Speaker placement question

[swank121]

I recently moved into a new house after having lived in apartments for many years. I never used to pay much thought to speaker placement; I just threw it up knowing I would take it down in a year or so. Now that I am in a more permanent situation, I am trying to learn all I can about proper speaker placement.

Here is my room layout:

http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/6281/image0020lr.th.jpg (http://img501.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image0020lr.jpg)

The 7.1 HT setup will go in the Family Room. Whoever designed this house was smart enough to make it a golden ratio rectangle (excluding the stairway, which leads to the basement). The back of the room opens up to the kitchen with no way of closing it off.

My equipment:
61" JVC Pro HD-P61R1U
H/K AVR-635
Ascend Acoustics speakers
340SE F/R
340cSE C
170SE L/R/SL/SR
HSU VTF3-HO (preordered)

My initial thought is to put the TV on the shorter outside wall (15'). The couch would go 8-10' from the screen, and the side surround speakers would be just far enough back to miss the door to the garage.

My question is about the rear left and rear right surround speakers. I assume they will need to be equidistant from the sweet spot. I would prefer not to block the opening to the kitchen, which severly limits my options. Is it OK to have the rear surrounds relatively close together? What imaging will I miss out on with such a setup?

Also, any pitfalls I should be aware of with the stairway in the corner?

Thanks in advance for any input.

[JeffD2]

I would wall mount the SL/SR overhead so as not to obstruct any entry ways. There are only very rare instances in playback material where imaging or SQ would be an issue depending on a myriad of factors (crossover, large or small setting on the AVR, etc.). They would not need to be equidistant from the sweet spot as this can be compensated with distance and level settings on the AVR. IOW- basic calibration with a sound meter.

[swank121]

Thanks for the advice. I hadn't considered wall mounting because of the distance required behind the 170's. I would also like to have all tweeters at the same level. However, this is probably my best option.

[twalker294]

When you say wall mount, I dont know if you are talking about putting them up near the ceiling but I would avoid that if at all possible. Surround speakers are meant to be placed at ear level so if you can, get some stands and put the 170s on them. Here is one of mine:

http://www.pbase.com/twalker294/image/30497775/large.jpg

I have the other surround on the other side on an identical stand. Avoid putting them up high unless you just have no other choice.

[Jonnyozero3]

Setting surrounds at ear level is for multi-channel high-res music like DVD-A and SACD. The standard for home theater is to place the surrounds above ear level because that is how the sound is mixed. You'll be more closely hearing what the studio people meant you to hear that way.

Quick link, but I've seen it described in more detail elsewhere.

http://www.dolbydigital.com/consumer/home_entertainment/roomlayout.html#placement

[BGHD]

Setting surrounds at ear level is for multi-channel high-res music like DVD-A and SACD. The standard for home theater is to place the surrounds above ear level because that is how the sound is mixed. You'll be more closely hearing what the studio people meant you to hear that way.

Quick link, but I've seen it described in more detail elsewhere.

http://www.dolbydigital.com/consumer/home_entertainment/roomlayout.html#placement
The Ascend setup guide states about the same. But for a 50/50 movie/hi-res setup, it'll probably come down to trial/error.

[Jonnyozero3]

I'll probably split the difference, or just go with the HT setup. multi-channel music was kind of a fad for me...most of the stuff I want is usually just on CD, so whatever. I usually prefer stereo and I can post-process if I'm feeling the multi-mood.

(I haven't permanently mounted my surrounds yet which is why this comment applies even though I've had ascends for awhile now)

[curtis]

I usually prefer stereo and I can post-process if I'm feeling the multi-mood.
But acheiving multi-channel with a post process is much different than DVD-A or SACD......but I agree, much more work to enjoy the hi-res/multi-channel stuff.