Recently moved, new room, new challenges

[William Lemmerhirt]

Hey man. Do you have a pic of the left side? I know you posted one somewhere, but I just don’t feel like digging...lol

 

[sven1olaf]

Hey man. Do you have a pic of the left side? I know you posted one somewhere, but I just don’t feel like digging...lol

Yup yup, here's the left side...and some other views.

 

[sven1olaf]

I decided on these bad boys for my 5.2.2 surrounds: RBH SV-61R https://rbhsound.com/sv61r.php

While I patiently wait, by staying as busy as possible, I'm trying to work out where best to place them.

The red dots in the two pics is roughly where I am thinking of putting them on stands. (PS. Anyone know where to get 4-5' stands?). I'm just don't have room for rear heights for .4 Atmos, so I can get pretty high with the surrounds if needed.

Each speaker will have it's own troubles. The one on the wall with the map, is locked to a front-back 2d plane. It can go farther back, and higher, but not father out and away. The one on the wall with the window, is locked perpendicular to the map speaker plane. It can go left and right, up and down, but not closer to or farther from the display.

And with no rear heights to worry about maintaining separation from, height for the surrounds seems like it could be helpful.

Do you guys have any advice on how best to place the surrounds in this challenging room?

Let me know if more pics or measurements would hellp.

Thanks

 

[sven1olaf]

Here, maybe this will help with the questions I have about placement.

I have drawn, not well, what I am thinking about for 5.2.2 and then a potential 7.2.4 setup.

The left side is far away, the right side is very close, and the book behind the couch is slightly more narrow than the seating position.

Any suggestions?

 

[shadyJ]

I think RBH SV-61Rs are overkill for surrounds. Hell, they are probably better than your front stage speakers. If I were you, I wouldn't try to cram a 7.2.4 system in that room. I would just stick with 5.1, with the surrounds elevated at a height that does not place them too close to the listening position. A great choice for that is the SVS Prime Elevation speakers. I can see that you want a state-of-the-art sound system, but your room and your listening position is really fighting you here. If you are too close to any of the speakers, they will draw attention to their positions which wrecks the soundstage. If the speakers are too close to each other, there is no point in having discrete channels since the difference won't be heard.

Look at the Dolby Home Atmos Installation Guide. If you can't get your speakers close to similar placements to the ones outlined in that guide, I would forget about Atmos. Atmos depends on the speakers being in certain positions relative to the listener.

 

[sven1olaf]

I think RBH SV-61Rs are overkill for surrounds. Hell, they are probably better than your front stage speakers. If I were you, I wouldn't try to cram a 7.2.4 system in that room. I would just stick with 5.1, with the surrounds elevated at a height that does not place them too close to the listening position. A great choice for that is the SVS Prime Elevation speakers. I can see that you want a state-of-the-art sound system, but your room and your listening position is really fighting you here. If you are too close to any of the speakers, they will draw attention to their positions which wrecks the soundstage. If the speakers are too close to each other, there is no point in having discrete channels since the difference won't be heard.

Look at the Dolby Home Atmos Installation Guide. If you can't get your speakers close to similar placements to the ones outlined in that guide, I would forget about Atmos. Atmos depends on the speakers being in certain positions relative to the listener.

Shady you are right (I'm hoping) about the 61r's. This is more of a test to see what I think about the RBH signature reference line. If I like them, which I am confident I will, I plan to move them front, get a matching center, and put the 807v's either as surrounds (front ported), or move them to the bedroom.

The 7.2.4 setup is for sure a pipe dream. There just isn't enough room. I am hesitant about 5.2.4 even, because of the rear heights being too close to the surround channel on the right.

Currently I am shooting for the best 5.2.2 application I can get, with the idea of going to 5.2.4 if it would be worthwhile. Placement of the surrounds is less than straight forward. The difference in the right and left side of the room leaves me wondering how best to do this.

 

[shadyJ]

Shady you are right (I'm hoping) about the 61r's. This is more of a test to see what I think about the RBH signature reference line. If I like them, which I am confident I will, I plan to move them front, get a matching center, and put the 807v's either as surrounds (front ported), or move them to the bedroom.

The 7.2.4 setup is for sure a pipe dream. There just isn't enough room. I am hesitant about 5.2.4 even, because of the rear heights being too close to the surround channel on the right.

Currently I am shooting for the best 5.2.2 application I can get, with the idea of going to 5.2.4 if it would be worthwhile. Placement of the surrounds is less than straight forward. The difference in the right and left side of the room leaves me wondering how best to do this.

I don't think four height channels make much sense unless you have multiple rows of seating, and you don't. I would aim for 5.2.2 at the most in that situation.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Ok. I had about 5 seconds to doodle, and run this by. Could you turn the couch a little? Like this. If you could do surrounds on stands, it could fit. I wish I could stand in the space, as (for me) that makes it easier to see the scale etc. anyway, I’m still sizing up the room. And probably doodling some more lol!!!

 

[sven1olaf]

Ok. I had about 5 seconds to doodle, and run this by. Could you turn the couch a little? Like this. If you could do surrounds on stands, it could fit. I wish I could stand in the space, as (for me) that makes it easier to see the scale etc. anyway, I’m still sizing up the room. And probably doodling some more lol!!!

Ha, thanks William.

I've been doodling too. This helps a lot with the scale. The room is smaller than the layout seems. The couch helps scale it all, and the angle of the built in is not super extreme.

Plus I grabbed distances from seating position 1.

Does that help?

 

[sven1olaf]

Will, I like your angle the couch idea. I'll angle it to match tomorrow, and see if I can get some better pics of the room.

I was hoping i could use mounts, but it really seems like I'll need at least 1 stand (for the left side). And then I might as well put the right on a matching stand to TRY to make it all seem like it's supposed to go together

PS. I'm at x5 builders, carpenters, handymen, anyone who'll talk to me about options for opening it up, that have ghosted on the project. I for sure got into the wrong line of work it seems.

 

[sven1olaf]

So here is what the room looks like with the couch angled to match the built in, and pushed back just a hair.

Measurements incoming.

 

[sven1olaf]

Here are some measurements to the listening position.

Had to move a sub to the right of the couch, not sure about it yet. But, now I more room for the surrounds.

This layout complicates the IC install only because the existing lights and speakers are aligned square to the room, not the built in. I was hoping to not have to patch and respray the ceiling.

We'll see how this flies when my number 1 gal gets home.

PS. What do you guys recommend for the rear stands? To get 1-2 feet above ear level, I'm gonna need some tall stands (40" at least). I can't find anything suitable that tall. Any suggestions.

Thanks again for the attention on this everyone. I'm just trying to make the most of a bad situation and your knowledge is the light that is guiding me to my happy A/V place once again.

 

[sven1olaf]

I don't think four height channels make much sense unless you have multiple rows of seating, and you don't. I would aim for 5.2.2 at the most in that situation.

@ShadyJ, wouldn't 5.2.4 give me the ability to locate overhead objects front-back, not just left-right? I am confused by your statement that x.x.4 wouldn't help in a single row config? I'm sure I'm just misunderstanding but want to check.

Thanks again!

 

[shadyJ]

@ShadyJ, wouldn't 5.2.4 give me the ability to locate overhead objects front-back, not just left-right? I am confused by your statement that x.x.4 wouldn't help in a single row config? I'm sure I'm just misunderstanding but want to check.

Thanks again!

The reason why I said that is because while you can discern overhead sound, human ability to precisely localize sounds coming from above isn't very great. I think you will probably see very diminishing returns going from 5.1.2 to 5.1.4. It will make the install more complex, and also make greater demands on amplification, and I am not so sure the returns are worth the trouble. 5.1.4 will give you greater coverage over a larger seating area, but I don't think the sound will be tremendously better for a single seating location.

 

[sven1olaf]

The reason why I said that is because while you can discern overhead sound, human ability to precisely localize sounds coming from above isn't very great. I think you will probably see very diminishing returns going from 5.1.2 to 5.1.4. It will make the install more complex, and also make greater demands on amplification, and I am not so sure the returns are worth the trouble. 5.1.4 will give you greater coverage over a larger seating area, but I don't think the sound will be tremendously better for a single seating location.

Aha, that makes sense! Good info.

The push for x.x.4 is settled... the room ain't gonna be able to handle it.

5.2.2 it is...at least for the near future.

Thanks again.