ideal 5.1 speaker placement, please suggest

[virtueso]

Hi again guys,
I'm having my onkyo 3500 5.1 ht set up today, and i've been online since more than 2 hours, and there is just so much info on the net, and its not consistent..
I wanted to know what the best position would be to place my speakers in my room.
Some posts swear by wall mounts, some say keep it away from walls,
some say place center speaker close to your ears (infront of tv) some say place it above or below tv (mount)
Some say sub-woofer should be in the corner of the room for powerful bass, some say it should not !
Since i dont want to spend more on stands, i will have them wall mounted only, and can't figure out the best position to do so.
- Should i place the surround L and R on the wall behind me,or on the walls on my either side?
- Should i have the center speaker wall mounted slightly above the tv (tv is not mounted,is on a stand) or should it just be on the same table as the tv, infront of it?
- sub-woofer i guess i can move around even later,
- How far should the front left and right speakers be on the wall behind the tv?
- Should the front speakers and surround speakers (on opposite walls) be placed symmetrically) ex-front left and surround left opposite each other?
Room dimensions ~14 feet X 14 feet .

Thanks

 

[angynagpal]

Some posts swear by wall mounts, some say keep it away from walls,
some say place center speaker close to your ears (infront of tv) some say place it above or below tv (mount)

Well, whether you should mount the speakers on walls or not depends on the speaker I think. If your speaker has a port at the back, then you should keep it a little away from the wall, else it will sound boomy.

As for the center speaker, you can either keep it below the tv or above it. But make sure it is pointing towards the listening position (i.e. if you mount it above the tv, then tilt it downwards a little)


Some say sub-woofer should be in the corner of the room for powerful bass, some say it should not !

Woofer placement is something that noone can tell you. You actually need to place the woofer at multiple locations before knowing what 'you' like the most. There is not ideal position of a sub. People infact say that you should not keep it in the corner, but I have placed mine near a corner right next to my couch.....and I absolutely love the effect. Try the 'Crawl' method posted on the net for sub placement (google it)


Should i place the surround L and R on the wall behind me,or on the walls on my either side?

Walls on your either side. The speaker should be just slightly behind the listening position and facing each other, preferably. It should form an imaginary line just behind your ears, so to speak.


Should i have the center speaker wall mounted slightly above the tv (tv is not mounted,is on a stand) or should it just be on the same table as the tv, infront of it?

Either would do. If mounting above then just point it towards the listening position.

How far should the front left and right speakers be on the wall behind the tv?

I have mine placed at 6ft apart from each other. Just keep them equidistant from the tv. Place them at ear level. For surrounds, keep them in line (or slightly wider) to the front speakers, but keep the height at 2-3ft above ear level.

 

[Rockfella]

Just wallmount the speakers, keep all speakers on ear level or slightly above it along with the center speaker. Keep the sub close to the TV.

 

[virtueso]

Some posts swear by wall mounts, some say keep it away from walls,
some say place center speaker close to your ears (infront of tv) some say place it above or below tv (mount)

Well, whether you should mount the speakers on walls or not depends on the speaker I think. If your speaker has a port at the back, then you should keep it a little away from the wall, else it will sound boomy.

As for the center speaker, you can either keep it below the tv or above it. But make sure it is pointing towards the listening position (i.e. if you mount it above the tv, then tilt it downwards a little)


Some say sub-woofer should be in the corner of the room for powerful bass, some say it should not !

Woofer placement is something that noone can tell you. You actually need to place the woofer at multiple locations before knowing what 'you' like the most. There is not ideal position of a sub. People infact say that you should not keep it in the corner, but I have placed mine near a corner right next to my couch.....and I absolutely love the effect. Try the 'Crawl' method posted on the net for sub placement (google it)


Should i place the surround L and R on the wall behind me,or on the walls on my either side?

Walls on your either side. The speaker should be just slightly behind the listening position and facing each other, preferably. It should form an imaginary line just behind your ears, so to speak.


Should i have the center speaker wall mounted slightly above the tv (tv is not mounted,is on a stand) or should it just be on the same table as the tv, infront of it?

Either would do. If mounting above then just point it towards the listening position.

How far should the front left and right speakers be on the wall behind the tv?

I have mine placed at 6ft apart from each other. Just keep them equidistant from the tv. Place them at ear level. For surrounds, keep them in line (or slightly wider) to the front speakers, but keep the height at 2-3ft above ear level.

Thank you this helps a lot. Mounting on side walls would mean surround speakers would have been in front of viewer, so i'l just put them up on the wall behind me,at an angle if thats possible.

 

[prosenjit]

Just wallmount the speakers, keep all speakers on ear level or slightly above it along with the center speaker. Keep the sub close to the TV.

please no........sub shd be as distant from tv as possible..
not acoustics realated..safety related..panel may break...

wall mounting can be done..but remeber already these speakers of 3500 are tiny ones.....so consider if you sit at the end...means speaker to you distance is say 12 feet..which is quite high for entry level htib set ups.......

can you shate your room details.....tv mounting details etc..seating position etc..

 

[angynagpal]

Thank you this helps a lot. Mounting on side walls would mean surround speakers would have been in front of viewer, so i'l just put them up on the wall behind me,at an angle if thats possible.

Follow the placement mentioned in this pic (except sub placement), if possible in your room:

As for sub placement, use this guide

 

[virtueso]

please no........sub shd be as distant from tv as possible..
not acoustics realated..safety related..panel may break...

wall mounting can be done..but remeber already these speakers of 3500 are tiny ones.....so consider if you sit at the end...means speaker to you distance is say 12 feet..which is quite high for entry level htib set ups.......

can you shate your room details.....tv mounting details etc..seating position etc..

Certainly
Room is 14X15 approx. Tv is placed on table ,and is 2.5ft off the ground and distance behind tv to the wall is 1ft (i can move it wherever)

there are two sitting details . I am uploading a photo, hope it isnt against group rules

 

[virtueso]

Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting

 

[virtueso]

main sitting position is the two small sofas that you see (cut in picture) right below where picture was taken from. to the left of tv i have no space to mount speaker, to the right of tv the wall is completely empty

 

[virtueso]

Follow the placement mentioned in this pic (except sub placement), if possible in your room:

As for sub placement, use this guide

I am getting confused again. I was placing the front L and R behind the tv, this one suggests infront of it. And i really dont want to spend more money on stands, unless absolutely necessary. Budget constraints (n)

 

[prosenjit]

imo the fronts can be placed upon simple tables...in a way your ear level is at speaker level..7 feet is okay from you..
center is okay now...
for better performance it can be closer to you...if you can do some idea about placing it on some jugaad arrangement at just little high( 1--1.5 ft) above floor...at an angle facing you...

for rears...check what you can do..to make closest to your ears..wahi simple method can be adopted...two extra/spare tables/plastic stands can be kept at both side of the main sitting area..

for this htib...costly stands and mounts are not justified...so dont just spend a lot

dont go for stands.find jugaads......

 

[angynagpal]

main sitting position is the two small sofas that you see (cut in picture) right below where picture was taken from. to the left of tv i have no space to mount speaker, to the right of tv the wall is completely empty

To me, that front left speaker looks a bit below the ear level.....personally I wouldnt go with that. If I dont have an option, I would put the speakers above the ear level, but not below.

The center also seems too much in front as compared to the front speakers. I can see that causing issues if not properly calibrated.

I would recommend keeping the speakers on a stand, but then you need to see whether you are okay with keeping those stands in your living room.

Thats just my suggestion. But before you do anything, I would really recommend you first calibrate your setup (speaker distance, levels etc.). Then see if it sounds nice to you.....if it does, start using it !!! As you keep on using it more and more, you would be in a much better position to understand what changes (if any) you need to make to make it sound better . Its very important to listen to the speakers for 4-5 weeks, as only then you realize what is missing, what can be better, and how you can make it better.

 

[virtueso]

imo the fronts can be placed upon simple tables...in a way your ear level is at speaker level..7 feet is okay from you..
center is okay now...
for better performance it can be closer to you...if you can do some idea about placing it on some jugaad arrangement at just little high( 1--1.5 ft) above floor...at an angle facing you...

for rears...check what you can do..to make closest to your ears..wahi simple method can be adopted...two extra/spare tables/plastic stands can be kept at both side of the main sitting area..

for this htib...costly stands and mounts are not justified...so dont just spend a lot

dont go for stands.find jugaads......

Room isnt big enough to place tables everywhere it will leave nearly no space to walk around !

The current placement in the pic is temporary, till the guy hung up the nails etc i had thought. Seems like it might be a better idea to let them be!

Guy is going to come today to wall mount them. I'l let him, if i dont like it i'l switch to the tables. Nails will be put with precision

The current placement in the pic is temporary, till the guy hung up the nails etc i had thought. Seems like it might be a better idea to let them be!

 

[virtueso]

To me, that front left speaker looks a bit below the ear level.....personally I wouldnt go with that. If I dont have an option, I would put the speakers above the ear level, but not below.

The center also seems too much in front as compared to the front speakers. I can see that causing issues if not properly calibrated.

I would recommend keeping the speakers on a stand, but then you need to see whether you are okay with keeping those stands in your living room.

Thats just my suggestion. But before you do anything, I would really recommend you first calibrate your setup (speaker distance, levels etc.). Then see if it sounds nice to you.....if it does, start using it !!! As you keep on using it more and more, you would be in a much better position to understand what changes (if any) you need to make to make it sound better . Its very important to listen to the speakers for 4-5 weeks, as only then you realize what is missing, what can be better, and how you can make it better.

Current arrangement is entirely temporary.

So if i understand correctly, the center, front R and L need to be in a straight line?? i was going to let center be and hang the front L and R just above the edges of the tv ! Bad idea?

 

[prosenjit]

so i told you to find jugaads which can be speaker stands at very low cost as tables will eat up much space..
anyway do it at your comfort..if you need space...its a nono for you obviously..i am jst sharing ideas..

centre can be lower level than fromnts..but centre shd be facing you i mean if not at face level..than anguler placement is needed,,

 

[angynagpal]

Current arrangement is entirely temporary.

So if i understand correctly, the center, front R and L need to be in a straight line?? i was going to let center be and hang the front L and R just above the edges of the tv ! Bad idea?

I would have preferred the front speakers to be in the same line as that of the center, but that is not mandatory if you are able to calibrate the speakers correctly. For calibration, measure the distance from all speakers individually to the main listening area (ear level) and enter it in the avr settings for speaker. Then, you need to maintain the levels of each speaker so that you get the same output level from all speakers when measured from the main listening position (at ear level. You can use a spl meter or use the spl app on iphone).

Remember the reason why you bought this HT setup....it was to enjoy movies, music etc!! So, get to that as soon as possible !! Dont worry too much about speaker placements etc right now! Read the avr manual, use the HT setup, with time you would know if it sounds correct to you, and if it does not, what is it that you need to correct !!

Do not be too critical about the sound etc....if its enjoyable, just enjoy it !!! hyeah:

so i told you to find jugaads which can be speaker stands at very low cost as tables will eat up much space..
anyway do it at your comfort..if you need space...its a nono for you obviously..i am jst sharing ideas..

centre can be lower level than fromnts..but centre shd be facing you i mean if not at face level..than anguler placement is needed,,

I agree with Prosenjit!!! Center can be placed either above the tv or below it.....doesnt matter....they should just be pointing towards you when you are seated in the main listening position. This is important!!!! If I am seeing the pic clearly, it seems your center is already pointing up due to the structure of the speaker body (something that manufacturers do on purpose for your benefit ), so it seems fine to me.

 

[virtueso]

sigh..the best possible placement with space available has been done, but im not happy with it surround l and r are at same height as front l and r, although not directly opposite each other, and all 4 are point straight ahead,at no angle whatsoever .
The nail attached has to be secure so it cant even be moved to any angle :'(
don't know if im ocd or justified at being disappointed by the setting. Good thing is though that i can take em off and place them on jugaads and tables as suggested by members
It sounds good, but having the front l and r pointing directly at me did sound slightly better !
sigh..

 

[deep_blues]

The only 100% solution to that will be to get 360 degree mounts for the sats (if available for the model). As only then will you be able to place them exactly how you want. Any flat surface will restrict placement to horizontally <-- --> only.
Use it as is till you manage to obtain them. Good luck!

 

[virtueso]

The only 100% solution to that will be to get 360 degree mounts for the sats (if available for the model). As only then will you be able to place them exactly how you want. Any flat surface will restrict placement to horizontally <-- --> only.
Use it as is till you manage to obtain them. Good luck!

180 degrees you mean.. yes, that's what the installation guy also suggested. and you'd never guess what.......the same guy sells it too ! can you believe my luck! just Rs.1999 for 4 !

Oh and not to forget, my wire was 4m short,so of course he had to replace the whole of the 15 meters at Rs.50/m i.e. extra 30m of wire ! some oxygen free wire,apparently by onkaya only,but the name of which is nowhere to be found on the net :/ yay! /sarcasm end/


vicious cycle of indirect hidden costs

 

[deep_blues]

haha as long as you're satisfied in the end. I actually meant 360 degrees though, which can be moved up/down as well as left/right. But if the 180 solves the problem, its great. Better than protruding tables : )