Speakers setup and Placement

[TheCoolestOne]

Hi All,

I need some advise on the speaker combo setup and the placement I want to go in for. What do you think of the following combi... Suggestions are most welcome and required:

Front BS: Wharfedale 9.2
Centre: Wharfedale 9 CS (or would you suggest the 9CM)
Rear Surround: Wharfedale 9DFS
Sub: Wharfedale SW250 / Klipsch SW450/ Velodyne Impact (I am yet to decide on the sub so please suggest and budget bet 25 - 30k)

My room is 11 x 15 ft and the speakers would be hooked on my Denon AVR 1912 and used for Movies (70%) & Music (30%). Initially I was thinking on going in for FS for the front speakers but dropped the idea as my room size is small.

Also please let suggest whether the BS should be wall mounted or set up on a stand. I am really confused on this.

 

[askii2]

Any of the speakers quoted above should do fine. At this room size a sub-woofer as well will over-power front and satellite. You'll have to be very careful with sub-woofer level to avoid that. Best will be to place all of the front and center speakers on stands (not wall-mount) and sub-woofer on the floor to the right of the right front speaker or left of the left front speaker.

The reason to avoid wall-mount is that many a times wall-mounts do not "fix" speakers properly. If you can do that and have a thin TV, wall-mounts will also do.

Don't forget to set speaker distances from your main listening spot in your AVR's settings. That'll take care of ensuring that they all blend in nicely.

 

[TheCoolestOne]

Thanks Askii.

I did go to check out the Wharfs but they have been discontinued and the 10 series are out of stock till october or so I was told. Can anyone confirm the same? I will be checking out some more places too.

With reference to the Subs, you are right when you say that it has to be a careful decision due to the size of the room and I am yet to audition some subs. Someone did suggest to me to use two smaller subs instead of one big one to even out the low freqs in the small room... but space is a constraint so 2 subs do not seem a viable option for me at the moment.

Coming to the stands, I do prefer them to the wall mounts but once again I am looking at the feasibility of them occupying floor space in the small room. I do am toying with the idea of getting some custom made from a fabricator and the stands will also give me some flexibility to move the speakers around around to some degree to enable me to get me to the sweet listening spot which is not possible with the wall mounts.

But at the same time since my whole house is getting renovated I have the option of fitting wall mounts that would be sturdy and fixed well into the wall. Also my wife may throw a fit if she sees the speakers and stand eating away into the room


Given both these options available what would you recommend?

 

[askii2]

I did go to check out the Wharfs but they have been discontinued and the 10 series are out of stock till october or so I was told. Can anyone confirm the same? I will be checking out some more places too.

Not sure .

With reference to the Subs, you are right when you say that it has to be a careful decision due to the size of the room and I am yet to audition some subs. Someone did suggest to me to use two smaller subs instead of one big one to even out the low freqs in the small room... but space is a constraint so 2 subs do not seem a viable option for me at the moment.

Getting 2 subs right is very difficult. Not possible without SPL meter IMO. Getting 1 sub right just by listening is also very difficult.

Coming to the stands, I do prefer them to the wall mounts but once again I am looking at the feasibility of them occupying floor space in the small room. I do am toying with the idea of getting some custom made from a fabricator and the stands will also give me some flexibility to move the speakers around around to some degree to enable me to get me to the sweet listening spot which is not possible with the wall mounts.

But at the same time since my whole house is getting renovated I have the option of fitting wall mounts that would be sturdy and fixed well into the wall. Also my wife may throw a fit if she sees the speakers and stand eating away into the room

I'll recommend that you buy speakers before the renovation as you'll be able to figure out appropriate option. Ideally just 2 large bolts driven into a wall are good enough for holding a speaker. The problem is workers don't align them properly, so the speakers go tilted or loose. Perhaps you can explore wall mounted horizontal wooden shelves just adequate to cover the speakers.

 

[TheCoolestOne]

Hey Askii2,

I think i'm gonan stick to my one sub option ... like I said 2 subs make no sense right now... can think of a 2nd sub later if at all required... I'm alreay scouting and auditioning for speakers... I too think its imp to freeze on the speakers ASAP and have them ready now that renovations are under way... More or less decided ont he speakers but still confused abt stands or mounts.... and its driving me nuts....

 

[sdurani]

Centre: Wharfedale 9 CS (or would you suggest the 9CM)

If you go with the 9.CS, then I would use the 9.1 bookshelf as main L/R for better consistency, since they both share the same size drivers. Yes, the 9.2 goes lower, but if you're going to use a subwoofer to reproduce the bass in your system, then why do you need your speakers to go down to 45Hz?

With that in mind, another option would be to get 9.0 mains, 9.CC centre and 9.DFS surrounds. This way, ALL your speakers have the same size tweeters and woofers, for maximum consistency all the way around. When a plane flies from the front soundstage to the surround field or when a car moves across the front three speakers, you don't want the sound to change as it goes from speaker to speaker. Besides, you'll save some money over the 9.2/9.CM combo, which you can put towards a better subwoofer (the SW250 only goes down to 30Hz).

 

[Flash]

The 9.1's goes down to 50hz
the 9.2 goes down to 45hz

with the 9.2 ideally you would be able to cross the sub at a lower point probably 60hz if desired and still getting the 9.2's to produce decent bass levels without cracking up.
Having auditioned both. I personally find the 9.2's superior than the 9.1's better midrange, tighter bass. I guess it had everything to do with the bigger driver pushing more air
Yes the 9.1's would suffice as well.but i personally prefer the 9.2's because of the larger woofer, cabinet, overall SQ.
Honestly for movies i dont think you would find too much of a diff. on a musical point of view though . i would pick the 9.2's anyday


Getting the sub levels/placement correct is probably the most factor in getting the setup right.
I would still vouch for 2 subs over one if space permits. you will get far more linear response. adding 2 subs again does not necessarily mean higher db.

Even with one sub the same levels of SQ can be accomplished as long as u take considerable amount of time getting the placement and levels correct.
Idieally as per my experience. you would want the SUB to be +3 db more than your fronts. So it does not overpower the rest of the system. Use your AVR's Audessy calibration to get things right
The 9 series are all tonally matched. So you can mix and match . the 9CS is a better option for your setup.

Irrespective what speakers you use, i would suggest you set the speakers as small on your AVR . so lets assume u have your sub crossed at 60hz . your front speakers take over from the sub at 60hz.It in a way frees up your speaker to produse midbass / trebles etc and you would get a cleaner sound

In terms of Subs. you've got a whole array to choose from. Right from the the wharf to velodyne to HSU, REL, Klipsch, etc etc.

See what suits you best. if higher db is what u are looking for - go in for a ported sub . if tighter/cleaner bass is what u are looking for a sealed unit IMO is better. for your room . considering you are already going in for decent bookshelves weather 9.1 / 9.2 etc etc. a sealed sub would be better. I would recomment ported ones for larger rooms or if combined with smaller satellites
Again some advocate for ported and some sealed then again there are front firing/down firing. and probably some subs firing up your backside hyeah:. So your headache for purchasing a sub is probably a lot more than the speakers.

have you given a thought on other speaker brands as well . Try mission (not the mx series. i personally dont like them) , Mordant short, etc etc.

 

[TheCoolestOne]

Flash, as we discussed the 9.2's are more or less what I have zeroed upon along wwith the 9CS and 9DFS.

The Subs, i have kept on hold for a few days to sit and think carefully about the 2 sub option. I am definatelylooking for a tighter sound not a higher db. Like you rightly mentioned choosing the right sub is going to be a big task especially in the room dimensions I would be using it in... along placement which agaig is equally important... especially since my wirings will be concealed therefore I will have to end up keeping the wiring longer to enable me to play around with the placement... else I ink abe to will have the wireless options we discussed the other day...

Let me start with the speakers first and then sit down zeroing on the subs... which I'm sure is gonan drive me crazy