Surround speaker setup...

[jimsiff]

I'm getting close to ordering my surround speakers to finish my 5.1 system. I was originally thinking of 340s for the rear, but now I'm probably going with 170s instead.

I'd like to setup my speakers so they work well for HT as well as multichannel audio. I know that the ideal setup for HT is different than for SACD/DVD-A. I'm looking for the best overall compromise. I'd say that my wife and I spend about 75% of our time watching TV/movies.

How do all of you that do both HT and multichannel have your surrounds setup?

[BillS]

jimsiff,

I have CMT-340s across the front (L/C/R) and CBM-170s for back surrounds and I continue to be amazed and thrilled with this setup for HT and multichannel. Sounds like you are heading toward this same setup. If this is the case, you will not be disappointed.

Regards,

Bill

[Nicholas Mosher]

I would keep your surrounds at ear level (whether on stands or wall brackets). This is a must for a DVD-A/SACD experience the way the mixers intended. I also find it preferable in movies, but many people like diffused sound. In DD/DTS 5.1 there are often directional effects in the surrounds which can have a distorted appearence in the soundstage when mounted high. While the surrounds should technically be placed slightly behind you (and aimed at you), mine are directly to the sides due to room constraints.

Then make sure you get the proper tow-in angle for your front L & R, and properly calibrate the setup with Avia and an SPL meter.

Read more about speaker placement here...
http://www.grammy.com/pe_wing/5_1_Rec.pdf

Experiment and see what you like though. What your ears like is the important part.

[curtis]

My system is set up for HT more so than SACD/DVD-A. I think a properly setup HT, will still give you a very good SACD/DVD-A environment. A properly setup SACD/DVD-A environment, IMO, will not be as forgiving for HT.

The surrounds in HT give you some height information...and I think that is critical for sounds like rain on a rooftop or plane fly-overs. For music, I do not think height information is as critical.

If I were to have a room strictly for music...I would do as Nicholas.

Just my two cents.

[Kpt_Krunch]

jim - I went in the middle. My CBM 170's are mounted to the wall with the Omnimount brackets about 5 1/2 feet off the floor, angled down to the listening area. I would have liked them a bit higher but the next stud (the studs on my basement wall are parallel with the floor) would have made it too high. The speakers are on either side of the main seating area, and are about 1 foot above my head, pointing down slightly to the main listening position.

I feel it provides very good imaging for movies, and sounds exceptional for multichannel audio. Another foot or so higher would have been ideal, but it still works very well as they are now.

[Nicholas Mosher]

Its really a matter of preference with movies. The old Dolby Surround and current THX recommendations are to use dipole speakers up on the walls to fill the room with diffused sound. It makes rainfall, rolling thunder, and stadium settings sound spectacular. The new Dolby Digital recommendations are also to be above ear level as Curtis said, but height/diffusion is no longer stressed. I've found that many movies are departing from the old bible of "ambient effects only" (such as rainfall) to heavy use of directional effects. Dipole speakers completely ruin this (the reason why I dislike them). It can also seem weird when during an indoor scene an off-screen actor speaks, but is 7' up in the air rather than right behind you. Or when watching a shoot'em up the bullets zing up into your ceiling rather than past your head. The best thing to do is try different setups and see which you like best.

Heres some more info too.

http://www.dolby.com/consumer/home_e...oomlayout.html
http://www.cinemasource.com/articles/ht_audio.pdf

[curtis]

And you know the day is going to come when the specs call for height channels as well.

[jimsiff]

Thank you all for your responses. The info is a great help. I think I'll just have to play around with various placements and see what works for me. I'm hoping to find a nice compromise that doesn't cater too much to HT while sacraficing good multichannel.

Kpt, I like your idea of a compromise. How did you arrive at the height you chose? Did you somehow temporarily place/mount your 170s in a few places before deciding on your setup? If so, what did you use as a temporary mount?

Nicholas, thanks for the great links. I'm still digesting the first one from grammy.com. Great stuff.

[Nicholas Mosher]

I'm waiting for the two ceiling mounted drivers, one over the central front soundstage, and one over the seating position

I don't have the room for 6.1/7.1 as it is!

[Kpt_Krunch]

Kpt, I like your idea of a compromise. How did you arrive at the height you chose? Did you somehow temporarily place/mount your 170s in a few places before deciding on your setup? If so, what did you use as a temporary mount?

To be honest, I had no choice in the matter. I actually wanted them about 6 feet off the ground, but my basement has some strange stud placements along one side of the wall. As well, I have two basement levels. The h/t room is on the upper basement level. The side wall where the lower basement level has blocked access, and I couldn't attached the mount to a stud, so I had to go in from the other side and reach up as far as I could go and add a 2 x 4 in between two stud and screw the mount into that, which matched the parallel stud on the other side. A bit lower than what I wanted, but only by about 8 inches or so, and it still sounds phenomenal.