Speaker Placement (PSB Alpha A/V setup)
 

Hey,
I've ordered the PSB Alpha A/V setup from http://store.yahoo.com/yawaonline/psbalav5spea.html and now I am wondering about speaker placement - I'm wondering about 'general' speaker placement, since where they go in the acctual room is limited by space.

There is a couch where most people will be watching from. The setup in my head was rear speakers behind the couch on stands (3-4 feet high) facing 'inward' to the couch, with the fronts facing forward. My question about this is, how important is it for the left/center/right fronts to be at the same height? I wasn't planning on getting stands for them, rather I was going to have the center on top of the TV (27" Toshiba) and the right and left speakers to the side of the TV.

Does that sound right, or is it imperative the speakers match height-wise?

FYI, the subwoofer in the setup is a sony WM40, wondering if that should be in the front or behind the viewing area.

And any other tips are also welcome :) I want this setup to be better than my last of 4 Sony speakers (the $100/pair type) and a SS-CR290 center - which sounded quite different from each other, and alltogether sounded pretty bad, at least to me.

Also, someone suggested for smaller speakers I should redirect all the low frequency stuff to the sub, rather than letting the Alphas do it, is that true for the Alphas? That is a tip I generally see given with those tiny speakers, and while smaller the Alphas aren't quite that small.

-Jeff

Never did get a reply to this :)

My PSB Alphas have arrived, I took pictures of the setup:

http://www.goatbert.com/article.php3?article=7

Any suggestions you have would be much appreciated, one new question I have is if I keep the sub where it is (a good bit to the right of the TV and such) or would behind the couch be better?

I'm going to purchase stands soon, hopefully, for the rears, not sure what I can/should do with the fronts (I was hoping to have them line up with the center height wise but wasn't able to do so)

Thanks,
-Jeff

I don't see a problem with your setup really. I have my sub off to the side like you do, but I also spread my front speakers (PSB Alpha A/V's) out a bit also. I put one on top of the sub and the other is sitting on a small bookshelf on the other side of the TV. They are probably about 3' away from the TV.

As for my rears (PSB Alpha B's), I have a very small living room, so I have them sitting on speaker stands right now and they are actually pointed at the wall at an angle. The sound then bounces off the wall and comes to the sitting position on the couch. IF it is feasible, you might want to try hanging your rears.

Other than that, as long as the speakers are at mid level (in the front) you should be fine. Thing is, set it up so that when you're sitting your spot you like to watch movies in, it sounds good. Use Saving Private Ryan the beach scene if you can as a judgement of what sounds good. Or even STar Wars the pod racing scene is another good use of the surround sounds.

Good Luck.