Surround speaker for living room HT

[waris]

Hi,
I have recently purchased a pair of POLK OWM3 from a FM.
I am confused about the placement of these in my living room. Ideally surround will go slightly behind the MLP, however since sofa is attached to wall it's not possible.
MLP is marked with green.
Room width is 15ft. I have 2 queries
1. Mounting of speakers on side or back wall
2. Speaker height from MLP.

For Mounting also I have 2 options. Use the holes in speaker and mount on wall. In that case it can't be angled.
Second approach will require procuring a wall mount . That way I can angle the speaker towards MLP.

Plz share suggestions.

 

[waris]

I will be procuring one more pair of OWM3 for ATMOS. I have false ceiling but it's depth is only 3 inch and no in ceiling speakers will fit. So I was thinking of mounting OWM3 on side walls . Is that approach correct for ATMOS.

 

[waris]

Hi friends,
I am eagerly awaiting some inputs on this.

 

[Love4sound]

I will be procuring one more pair of OWM3 for ATMOS. I have false ceiling but it's depth is only 3 inch and no in ceiling speakers will fit. So I was thinking of mounting OWM3 on side walls . Is that approach correct for ATMOS.

Yeah you do have the option for side heights lay out. I have auditioned side heights set up and it does a decent Job. But for this you need to install them at your MLP

 

[waris]

Yeah you do have the option for side heights lay out. I have auditioned side heights set up and it does a decent Job. But for this you need to install them at your MLP

@Love4sound thanks for the input.
1. Do You mean side heights should be directed towards MLP? I think that should be possible using a wall mount that can be angled.

2.Also can you suggest the location for surround speakers too. Should I put them in the corner or on the sides . Also at what height should they go? should they be at listener level?

 

[Love4sound]

@Love4sound thanks for the input. Do You mean side heights should be directed towards MLP? I think that should be possible using a wall mount that can be angled.

I meant speakers should be installed top corner from your MLP. Since there is no space behind your MLP I would suggest go for top middle. This way you get good panning from top middle speakers and rear surrounds.

 

[waris]

I meant speakers should be installed top corner from your MLP. Since there is no space behind your MLP I would suggest go for top middle. This way you get good panning from top middle speakers and rear surrounds.

thanks @Love4sound .
Ok. So ATMOS can go to top middle position. gap between TV and listener is 9ft so I can put the atmos speaker at 4 or 5 ft distance and angle them towards MLP.
For surround (rear) I can mount on side wall(1.5ft from back wall) at listener height or should I put them in the corner of the wall?
Plz clarify

 

[Love4sound]

thanks @Love4sound .
Ok. So ATMOS can go to top middle position. gap between TV and listener is 9ft so I can put the atmos speaker at 4 or 5 ft distance and angle them towards MLP.
For surround (rear) I can mount on side wall(1.5ft from back wall) at listener height or should I put them in the corner of the wall?
Plz clarify

Top middle doesn’t mean middle of the room or middle position from MLP and LCR.Check Dolby guidelines and install it exactly where they recommend for top middle. Surround you can install at sides or corner based on your preference as either should work.

 

[waris]

Top middle doesn’t mean middle of the room or middle position from MLP and LCR.Check Dolby guidelines and install it exactly where they recommend for top middle. Surround you can install at sides or corner based on your preference as either should work.

Ok. Thanks for the help @Love4sound .So I checked the dolby guidelines .
Surround speaker height is not clear though. Should I put at ear height or higher?

 

[Love4sound]

Ok. Thanks for the help @Love4sound .So I checked the dolby guidelines .
Surround speaker height is not clear though. Should I put at ear height or higher?

Ear level is fine

 

[jbkar]

Usually surround speakers are not placed in the ear level. It's above that. Ideal height from floor is 7 ft.It's very difficult to tell speaker positions without trying it, so try it in your desired positions before buying wall mount

 

[ssf]

Surround speakers are part of the 5 in 5.1 floor level speakers and should be placed at ear level. If you have surround and height channels configured, the surround if not at ear level will clash with the height channel. If one does not have a height channel, then placing the surround a bit higher won't be that much of a problem.

 

[liverpool_for_life]

If you have surround and height channels configured, the surround if not at ear level will clash with the height channel.

Dolby recommends going up to 1.25 times ear height for the surrounds in an Atmos setup.

 

[MaSh]

For rear surrounds place the owm3 directly on the side wall, half foot away from back wall and about 2 feet above ear level.

This is what sounded best in my hall with these speakers with a layout very similar to yours.

MaSh

 

[Srinivasa Rao]

Dolby recommends going up to 1.25 times ear height for the surrounds in an Atmos setup.

Yes, at least 1 feet above ear level.

 

[ssf]

Dolby recommends going up to 1.25 times ear height for the surrounds in an Atmos setup.

Could you please point to the guide. The one that I was reading mentions as under :

"As in the past, the placement of all listener-level speakers should follow these recommendations, which are based on ITU-R BS.775-3: • The speakers located in the front of the room shall be used as a reference point. All speakers in the listener plane should ideally be equidistant from the listener position. If this is not possible, compensating for distance may be used to time align the arrival of audio from each speaker to the listener. • All listener speakers should be at the same height, typically 3.9 feet (1.2 meters), which is ear level for the average seated listener (as defined in ITU-R BS.1116-1). If possible, the height of the rear speakers should be the same as the height of the front speakers. If the room design makes this impractical or impossible, the rear speakers may be positioned higher than the front speakers. However, we suggest that the height of the rear speakers not be more than 1.25 times the height of the front speakers."

https://www.dolby.com/siteassets/te...atmos-installation-guidelines-121318_r3.1.pdf

Edit: Are you talking of height as mentioned in the last sentence where if not possible at ear height, it could go upto 1.25 times the height of the front speakers ?

 

[liverpool_for_life]

Edit: Are you talking of height as mentioned in the last sentence where if not possible at ear height, it could go upto 1.25 times the height of the front speakers ?

Yes, I was. However, I was under the (mistaken) impression that this recommendation applied to side surrounds as well. The guide specifically refers to the rear surrounds.

 

[ssf]

Yes, I was. However, I was under the (mistaken) impression that this recommendation applied to side surrounds as well. The guide specifically refers to the rear surrounds.

Ah, I too mistook the rear recommendation as that for side surrounds.

 

[efernand1]

@waris

Understand that you have a 3.1 setup and now would be adding OWM3 as surrounds. Given the room specs, I think you can consider one of these options. Ideal height of mounting speakers would be 4 to 5 feet from the ground but less that 6 feet. Would recommend the side walls.

After this I guess you want to procure 2 more speakers to be used for Atmos effect. Besides getting in Ceiling speakers which are tall in terms of their housing case, why not look at getting 2 way / 3 way Car Audio speakers? You can check the specs and accordingly get the best ones which can fit in the false ceiling. Car speakers are lighter and being used for Atmos effects would do. Let the sub and main speakers handle all the low bass frequencies. See if this is doable!

 

[waris]

Thank you everyone @efernand1 @ssf @liverpool_for_life @MaSh for your inputs.
I am attaching some more pics to help in understanding the layout.