slightly depending on room. Or some others will offer odd fractions such as 1/3, 2/5, 3/7, etc.

 

[tcarcio]

Well in my case my room is too small,imo, to move the seating to far away from the wall. My seats are only about a foot away from my wall and with some acoustic panels on the wall my system sounds fantastic with my speakers on the back wall. I would say try it and see what you think. Here is a pic of my setup.....http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x164/tcarcio/100_0211.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x164/tcarcio/100_0210.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x164/tcarcio/100_0206.jpg

 

[golfman]

If though, you have about 3 ft between the couch and wall, then place the speakers about 8 ft apart on the wall.

How far back can the rears go, if your system has calibration for time delay and distance. Also would satellite speakers mounted to a 8 ft ceiling be better for rears instead of in ceiling speakers. I would need to place these about 8 ft behind my front row of seats because of the back row seats.

 

[DD66000]

How far back can the rears go, if your system has calibration for time delay and distance. Also would satellite speakers mounted to a 8 ft ceiling be better for rears instead of in ceiling speakers. I would need to place these about 8 ft behind my front row of seats because of the back row seats.

The further away you can sit from the surround speakers the better, imo.
My side surrounds are 8.5 ft from the center seat, and the rear surrounds are 7.5 ft, with a 9 ft spread between, due to an 8'-8" wide archway centered on the back wall.

I've been in HT rooms, in HT stores, that had the surrounds right next to the couch (Orbs), and the couch right up against the back wall. That result to me was just plain irratating.

 

[Trouble Maker]

Well, that answers the question that I was about to post here. I have the same setup as him and was wondering if I should go 5.1 or 7.1. Rooms just not big enough to move the couch off of the wall at all. Thanks guys!