low mounted surrounds ?

[Blown 4.3]

i like looking at all the galleries in here, that is a GREAT feature of this forum.

i have noticed a lot of guys have their surrounds mounted pretty low.
head height or lower (when seated).
i don't get it . if that is the ONLY place that they can be placed, then fine, work with what you have.
imo, these placements are hardly ideal. i mean. how can the sound envelope the room. when the chair, other furniture, and other people, are blocking a direct line from the speakers ? and don't tell me that the sound goes around all that stuff. most of these rooms are using regular bookshelf speakers. so some of the sound gets blocked.

what am i missing ?

[TKNice]

I think we're all sometimes forced to do things less than ideal in our setups. Maybe the WAF factor kicked in and she just doesn't want them mounted high on the walls. I know for a while I was planning to get some axiom dipoles instead of my rear surrounds which would have totally changed my mounting options.

[rpatt]

Originally Posted by Blown 4.3

i like looking at all the galleries in here, that is a GREAT feature of this forum.

i have noticed a lot of guys have their surrounds mounted pretty low.
head height or lower (when seated).
i don't get it . if that is the ONLY place that they can be placed, then fine, work with what you have.
imo, these placements are hardly ideal. i mean. how can the sound envelope the room. when the chair, other furniture, and other people, are blocking a direct line from the speakers ? and don't tell me that the sound goes around all that stuff. most of these rooms are using regular bookshelf speakers. so some of the sound gets blocked.

what am i missing ?

The rule of thumb that I've always come across on this subject is that if your usage is mostly music then mount the surrounds the same as the fronts. If mostly movies then mount 5 to 6 feet off the floor.

[Blown 4.3]

Originally Posted by TKNice

I think we're all sometimes forced to do things less than ideal in our setups. Maybe the WAF factor kicked in and she just doesn't want them mounted high on the walls. I know for a while I was planning to get some axiom dipoles instead of my rear surrounds which would have totally changed my mounting options.

sure. that could be part of it.

Originally Posted by rpatt

The rule of thumb that I've always come across on this subject is that if your usage is mostly music then mount the surrounds the same as the fronts. If mostly movies then mount 5 to 6 feet off the floor.

ok. but even for music. wouldn't objects block some of the sound ?

[Blown 4.3]

Originally Posted by TKNice

I think we're all sometimes forced to do things less than ideal in our setups. Maybe the WAF factor kicked in and she just doesn't want them mounted high on the walls. I know for a while I was planning to get some axiom dipoles instead of my rear surrounds which would have totally changed my mounting options.

are those inwalls the only sides ?

does your "stage" glare ? looks like it would.

[TKNice]

Originally Posted by Blown 4.3

are those inwalls the only sides ?

does your "stage" glare ? looks like it would.

Yeah, side surrounds are inwall. I have black velvet material running the length of the stage top, it just wasn't on there for the picture.

[rpatt]

Originally Posted by Blown 4.3

sure. that could be part of it.



ok. but even for music. wouldn't objects block some of the sound ?

It's just a rule of thumb. If you have objects that can't be moved and will block ear level mounting then the decision is made for you. I have mine mounted 6-ft off the floor and listen to a lot of concert discs and they sound great to me.

[crazyBLUE]

Mine are at ear level & have no issues what so ever . They are Tower speakers on stands to get them off the floor because of the Bass port . I see no reason what so ever to have them Higher then they are . If I did I could suspend them or hang them from the ceiling .

[Blown 4.3]

Originally Posted by crazyBLUE

Mine are at ear level & have no issues what so ever . They are Tower speakers on stands to get them off the floor because of the Bass port . I see no reason what so ever to have them Higher then they are . If I did I could suspend them or hang them from the ceiling .

looks like yours are a lil higher than ear level.

anyway

wow, your new setup looks great gotta love the big screen, ay.

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by Blown 4.3

looks like yours are a lil higher than ear level.

anyway

wow, your new setup looks great gotta love the big screen, ay.

Thanks Blown ! As I sit here & type I have one next to me & the tweeter is even with my ear

Thanks for the compliment & the PJ is A cool thing to have .

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by Blown 4.3

i like looking at all the galleries in here, that is a GREAT feature of this forum.

i have noticed a lot of guys have their surrounds mounted pretty low.
head height or lower (when seated).
i don't get it . if that is the ONLY place that they can be placed, then fine, work with what you have.
imo, these placements are hardly ideal. i mean. how can the sound envelope the room. when the chair, other furniture, and other people, are blocking a direct line from the speakers ? and don't tell me that the sound goes around all that stuff. most of these rooms are using regular bookshelf speakers. so some of the sound gets blocked.

what am i missing ?

I think you should refer HERE for a look at what Dolby recommends. Their recommendations run contrary to your thinking.

[Blown 4.3]

Originally Posted by lojack1976

I think you should refer HERE for a look at what Dolby recommends. Their recommendations run contrary to your thinking.

imo. dolby recommends what will not scare off new users = easy setup. most "non-enthusiasts" would run far and fast if told "dobly recommends" drilling holes in your wall, fishing wires in them, and mounting speakers up high.

go to a theater. are the speakers mounted down low ? not any that i have ever seen.

look where you have your sides. they are firing directly into the person sitting in that seat. this somewhat blocks the sound to the person sitting next to you. perhaps you don't notice it. but i KNOW i would.

[lifevicarious]

I don't think a pull down screen is 'ideal' either but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. And how many theaters do you know of that puts the center and the L and R below and/or off to the sides of the screen? Not any that I have ever seen.

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by lifevicarious

I don't think a pull down screen is 'ideal' either but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. And how many theaters do you know of that puts the center and the L and R below and/or off to the sides of the screen? Not any that I have ever seen.

Then you don't know what you are missing . Movie theaters are huge rooms so how can you compare it to A Home Theater , You can't .

[lifevicarious]

Originally Posted by crazyBLUE

Then you don't know what you are missing . Movie theaters are huge rooms so how can you compare it to A Home Theater , You can't .

Personally I don't care where people put their speakers. It was the OP calling people out for putting their surrounds at ear level and in one post stating that you don't see surrounds at ear level in a theater. So if his setup is dictated by what a theater does, I am curious why he has a pull down screen and why his C,L,R speakers aren't behind an AT screen just like they are in a theater.

The point of my post was to call out the hypocrisy in the OP's thinking regarding speaker placement as he even goes as far as claiming Dolby's speaker placement reccomendations is driven by "easy setup" and presumably not by acoustics.

[Scooby Blu]

My speakers where installed by the pros. Furthermore both Audio and Video were calibrated by the pros as well. Spent over 700 bucks and It took them about 4.5 hours to get it done. I simply do not question the placement of my speakers at all!

[TKNice]

I read many guides and advice before installing mine and ended up going with the THX recommendation which is 2ft above the listener. I don't think we can optimize our setups for every type of mix--or that we should do what Dolby or DTS recommends. Ultimately, 98% of all the movies I watch are matrixed out to 7.1 which is exactly what real theaters do, only with many more channels. They are always mounted high.

[Steve]

My surrounds are between 5'-6' off the floor and IMO they provide a fantastic sound field.

Currently THX recommends 2' or higher above ear level. Dolby now suggests "just above ear level". I seem to remember that Dolby also used to recommend 2' or higher above ear level, but they changed that several months ago when they updated their website.

[Hammie]

Most places I have read state that they should be 18-36 inches above ear level. The funny thing is they don't really specify WHAT part of the speaker should be at that height. I always assumed they meant the tweeter. Therefore, mine are mounted with the tweeters about 24" above ear level.

Is mine an ideal setup? I like it and everyone feels it sounds great, so who am I to question right from wrong.

Few people have the room to create a dedicated theater with speakers in a position similar to a professional theater. If I would ever have the room or money to setup a dedicated theater, I would probably go with all B&W/Classe CT series speakers/electronics.

[rpatt]

Originally Posted by Hammie

Most places I have read state that they should be 18-36 inches above ear level. The funny thing is they don't really specify WHAT part of the speaker should be at that height. I always assumed they meant the tweeter. Therefore, mine are mounted with the tweeters about 24" above ear level.

Is mine an ideal setup? I like it and everyone feels it sounds great, so who am I to question right from wrong.

Few people have the room to create a dedicated theater with speakers in a position similar to a professional theater. If I would ever have the room or money to setup a dedicated theater, I would probably go with all B&W/Classe CT series speakers/electronics.

Good point. I think it's true that most home theaters are a collection of compromises.