someguy Posted July 7, 2002 Share Posted July 7, 2002 It may be an open ended question, but what distance does Klipsch recommend for placing rear speakers, in relation to the seating? I've had Klipsch floor speakers for years. But I just moved into a new house that has pre-wire installed in the ceiling. It seems like the rear position is really far forward -- to the point where it's right above the couch, not behind. 1) Any generalc advice in terms of distance? 2) Any recommendation in terms of selecting a speaker, if I choose not to move the rear pre-wire back further? Any help would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted July 7, 2002 Share Posted July 7, 2002 Where is the best place to put surround speakers? Surround speakers are generally designed to be placed on either side of the main listening position, approximately 5-7 feet above the floor. They should be mounted on a wall or positioned on a stand with some space on either side of the speaker (this is especially needed with bipole and dipole speakers which need wall-reflected sounds for maximum effect). Klipsch WDST surround speakers offer more flexibility in that if side walls are not available, a rear wall or even a combination of a rear and side wall may be used to create excellent surround effects. ------------------ -justin SoundWise Support A technical help site created by me and my fellow Klipschers I am an amateur, if it is professional; ProMedia help you want email Amy or call her @ 1-888-554-5665 or for an RA# 800-554-7724 ext 5 Klipsch Home Audio help you want, email support@klipsch.com or call @ 1-800-KLIPSCH RA# Fax Number=317-860-9140 / Parts Department Fax Number=317-860-9150s> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted July 7, 2002 Share Posted July 7, 2002 BTW. More info like that can be found here http://www.klipsch.com/products/faq/homeaudiofaq.asp ------------------ -justin SoundWise Support A technical help site created by me and my fellow Klipschers I am an amateur, if it is professional; ProMedia help you want email Amy or call her @ 1-888-554-5665 or for an RA# 800-554-7724 ext 5 Klipsch Home Audio help you want, email support@klipsch.com or call @ 1-800-KLIPSCH RA# Fax Number=317-860-9140 / Parts Department Fax Number=317-860-9150s> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted July 7, 2002 Share Posted July 7, 2002 sg, most a/v receivers have a distance setting that will control delay to the surrounds, so as far as HT modes this makes it flexible for adjusting relative to the actual speaker distance. f.e., my surrounds are actually about 10ft away but i set them to 8ft so they get a lil delay & give the illusion of a longer room/rear soundstage. so if they feel like they're right on top of you, you may want to set the surrounds to closer than they actually are, in the receiver distance/delay settings. iow, the closer you set the distances in the receiver, the more delay those channels get. ------------------ My Home Systems Page This message has been edited by boa12 on 07-07-2002 at 01:49 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
someguy Posted July 7, 2002 Author Share Posted July 7, 2002 Thanks. I'm familiar with the delay settings. I guess my biggest question is will I get a decent experience with the rear surround speakers placed directly above the couch instead of behind it? My home builder added pre-wire in the ceiling, but did not put them in my desired location. Trying to figure out if it will work as is, or if I should make them move the rear surround pre-wire back further. It seems like the current location would forgoe the "rear" part of rear surround sound. Or am I not correct? Appreciate your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted July 7, 2002 Share Posted July 7, 2002 There is a misconception that the "surround" speakers are "rear" speakers. This may be left over from the days of Quad, four channel sound. Surround speakers are not to be placed in the rear, or at least not too much. The Audio Engineering Society and other organizations are recommending that the surround speakers be placed from 100 degrees to 120 degrees from the center. This means only 10 degrees to 20 degrees from being directly left and right. Now, even that might be hard to achieve if the listening couch is against the back wall. You can put them in the "rear" (actually flanking) corners and still get acceptable results. I've seen some other report that having them slighly forward of hard left and hard right will work. The bottom line is to not move "surrounds" too far to the rear. Even if they're slightly forward of hard left and right, there is not much lost. None of the above is a hard requirement. Experimentation is appropriate. You might well be able to adapt the speaker placement to your listening room and get good results. Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
someguy Posted July 8, 2002 Author Share Posted July 8, 2002 Thanks for the advice. That makes sense. I guess part of my issue is that the homebuilder seemed to just slap the rear speaker pre-wire without even measuring to see if it would be behind the couch. I'm sure I could get reasonable results from where they're at (hey, any Klipsch based system is going to beat a basic TV) but I could easily make the home builder move them back if needed. Just trying to see how big of an issue it should be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted July 8, 2002 Share Posted July 8, 2002 yes sg, if you have a capable receiver these days they're moving to even have rear surround/effects w/ a 6.1 or 7.1 scheme. so you may want to also have some cable coming out toward the middle of the back wall for 1 or 2 rear surround speaks now or in the future. then again if your couch is going to be near the rear wall you may want those in the ceiling. ------------------ My Home Systems Page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
someguy Posted July 8, 2002 Author Share Posted July 8, 2002 Cool. The 7.1 would be very cool. My problem is the room is actually huge (a lot of space between the back of the couch and the back wall), but they still placed the rear speaker hook-ups only 12' feet from the TV, which is where I have my couch. So the rear speakers would be directly above it, and not behind it. Unfortunately, two story houses make it hard to add wire in the ceiling. I guess I could just use floor standing, or bookshelf, speakers behind me and not use the pre-wire in the ceiling. Is there any documentation that you know of that recommends that the rear speakers should be at least a certain distance... such as "approximately 15 feet from the TV" or "at least 3 feet behind the couch" ? If I had that in writing, I could make the home builder move the speaker pre-wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qlele Posted July 8, 2002 Share Posted July 8, 2002 They have a ceiling mount stand that you can use to mount your speaker from the ceiling. Mount your speaker at 12 feet from your TV and move your couch 15 feet back from your TV That would be perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
someguy Posted July 8, 2002 Author Share Posted July 8, 2002 But don't the speakers need to be behind the couch, in order to give the "Rear" sound experience? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qlele Posted July 8, 2002 Share Posted July 8, 2002 My room is about 16x15, not very big. I tried my RS-3 II at various location, it made no difference where I put them. I think the RS-3 are more forgiving as to where you can put them as long as you don't put them to close to the front speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted July 8, 2002 Share Posted July 8, 2002 sg, as gil mentioned the surround should be pretty much on the sides. the rear surrounds if used should be against the back wall about 60 degrees off axis from the sweet spot, or if only one is used (6.1), directly behind & in line w/ the listening spot. ideally, all speaks should be the same distance from the sweet spot/listening position. iow, it should be right in the middle. & then you can compensate for actual distances or desired effects by setting those distance/delay settings in the receiver. sorry don't have charts in my archives, but some do have & they're all over the net if you search. like at www.denon.com if you download one of their manuals. ------------------ My Home Systems Page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
someguy Posted July 8, 2002 Author Share Posted July 8, 2002 Very helpful. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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