Height Placement for Rear Surround Speakers?

[greg0320]

How high on the wall should rear surround sound speakers (RS52 for example) be placed?

They will be on rear wall directly above seating (couch) at approx 9 to 10 feet apart.

Greg

[Professor.Ham.Slap]

I'd say about a foot or two above your ear when you're sitting down would be pretty ideal.

[greg0320]

Hmmmm...to keep my wife happy (who is not too keen on putting these relatively large speakers on the wall), I was thinking more like 4 ft or 4.5 ft above ears.

Will this still work, or should I go for in-wall speakers like the forthcoming R5650-S?

I know that I would give up sound quality moving to in-wall, but trying to reach compromise. If speakers are up high enough (i.e., above door jams on each side of couch), she MAY relent. If not, will have to look at other options. []

Greg

[Professor.Ham.Slap]

How close is the couch to the speakers? It is a possibility the horns could "overshoot" you if they're up too high. If you need to, you can also put a slight down angle on them to shoot them on your sweet spot.

[DrWho]

You can't really go "too high" for your surrounds - at least not in a

normal 8 foot tall room. In fact, higher is better (because our ears

are less directional the higher the speakers get).

[rplace]

I agree, higher is better. If the couch is right against the wall that the speakers will be in try to angle them down toward the listening position a bit. Is there anyway to put the to the sides of the couch so they are firing across the couch?

[ScorpsFan]

My KSF-S5 surrounds are on omnimounts so I was able to angle them left/right and up/down when I set up the system. They were installed according to the manual at 7ft. from the floor (8ft high ceillings) and 12in. off each corner wall (12ft apart) to make use of the 180 degree coverage pattern of their wide dispersion technology. They sound great and like you pass the WAF.

Best of luck!

[Jay L]

How high on the wall should rear surround sound speakers (RS52 for example) be placed?

They will be on rear wall directly above seating (couch) at approx 9 to 10 feet apart.

Greg

they are supposed to be mounted to the side of your seating area, not behind. behind you would be your 6 or 7.1 speakers which are called surround back speakers. if you can not mount to the sides then put them in the corners, angled down. to answer your question the recommended height for surrounds are 5-6ft. above floor.

[greg0320]

Thanks for all of the input.

I wanted to give you all a better lay of the room so you know what I am facing. Maybe that will result in different recommendations.

First, room is 24 x 16 with cathedral ceiling (peak at 13 ft) dividing the length. HT unit is on wall opposite couch on the 16 ft span placing us approximately 10 ft away for viewing. Couch sits against the 11 ft stretch of wall between two openings. On one side of couch is door to hallway, followed by a 6 foot span of wall to corner of room. On other side of couch is door to kitchen/dining which is on about 4 inches from other corner, turning with a window about 12 inches down. Again, ceiling peaks at 13 ft about two foot into wall off door from hallway (almost over the end of the couch).

If I place speakers on rear wall, they would be over the 11 foot piece behind couch and end tables. Was thinking bottom of speaker would be almost even with top of door jam on each side, which would be right at 7 foot. They would be about 9 ft apart.

If I placed them on sides of room, one would be approx 11 ft from couch, and the other only about 5 ft, but between opening to kitchen/dining and window. They would also need to be mounted almost against ceiling (lowest point on each side) with top of speaker at about 7 ft and 4 inches.

Not sure if these speakers (on wall being the RS52) or in wall (R5650-S) allow you to point/position horns. I do know that the RS52 speakers are fairly large (13x12.5x8.5 deep) and would look best mounted flush against the wall.

Does this description change anyone's opinion or give way to any other ideas?

Thanks

Greg

[ScorpsFan]

Doesn't change my opinion in the least, I went with the recomendations the manufacturer (Klipsch) made, of course pictures would help, just to make sure nothing has been forgotten. FWIW, a suggestion, I used a couple of 6ft. ladders on either side and behind my couch placed the speakers on top, wired them up and listened to them to make sure that was where I wanted to permanently mount them. I found that Klipsch knew what they were doing in recommending that location, the sound envelops you rather than comes at you directly making for a better movie experience in my home anyway. You can always make good use of an spl meter with some good test cd's and dvd's to tweak the sound to your liking. Also, by using a "ball-style" mount like the omnimount or a similar brand can help you to reposition the speaker vertically and horizontally for your best sound. Best of luck!