SVS Ultra bookshelves and center LCR placement

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Aman

Audioholic Intern
Hi,

My buddy is building his home theater and he is going with SVS ultra bookshelves and center for LCR. He is trying out something unique with the placement of these speakers. He has an unfinished open space behind the screen as shown in the image below. He is looking to place these speakers as if they were in wall because of the open space at the back. To someone viewing from the front, it would appear as if they were in wall but in reality they are just placed flush with the dry wall extending into the unfinished area.

Are there any concerns with such a setup?

Home Theatre Front.jpeg
 
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shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
If he is going to do that, there is no need to go with the center speaker. Just get another Ultra bookshelf as a center.
 
A

Aman

Audioholic Intern
If he is going to do that, there is no need to go with the center speaker. Just get another Ultra bookshelf as a center.
That's certainly doable ... any concerns with the placement of the speakers the way I mentioned? The back of the speaker will face the open space and the grill will be flush with the dry wall just like an in wall speaker.
 
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shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
That's certainly doable ... any concerns with the placement of the speakers the way I mentioned? The back of the speaker will face the open space and the grill will be flush with the dry wall just like an in wall speaker.
Now that you mention that, that would not be an ideal placement for those speakers. The problem is baffle diffraction. You are basically extending the front baffle way out. The sound coming out of the speaker doesn't just radiate straight ahead, it radiates out to the sides too. The acoustic radiation from the sides will bounce off the drywall and interfere with the front'firing acoustic radiation. That is not the idea speaker to use in that circumstance. If I were you, I would look at horn-loaded speakers, they will be less affected by baffle diffraction. Look at speakers from Klipsch and Hsu Research. JBL has some good ones as well.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
Now that you mention that, that would not be an ideal placement for those speakers. The problem is baffle diffraction. You are basically extending the front baffle way out. The sound coming out of the speaker doesn't just radiate straight ahead, it radiates out to the sides too. The acoustic radiation from the sides will bounce off the drywall and interfere with the front'firing acoustic radiation. That is not the idea speaker to use in that circumstance. If I were you, I would look at horn-loaded speakers, they will be less affected by baffle diffraction. Look at speakers from Klipsch and Hsu Research. JBL has some good ones as well.
Much as I love the Ultras, I have to agree. How about them being rear ported? Would that also be an issue?
 
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shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Much as I love the Ultras, I have to agree. How about them being rear ported? Would that also be an issue?
If the rear of the speakers are totally sealed off from the listening area, yes, it could be an issue. But it also depends on the tuning frequency of the speaker. If the port tuning is so low that it won't make a meaningful contribution crossover over to a sub at 80 Hz, than it doesn't really matter.
 
A

Aman

Audioholic Intern
So it looks like either we place the speakers inside the room or get in wall speakers instead.
 
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snakeeyes

Audioholic Ninja
I’d rather have main speakers out on stands and have the ability to toe them in a little.
 
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Scott44

Audiophyte
Sorry to jump in late one your question but if he has that much space then the ultimate set up would be to place all three speakers behind and acoustically transparent screen. You then can set them all perfectly aligned and build a false wall behind the screen.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
Sorry to jump in late one your question but if he has that much space then the ultimate set up would be to place all three speakers behind and acoustically transparent screen. You then can set them all perfectly aligned and build a false wall behind the screen.
That's really not a bad suggestion at all.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
That's really not a bad suggestion at all.
As long as the wall doesn't become the baffle for the speakers that is....and if it's behind a screen why bother building a wall?
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
As long as the wall doesn't become the baffle for the speakers that is....and if it's behind a screen why bother building a wall?
Yeah, I was just thinking more of hiding the speakers on stands behind an acoustically transparent screen. Not necessarily the building a wall part.
 
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