HTM-200 Center as Surround

[Brono]

Hello All,

I had the Sierra 2s and absolutely loved them; so much so that I'm exchanging them for The RAAL Towers & Horizon. My question pertains to using the HTM-200 in it's center configuration as a surround.

Some background: My sectional is against the back wall and I was really hoping for a 7.2 setup, but everything I have read has recommended against it, so alas I'm going to settle for a 5.2 setup (for now, I may try sneaking in a 6.2 and see how it works). The problem with setting up my surrounds is that directly to the side of the MLP are windows. If I mounted them in between the windows, they would be ~3ft forward of the MLP. Mounting them on stands was considered (and at that point I would've gone with the 170s) but then the speaker is sitting right in front of a window, and would only be 1-2 ft from one's face sitting there.

So the solution I came up with is to mount the 200's above the window & aimed downwards, allowing them to be perfectly to the side of the MLP. Problem is that there is only 8" of clearance, so I would need to mount them horizontally. Is there a problem with doing this? Besides the orientation, is there a problem with having the surrounds at near ceiling level, being aimed down?

Sorry for the long-winded first post, and thank you!

[davef]

Hello All,

I had the Sierra 2s and absolutely loved them; so much so that I'm exchanging them for The RAAL Towers & Horizon. My question pertains to using the HTM-200 in it's center configuration as a surround.

Some background: My sectional is against the back wall and I was really hoping for a 7.2 setup, but everything I have read has recommended against it, so alas I'm going to settle for a 5.2 setup (for now, I may try sneaking in a 6.2 and see how it works). The problem with setting up my surrounds is that directly to the side of the MLP are windows. If I mounted them in between the windows, they would be ~3ft forward of the MLP. Mounting them on stands was considered (and at that point I would've gone with the 170s) but then the speaker is sitting right in front of a window, and would only be 1-2 ft from one's face sitting there.

So the solution I came up with is to mount the 200's above the window & aimed downwards, allowing them to be perfectly to the side of the MLP. Problem is that there is only 8" of clearance, so I would need to mount them horizontally. Is there a problem with doing this? Besides the orientation, is there a problem with having the surrounds at near ceiling level, being aimed down?

Sorry for the long-winded first post, and thank you!

Absolutely no issues using the 200's positioned horizontally near your ceiling. I often recommend this type of setup. One thing you will want to do is to orient the 200's so that the tweeter is closer to the listener (woofers closer to the ceiling).

Enjoy!

[Brono]

Thank you!

Also, I may be running another pair as front heights OR trying to utilize them as Atmos speakers, by mounting them slightly below the ceiling, aimed at it, crossed over at 200Hz.

Questions being:

1. Will these work for Atmos in that kind of setup?

2. In the case of using them as front heights or Atmos I don't have the space issue with mounting; are these ideally used in a vertical vs horizontal application?

[swizzchard]

Absolutely no issues using the 200's positioned horizontally near your ceiling. I often recommend this type of setup. One thing you will want to do is to orient the 200's so that the tweeter is closer to the listener (woofers closer to the ceiling).

Enjoy!

So, do you recommend this tweeter down, woofer up orientation of the HTM-200 SE Center when used as a center and on a higher plane than my LR? for instance, on a mantel? I currently have my center baffle over the front lip and aimed down slightly, maybe 8-10*, and considering flipping the orientation. LR are on bookshelves at a 30" height.

[davef]

Thank you!

Also, I may be running another pair as front heights OR trying to utilize them as Atmos speakers, by mounting them slightly below the ceiling, aimed at it, crossed over at 200Hz.

It makes no sense crossing the 200's over so high (200Hz) The speakers were specifically designed to use an 80Hz crossover. The lower the better...



1. Will these work for Atmos in that kind of setup?

Yes, absolutely.


2. In the case of using them as front heights or Atmos I don't have the space issue with mounting; are these ideally used in a vertical vs horizontal application?

Perform well in either orientation. This is the reason for the rather unusual driver orientation.

[Brono]

It makes no sense crossing the 200's over so high (200Hz) The speakers were specifically designed to use an 80Hz crossover. The lower the better...




Yes, absolutely.



Perform well in either orientation. This is the reason for the rather unusual driver orientation.


Great thank you, for the response! I came up with 200Hz, as it was my understanding that for an Atmos configuration, most Atmos-designed speakers have a low-end response of 200Hz, for dispersion reasons (that are way above my head) to properly simulate the "coming from above" effect.

[davef]

Great thank you, for the response! I came up with 200Hz, as it was my understanding that for an Atmos configuration, most Atmos-designed speakers have a low-end response of 200Hz, for dispersion reasons (that are way above my head) to properly simulate the "coming from above" effect.

Having a low end response of only 200Hz makes it much easier to design, and less costly ;)

[davef]

So, do you recommend this tweeter down, woofer up orientation of the HTM-200 SE Center when used as a center and on a higher plane than my LR? for instance, on a mantel? I currently have my center baffle over the front lip and aimed down slightly, maybe 8-10*, and considering flipping the orientation. LR are on bookshelves at a 30" height.

If the 200 center is above ear level, I recommend positioning it such that the tweeter is on the bottom. As a general rule, position the 200 such that the tweeter is closest to your ear for the most direct sound. For a more diffused/ambient sound, position so that the tweeter is further from your ear (woofers closer to ear).

hope this makes sense :)