pantala

Sorry if this has been repeated, but I will be getting my speaker system soon and am trying to plan where to place the surrounds.

Dolby suggests placing them to the sides of the listening position, but not behind, with the speakers pointing towards each other. They recommend about 2 to 3 feet above the viewer.

I've read on previous posts here people saying that surrounds should be about ear level, and I've noticed that most speaker stands are only tall enough to raise speakers to ear level.

So how should I set these up? The couch I am viewing from is pushed up against the back wall of the room so going behind the viewing position is not really possible. I don't know speaker terminology so I can't say what type of speaker they are (direct radiating, etc)-- although I'm pretty sure they're direct radiating. (Coming in the Kenwood HTB.)

Thanks for your help.

microdvd

Most of my research has shown that the surrounds should be about 2-3 feet ABOVE the listening area.

In my living room, I had to place them on the rear wall as one side has a sliding glass door. I called the speaker company and talked to their tech guy and he said although side placement is recommended, if I did install them in the rear wall to turn the speaker 90 degrees sound the sound goes up to the ceiling and down to the floor so as not to create and overlapping soundfield.

I've had it set up like that for over 2 years and it's been sounding great ever since. I must mention that the addition of a subwoofer has made a huge improvement on the enjoyment of the movie.

daledude

I once had my sofa against the back wall, and placing direct radiating speakers about one foot from the ceiling (10 ft ceiling) on the rear walls worked extremely well. They were about 10 feet apart, and in the middle 4 ft. they had an exceptional soundfield. They had great ambience and no "hole in the middle" effect (where sound panned from the front to rear disappears in the middle of the room).

Directly to the sides of the couch worked, but it didn't sound as good. I've never heard about turning the speakers 90 degrees, but it seems it would have a dead spot in the middle of the room.

buzzdalf

I have my sofa against the back wall also (well - about 3" away). I tried a number of different speaker positions and finally decided I Liked Them Best on the floor, behind the couch (under the backrest) pointing almost straight up, but slanted a little toward eachother, at about 20 degrees off the horizon. One at each end of the couch.
I've have never seen or heard any one recommend this, but it really seems to work well for me. I like the sound a lot better than having them on the sides.
These are direct radiating speakers, by the way.