rear speakers, how hi?

[saprano]

right now i only have 2 fronts and a center that ill be hooking up tommorow(about dame time) but i was wordering how high should the surrounds be? iv heard they should be at standing ear level is this tru? im gonna be wall mounting them. and how far apart should i seperate them? my back wall from corner to coner is about 12 to 15 feet wide and i was planing on mounting them in the corners..............................oh yea guys i have some good news, its my 300th post yay!

[Durentis]

I think for a 5.1 setup you'd have the surrounds slightly behind the primary seating spot and a bit higher than ear level. If you were to add two rears after, the surrounds would come down to seated ear level and move in line with your seating.

-FL--CC--FR-
-------------
-------------
----SEAT----
SL---------SR


-FL--CC--FR-
-------------
-------------
SL--SEAT--SR
-------------
-RL-------RR-

My surrounds are about 4.5-5 feet off the floor and slightly behind where I sit.

But I could be wrong in this and you may get a more authoritative response later.

[Clark Kent]

Surrounds should be placed one to two feet above ear level while seated in your chair. This might vary a little depending on what type of speakers you are going to run for surrounds(such as dipole speakers) and the acoustics of your theater/room.

[Brain Sturgeon]

http://www.dolby.com/consumer/home_e...oomlayout.html

[Sylin]

OK, next question: does it matter where your center channel is in terms of height?

The entertainment center we have is a 3-wide x 2-high model and unfortunately my center does not fit in the top tier of the middle shelves, but fits snugly in the bottom shelf. It's about 5 inches off the ground and about 12 inches below the bottom of the TV.

.........TV........
-----------------
-.....-.PS3-.....-
-Tivo-CTR-RCV-
-----------------

I'm considering replacing my 5.1 speaker setup with an Ascend package, which their center is, I believe, smaller than my current HK. So I might be able to swap places with the PS3.

EDIT: One more question (sorry... but I'm learning a lot from you guys!) should I run my speaker wires to my powered subwoofer (Polk 10") and then connect that to my receiver? Or should I run them all to the receiver? (Onkyo 804). Thanks!

[Brain Sturgeon]

Originally Posted by ikcizokm

OK, next question: does it matter where your center channel is in terms of height?

The entertainment center we have is a 3-wide x 2-high model and unfortunately my center does not fit in the top tier of the middle shelves, but fits snugly in the bottom shelf. It's about 5 inches off the ground and about 12 inches below the bottom of the TV.

.........TV........
-----------------
-.....-.PS3-.....-
-Tivo-CTR-RCV-
-----------------

I'm considering replacing my 5.1 speaker setup with an Ascend package, which their center is, I believe, smaller than my current HK. So I might be able to swap places with the PS3.

EDIT: One more question (sorry... but I'm learning a lot from you guys!) should I run my speaker wires to my powered subwoofer (Polk 10") and then connect that to my receiver? Or should I run them all to the receiver? (Onkyo 804). Thanks!

Yes, placement of the center will matter, although centers are usually built to be above or below the display. You just need to place/angle the center so that dialogue seems like it's coming from the display and when you listen to a R -> L or L -> R pan, it will be smooth. Video Essentials is useful for this. If the placement in your entertainment center is a problem, there are many center stands and mounts out there that could help.

The Sub or LFE out from your receiver (single ended RCA usually) should go straight into your Sub-- You can then adjust the frequencies that are passed to your speakers/sub in your receiver's speaker set-up menu.

[sarnell2]

2 Feet Above the Listeners... thx.com

[Clark Kent]

Originally Posted by ikcizokm

OK, next question: does it matter where your center channel is in terms of height?

In an ideal home theater the tweeters of your center speaker and front speakers would be at the exact same height. You want a seamless soundstage from left to center to right speaker. This is usually only possible though in a room designed around front projection.