Speaker Placement Not An Exact Science ?

[SNAKE]

I am having alot of fun trying to learn my way around HT and this site is certainly helpfull.
I have been experimenting with surround placement,from ear level at side to side to just behind at an angle.The effects are vey different but both satisfying..i guess it is really a matter of taste like many other hobbies.I find it amazing how just a couple of degrees turn of a speak can make such a difference.

I can see how addicting HT is and a money pit as well!

 

[riceaterslc]

glad you are enjoying your setup. not sure if you are running 5,6, or 7.1, but check out this page if you havent already. it specifies "optimum" speaker placement.

http://www.dolby.com/consumer/home_entertainment/roomlayout.html

 

[saurabh]

yeah! but those are in ideal situations and in ideal rooms (just like the Cinema halls, wherein they make the hall an ideal sound box).

At home , room sizes, walls, curves, furniture , windows makes the sound move like ping pong ball and diffuse and reflect and bounce, mkaing it moreso a difficult placement, so its a science in an ideal situation and not so much scientific with all our jing bangs

 

[krabapple]

yeah! but those are in ideal situations and in ideal rooms (just like the Cinema halls, wherein they make the hall an ideal sound box).

The Dolby layout is for 5.1 movie soundtracks; 'industry standard' (ITU) placement for 5.1 music (SACD, DVD-A) is somewhat different (e.g., surrounds NOT raised above ear level).

 

[saurabh]

The Dolby layout is for 5.1 movie soundtracks; 'industry standard' (ITU) placement for 5.1 music (SACD, DVD-A) is somewhat different (e.g., surrounds NOT raised above ear level).

Thats what I meant, those standards are created under optimum room environments and our home setups will not be able to meet those standard room environments, unless you have a dedicated room for it.

 

[supervij]

Sorry for resurrecting this thread, but I've recently found a site that I've found fascinating. It's http://www.wendycarlos.com/gosurround.html, and it's got a lot of very interesting things to read.

For me personally, it made me try having my surrounds at 90 degrees for surround music. With my living room the way it is, those surrounds would be only four feet away, which is why I resisted for so long trying 90 degrees, but I decided to give it a whirl. I set 'em at 90 degrees, level-matched, then tried some m/c music, and sure enough, it sounded better than what I had before (110 or so degrees).

My surrounds are easily moveable, by the way, because they're up on bookshelves at 95 degrees. Whenever I want to listen to m/c music, I just bring them down and set them on stands at 90 degrees. Way handier than mounting them to a wall!

My mains were previously at 22 degrees. With Wendy's suggestion, I tried them at 25 degrees (a measly 3 degrees meant moving them a foot farther apart!). It ensured less of a "hole" in the sound field for m/c music, but I haven't noticed much difference for movies. I do wonder if the mains are now just too far from the HDTV for movies/TV shows. With the mains at 25 degrees, there's a space in between speaker and HDTV of about a foot and a half! That seems huge; I guess over the next few days of movies and TV shows, I'll get a sense if it's too big or not. Hey, it's all about the tweaking, right?

cheers,
supervij