New HT Speaker Placement and Whole House Audio

[94506rn]

Hi,

I've been lurking for awhile and multiple searches haven't answered all of my questions.

Will be installing 50" Pioneer Elite Plasma with L/C/R speakers on the wall. I'm planning on installing the plasma 30 - 36" off the floor (probably closer to 30", but any input welcome). I'll be sitting about 7.5' from the screen. Should I put the center channel above or below the screen? I originally thought below, but based on the height of plasma now thinking above with the center angled down. Also, saw some mention of above being the more appropriate spot for the feeling of dialogue coming directly from screen?

Thinking about having installers run speaker cables to my upstairs bedroom and office, and will definitely be putting speakers in my kitchen...all in-ceiling on this stuff. One person said to go with mono sound since this is all ambient listening. Another said stereo. I just want to be able to hear and enjoy my music as I move around my house. It doesn't have to be hi-fidelity, but at the same time I don't want to spend all of this money and then be disappointed. I really don't fully understand this one, so any advice welcome.

Also, in the kitchen which is about 18 feet long by 6 - 9 feet wide depending on which part you are in, should I go with two or one in-ceiling speaker(s)? One installer said one mono, another said stereo, one L and one R on opposite ends. I'm thinking two speakers (but both stereo) since one end of the kitchen is cooking and the other end is dining or is that overkill in still a relatively small space? Also, if just one, should it be a "stereo" speaker or the mono speaker?

Sorry for length, just not very succinct in these things. I have a few more questions, but I'm going to start with these.

Thank you in advance for your time. Any and all input is most welcome!

 

[the grunt]

Placing the screen so that your eye level is about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom often yields the best results. I think this give a more movie-theater-like quality than looking straight at or down at the screen.

Center speakers usually blend best with the mains if their tweeters are on or as close to the same horizontal plane as the tweeters of the mains. This helps pans across the front stay level. However, don’t automatically assume that this is always best. If placing it below the screen will cause a table or other furniture to be in the way then above will likely be better even if it separates the tweeters more. Also your flooring could cause reflections or otherwise colour the sound if place below the screen. If possible experiment with both positions using a stand or ladder and see if one sounds obviously better to you.

As for the stereo vs mono I think it depends on how you plan to listen. If you plan on moving around in the area you probably wouldn’t benefit much from stereo imaging from the speakers. However, if you will have a fixed listening position in each room then you could place speakers to get proper stereo imaging. If it won’t cost much more since the they will already be up there you could start with mono but also have them install the wire for stereo in case you want to upgrade later.

Hope this gets the ball rolling. I’m sure more experienced people will also chime in.

Cheers,
Dean

 

[94506rn]

thanks so much for your input.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

If the space is pretty spread out I would go with 2 speakers in the ceilings. I would also highly recommed using Niles gear for control. I have the IntelliPad for control in my bedroom and love it.

 

[94506rn]

Anyone else?

Hi,

Hoping for a little more input at least to my center channel question.

50" plasma will be mounted on wall with no furniture around to get in the way. Right now I'm planning on mounting about 30" above the floor which will allow a/v components to reside below, in in-wall shelving. I'll be sitting about 7.5' away from the screen. Should the center channel be placed above or below the plasma?


thanks!