Side surround speakers placed on rear wall?

[underoath]

I understand the idea that side surround speakers are supposed to be placed at 90 to 110 degrees to where you are sitting however, due to the limitations of my room (large window on left rear wall, double doors on right rear wall), I'm wondering a couple things:

1) I have space for the left side speaker to be placed in the 90-110 degree spot, however the matching speaker on the right side would have to be mounted at the same height except in the rear right corner of the room (about 3 feet back).

2) I have space for both speakers on the rear wall, except this would be about 4 feet behind my seating position. (Also, if I was to do this, in which direction should the speakers be pointed at?)

So, is it better to have two speakers mis-matched by about 3-4 feet on the side walls, or have both side surrounds on the rear wall about 4 feet behind me?

Thanks in advance.

[Steve]

What make/model of speaker are you using for surrounds?

In a perfect world you would be able to put your speakers exactly where the recommendations say to put them. But it's not a perfect world, and the recommendations are just that: recommendations. I would recommend putting them both up in the same relative positions, as opposed to mis-matching their locations. If the only place you can put them is on the rear wall, then put them on the rear wall. If they happen to be bipoles, then just put them up and let them ride. If they're bookshelf monopoles, then it might be beneficial to experiment and see if they sound better aimed straight ahead, or angled slightly in.

[underoath]

Originally Posted by fireman325

What make/model of speaker are you using for surrounds?

In a perfect world you would be able to put your speakers exactly where the recommendations say to put them. But it's not a perfect world, and the recommendations are just that: recommendations. I would recommend putting them both up in the same relative positions, as opposed to mis-matching their locations. If the only place you can put them is on the rear wall, then put them on the rear wall. If they happen to be bipoles, then just put them up and let them ride. If they're bookshelf monopoles, then it might be beneficial to experiment and see if they sound better aimed straight ahead, or angled slightly in.

Thanks for the response first of all.

I probably went overkill on my surrounds purchasing 2 svs scs-01 (http://svsound.com/products-spks-scs01.cfm) speakers. Luckily, I was able to find wall mounts which support 20+ lbs. speakers and ones that tilt/swivel (B-Tech BT38 "AViBALL" http://pan5.fotovista.com/dev/5/1/01..._01263715.jpg).

So, it looks like I'll just have to experiment with what I've got. I never really felt that mis-matching the speakers would be the right choice.

[Steve]

I don't believe in overkill, even with surround speakers. It's my opinion that good surrounds are far more important than what alot of others suggest. I used to think they weren't so important, until I got a great set. It sounds like with the mounts you got that you'll be good to go. I would suggest putting them on the back wall, 2'-3' higher than ear level while you're seated, and spread a couple of feet wider than your seating position, and then experiment with aiming them to see where you get the best results. I could be wrong, but you'll probably get the best results if you don't tilt them down any. This would defeat the purpose of putting them up above ear-level IMO. It may also help to turn them up a few dBs since they're a little farther back than "normal".

[underoath]

Awesome, thanks so much for your help. I'll refer back to this when I go to mount the speakers.

[stickb5]

What kind of AVR do you own ? i would like to know because, if you have a AVR that can do AUTO calibration on distance, level and crossover, you could just put the speaker like you said on your first option and the Auto Calibration would make all the adjustments for you and all would blend nicely, i think its better this way that actually having the surrounds on the back. This is why we can change the level and distance of all speakers, because all the spaces are not the same.

[DIY_HD]

You didn't mention whether you have a 5.1 or 7.1 setup. In a 7.1 setup, the surrounds should be at 90 degrees as you described. In a 5.1 setup, they should be at 135 degrees, behind your primary listening position, instead of directly to the side as in a 7.1 setup. However, these are theoretical values.

You may need to adjust the postitioning to allow for the unique acoustics in your room. If you can rig them up temporarily in different positions and listen to them before you mount them permanently to the wall, you will be more confident that you have picked the best spots.

[underoath]

Originally Posted by stickb5

What kind of AVR do you own ? i would like to know because, if you have a AVR that can do AUTO calibration on distance, level and crossover, you could just put the speaker like you said on your first option and the Auto Calibration would make all the adjustments for you and all would blend nicely, i think its better this way that actually having the surrounds on the back. This is why we can change the level and distance of all speakers, because all the spaces are not the same.

I own the Sony STR-DG820 receiver which does have an auto calibration feature. This is something to think about also. It is probably best just to try each speaker temporarily before mounting it permanently.

[underoath]

Originally Posted by DIY_HD

You didn't mention whether you have a 5.1 or 7.1 setup. In a 7.1 setup, the surrounds should be at 90 degrees as you described. In a 5.1 setup, they should be at 135 degrees, behind your primary listening position, instead of directly to the side as in a 7.1 setup. However, these are theoretical values.

You may need to adjust the postitioning to allow for the unique acoustics in your room. If you can rig them up temporarily in different positions and listen to them before you mount them permanently to the wall, you will be more confident that you have picked the best spots.

Due to the room size (2nd bedroom), I'm going with a standard 5.1 setup. I guess I'll just have to test the speakers and how they sound at each spot.

[erict]

I have a unique room layout as well with one open wall so I ended up mounting my by-poles on the rear wall and I think they sound great there. As long as they sound good to you that's all that counts