Surround Speakers positioning Dilemma. Towards ear or center?

bizmord

bizmord

Full Audioholic
So, friend and I are disputing, how surround speakers should be positioned. My surrounds are hanging on wall and firing almost directly into my ear about 6 feet away. He has his surround speakers pointing toward front speakers ... see picture.

So which is the right way??
 

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rojo

rojo

Audioholic Samurai
The short answer is a question: which sounds better to you?

Some people prefer directed sound from their surrounds. Others (including myself) enjoy a bit more nebulous origin for surround effects. I suppose the most obvious difference is that the former group tends to listen to multichannel music; whereas the latter uses surrounds more for movie effects.

I have to say I enjoy the illusion when I'm watching "Rise of the Guardians" with my daughter that Pitch is flying around the room, and it's unclear where exactly he is as his voice pans around -- just as the visual cues only show a flicker of a tail of a shadow during those moments. It seems pretty authentic in that type of scene. My bipolar rear surrounds are perfect for that sort of thing.



But that's not to say they sound muddy. A door closing or a dog barking over my shoulder still sounds from a single point of origin. Still, I'm sure if I were listening to a concert in 5.1, bookshelfs as side surrounds would probably sound better.

Your friend's speaker positioning seems pretty dubious, though. Speaker makers usually try to keep the off-axis response as close as possible to the on-axis response up to about a 45-degree angle. Beyond that, and you can only hear reflections -- especially from the tweeters. Whoever sits in the middle of your friend's couch is pretty much screwed out of the surround effects. And whoever sits on the left side is screwed out of the right channel effects, and vice versa. He really ought to toe those things in.

Then again, if he's happy, who are you and I to tell him his ears are broken?
 
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tyhjaarpa

tyhjaarpa

Audioholic Field Marshall
Like rojo already pointed out, what sounds best to you. I myself have my monopoles aimed to center of listening area.
 
DD66000

DD66000

Senior Audioholic
Surrounds should be on a 15º angle above your ears, when seated.
So for a distance of 6 ft, between mid~tweeter should be about 55" above the floor.
As for the location on the wall...90~110º off the centerline.
 
H

herbu

Audioholic Samurai
So which is the right way??
The truth is, most home rooms do not allow for the "perfect" placement of speakers, especially side & rear surrounds. Good examples are both your and Rojo's picture. So in the real world, you pick the lesser of evils for your room and your preference.

Good points from Rojo. Point the speakers more inward and people on the ends of the couch are screwed, but someone in the middle of the couch is just right.

Fortunately, I think in most households there is one person who is most interested in, and aware of the audio quality. That person is likely you. So I would ask where do you sit? I would align the speakers and adjust the volume of each to best suit you where you sit for a start. You can make minor adjustments from there is you find something proves particularly troublesome for someone else, (like your wife).

I would make the same suggestion to your friend. When you visit, if something is particularly objectionable to you, discuss it w/ your friend and find a solution. Maybe he drops the volume of one surround by several dB when you come over to watch a movie. I would not ask him to reposition a speaker to accommodate my visit. And maybe his setup is good enough already that you just live with it. My system always sounds better when I come home from listening to somebody else's. ;)
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
It depends on what you like as mentioned by everyone so far. I have my surrounds and 1 surround back angled towards the listener as shown.
IMG-20130924-00106.jpg
 
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