Jyanix Posted March 30, 2002 Share Posted March 30, 2002 Hi everyone, I'm wondering about the speaker placement for my front speakers. I have them about 12 feet apart (the same distance between seating area and TV), but I'm wondering if that is the optimum placment. I've never tried it, but I was wondering if placing the speakers right next beside the TV will make for a better sound experience. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted March 31, 2002 Share Posted March 31, 2002 It's really something you need to try for yourself. That challenge with having the speakers too far apart for HT is that the sounds on the left of the screen will be too far to the left, and same for the right. So a car crossing the screen starts waaaaaay off to one side and ends up waaaaay off to the other side. Doug ------------------ My System Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User Name Posted April 2, 2002 Share Posted April 2, 2002 You also have to watch for shielding. If I put my KLF 30's too close to the set the magnets distort my color TV. I also have them set about 10 to 12 feet apart and i'm pleased with the sounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avman Posted April 2, 2002 Share Posted April 2, 2002 my '30's are about 11ft. apart, and i sit back about the same distance. try varying degrees of 'toe-in' and distance-to-wall placements for the best sound. ENJOY!! avman. ------------------ 1-pair klf 30's c-7 center ksps-6 surrounds RSW-15 sony strda-777ES receiver upgraded to v.2.02 including virtual matrix 6.1 sony playstation 2 sony dvpnc 650-v 5-disc dvd/cd/SACD changer dishnetwork model 6000 HD sat rcvr w/digital off-air tuner sony kv36xbr450 high-definition 4:3 tv sharp xv-z1u lcd projector w/84" 4:3 sharp screen Bello'international Italian-made a/v furniture panamax max dbs+5 surge protector/power conditioner monster cable and nxg interconnects/12 gua.speaker wire KLIPSCH-So Good It Hz! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Pidass Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 Here is some great info I ran across some time ago: "Listed below are the "DO's" and "DONT's" of speaker placement for your 5.1 Surround System. While some of them may seem trivial, you would be surprised how many people get them wrong. The Don't's: 1) Do not place the front speakers further apart than the distance between the listening position and midway between the speakers. Doing so may result in poor imaging and soundstage. 2) Do not place bass reflex speakers with rear firing ports in closed inwall units or entertainment centers. Doing so will undermine the function of the port and result in weak and/or boomy bass. 3) Do not place bookshelf speakers on the floor or in corners of the room. Doing so may result in poor imaging, compromised soundstage, and boomy bass. 4) Do not place large speakers in corners of the room. Excessive standing bass waves from the acoustic coupling between the two walls may result in artificially bloated or boomy bass. 5) Surround Speaker Placement: A) Do not place surround speakers on the floor if the tweeter is below ear level. Doing so will result in a muffled surround field that may sound too attenuated and unnatural. Do not place the center channel speaker on the floor. The same reasoning from #5A above applies here. 6) Do not place your subwoofer close to your listening position if the cut off frequency is above 40Hz. Bass frequencies above 40Hz are perceived as directional by the human ear. Placing the subwoofer close to the listening position will result in bass that is easily localized by your ear. 7) Do not place "Cubed" speakers in your listening room. Instead, either bring return them for cash or use them as cup holders because there is no magical placement that can make these speakers sound musical or realistic. The Do's: 1) As a rule place the front speakers apart by about 80% of the distance between the midway and listening position. For example: If your listening position is located 10 feet away from the front speakers, place the front speakers about 8 feet apart. 2) Allow sufficient space between the rear of the speakers and the back wall. Bass reflex speakers require sufficient airflow (6-8 inches) to allow proper port tuning. 3) Place bookshelf speakers on rigid stands that are tall enough to position the tweeter at ear level from the listening position for optimal imaging. 4) Avoid corner placement as it may muffle sound and boast standing bass waves. Usually 10-12 inches away from corner walls is adequate for placement of loudspeakers to minimize these effects. 5) Rear speakers should be placed slightly above ear level and behind the listening position to maximize the soundfield and minimize the tendency for them to act like a point source. 6) Place your subwoofer in accordance to our Subwoofer Placement Guidelines (http://audioholics.com/tip1.htm) for optimal performance . Usually the best blend between the main speakers and the subwoofer occurs when the sub is located somewhere midway between the main speakers in a slightly recessed position. 7) Enjoy your system with friends and family once everything is tweaked for optimal performance" Regards, Stu f>------------------ '81 Cornwall 1 mains B2 Crossover '73 Heresy Centre '78 Heresy Surrounds Paradigm PW220 Sub Subwoofer Marantz SR8000 AV Receiver Hitachi 53" RPTV 53SBX59B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornEd Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 Nice post, Stu! It is always good to have some solid guidelines on which to base your speaker placement. Of course, the individual acoustics and psychoacoustics attributes of your particular listening area can create a necessity to work outside of "average" guidelines. For example, putting big speakers in a corner usually picks up 6db in strength... that's the equivalent of adding another of the same kind of speaker to your room. Usually, a little bit of nudging the placement one way or another will remove the boom and give you more overall speaker benefits. Also, most engineers put the non-directional tag on sounds nearly double the 40dB caution above. The reason probably relates to lower quality subwoofers supply artifact over 80dB along with the non-directional bass frequencies... and, thereby create audio clues that the ear uses to localize the sound. That technique is actually the basis of why ProLogic could make a narrow spectrum of sound seem like a much richer ambient background. Jyanix, you asked about putting speakers in closer to the TV to improve the correlation between screen action and perceived sound source. The problem is so commonplace that over 75% of 5.1 (and above) movie sound comes from the center speaker. And, sadly, most folks have a center speaker that is considerably below the quality of their, so called, Main Speakers. To solve the problem in my HT, I have moved the R&L Mains (KLF-30's) to a position slightly toed in and nearly touching the 65" RPHD monitor... and have a specially altered KLF-30 above the monitor as a Center/Main. To re-establish the broad soundstage that comes from setting the R&L Mains further apart, Front Effects speakers have been added. I need to update the photo but I am waiting to finish some custom stands for the KLF-C7's. Why use speakers designed to be Center speakers for Front Effects? Center speakers are usually good for dialogue and smaller than Mains... thus, they are easier to mount high, contribute to dialogue comprehension and are a relatively close timbre match to the other speakers. Well, Jyanix, the last time I commented on a thread you started it got a little rough around the edges of my opinion. Hopefully this time suggestions can be made without making enemies of people I'd like to have as friends. -HornEd This message has been edited by HornEd on 04-03-2002 at 09:55 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake2 Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 Stu - Under "Don't" Item 7... is that your own editorial comment? To what could they possibly be referring? Doug ------------------ My System Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Pidass Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 Doug: Regarding Don't # 7. I'm not sure (Bose) what they(Bose) might be referring to (Bose) . Regards, Stu ------------------ '81 Cornwall 1 mains B2 Crossover '73 Heresy Centre '78 Heresy Surrounds Paradigm PW220 Sub Subwoofer Marantz SR8000 AV Receiver Hitachi 53" RPTV 53SBX59B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Pidass Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 HornEd: You comments regarding working outside the "rules" as dictated by the listening environment are absolutely true and well taken. They are guidelines only and sometimes need to be bent. Regards, Stuf> ------------------ '81 Cornwall 1 mains B2 Crossover '73 Heresy Centre '78 Heresy Surrounds Paradigm PW220 Sub Subwoofer Marantz SR8000 AV Receiver Hitachi 53" RPTV 53SBX59B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.