7.1 Setup in odd shaped room

[Hoser59]

I am planning on upgrading my old 5.1 receiver to one that will accept HDMI and handle HD audio (I have a PS3 as my Blu-Ray player). I am thinking of upgrading to 7.1 but I am having some issues with where to place the rear speakers. I have attached an image which shows the layout of my living room and where I propose placing the rear channels. All the other speakers are currently located where they are shown. The three red dots show the primary seating positions and the green lines are meant to represent the direction the speakers are to face.



The left side and right side speakers are about 6' off the ground and I would place the rears at the same height.

Will this location be of benefit or am I better off sticking with 5.1?

Also...

Is it possible for a 7.1 receiver when playing 5.1 audio source to split the left and right channels and play them through the rear channels as well? (ie: Left Side and Left Rear would both play the same audio)

[zweet77]

Originally Posted by Hoser59

I am planning on upgrading my old 5.1 receiver to one that will accept HDMI and handle HD audio (I have a PS3 as my Blu-Ray player). I am thinking of upgrading to 7.1 but I am having some issues with where to place the rear speakers. I have attached an image which shows the layout of my living room and where I propose placing the rear channels. All the other speakers are currently located where they are shown. The three red dots show the primary seating positions and the green lines are meant to represent the direction the speakers are to face.



The left side and right side speakers are about 6' off the ground and I would place the rears at the same height.

Will this location be of benefit or am I better off sticking with 5.1?

Also...

Is it possible for a 7.1 receiver when playing 5.1 audio source to split the left and right channels and play them through the rear channels as well? (ie: Left Side and Left Rear would both play the same audio)

I don't think your picture posted.As for your question I am not sure what you mean.You can matrix a 5.1 sources to 6.1 or 7.1 using Dolby Ex or Dts neo:6 digital sound processing found on most 7.1 ready receivers but I beleive that makes your receiver emulate a discrete track for your rears.The other option is all channel stereo which would simply send the same information to all 7 loudspeakers.

[Hoser59]

All Channel stereo is what I was thinking of, it's basically for watching TV. My main question was if I could have sound playing from the rear channels even if the source audio wasn't 7.1 and it sounds like I can (by letting the receiver emulate the rear channels).

The image appears for me...

[Uniquely]

I'm not getting the image either.

[Hoser59]

Can you recommend an uploader to use? I used uploader.ws

[BoschRock]

Here you go:

[bluseminole]

Given that setup,. I would definitely go for the 7.1, because your regular surrounds won't provide a good surround image at all for that corner seating position.

[Hoser59]

Originally Posted by BoschRock

Here you go:

Thanks!

[Yeha-Noha]

I would recommend that you stay with 5.1 if you cannot alter the arrangement of the seating positions and speaker placement as you have depicted in your diagram. You are likely, not saying for certain, to get worse sound placing the couches so close to the rear wall where you have the RR and RL speakers. Just remove the RR and RL speakers, calibrate it for 5.1 and be done with it. I can suggest better seating arrangements and speaker placement if you would rather go 7.1, but you are probably not going to like it.

[Hoser59]

Originally Posted by rwojtalewicz

I would recommend that you stay with 5.1 if you cannot alter the arrangement of the seating positions and speaker placement as you have depicted in your diagram. You are likely, not saying for certain, to get worse sound placing the couches so close to the rear wall where you have the RR and RL speakers. Just remove the RR and RL speakers, calibrate it for 5.1 and be done with it. I can suggest better seating arrangements and speaker placement if you would rather go 7.1, but you are probably not going to like it.

I am open to suggestions, it's my wife what may take issue

I've already purchased the receiver, speaker wire, and wall mounts, so I have to make it work now (as soon as I get some speakers)

[Uniquely]

I would probably go 5.1 as well, but if you are settled on 7.1 I would put the surrounds to either side of the couches and then mount your rear surround higher up on the wall centered over each couch and angled downwards. Not ideal by any means but will reduce any muddiness by having your surrounds and your rears all sitting so close and intermingled.

[prankster]

that is a funky setup...it seems like you're going to have a hard time setting it up so the sound isn't unbalanced when sitting on any other seat except the single. also, i think you should angle the surround backs a bit so they are pointing more towards the single chair, not towards the sofas against the walls.

edit: you may also want to pull the surround left (top left of diagram) down closer to the sofa agaist the left wall. it seems kinda close to your left front speaker. also, your surround backs are a bit close together so you may want to separate them a little bit.

as mentioned in one of the posts above, i would go with a 7.1 setup over a 5.1.

[prankster]

Originally Posted by robinandtami

I would put the surrounds to either side of the couches and then mount your rear surround higher up on the wall centered over each couch and angled downwards. Not ideal by any means but will reduce any muddiness by having your surrounds and your rears all sitting so close and intermingled.

i think this may work for your setup.

[Johk]

If you have the choice, I would recommend changing the layout to a more standard rectangular layout... The corner placement is definetely not the best.

If it's not possible, I would only use the big couch and put it off the wall in the same angle as the TV. Then you could setup a 6.1 with the surrounds on both sides of the couch and a rear in the back (or two rears if it's a must for you). Acoustic panels would also be a good idea (in every case)...

In the end, you will have to decide what's more important for you a great HT room with an enveloping soundfield or a normal room with speakers in it and sound coming from places not really representing what is playing on the screen (don't take this the wrong way I'm just trying to help )

[Hoser59]

Originally Posted by Johk

In the end, you will have to decide what's more important for you a great HT room with an enveloping soundfield or a normal room with speakers in it and sound coming from places not really representing what is playing on the screen (don't take this the wrong way I'm just trying to help )

As most people here probably know, it is always a balancing act trying to set up a HT in the main living space and convince your wife that having the couch in the middle of the room improves the aesthetics.

Luckily the single seat is mine, so when I watch movies by myself I will just move it into the center of the room. We do sometimes pull the couch out in line with the TV when it is just my wife and I watching (or playing video games).

Since I've already started to purchase the things I need, I guess I will just have to experiment and see what works best.

[Johk]

Originally Posted by Hoser59

Luckily the single seat is mine, so when I watch movies by myself I will just move it into the center of the room.

Good! Just as long as you have the best seat in the house!

[Hoser59]

Originally Posted by robinandtami

I would probably go 5.1 as well, but if you are settled on 7.1 I would put the surrounds to either side of the couches and then mount your rear surround higher up on the wall centered over each couch and angled downwards. Not ideal by any means but will reduce any muddiness by having your surrounds and your rears all sitting so close and intermingled.

That sounds good, but the wall behind the small couch is a 12 foot wide floor to ceiling window.

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by Hoser59

As most people here probably know, it is always a balancing act trying to set up a HT in the main living space and convince your wife that having the couch in the middle of the room improves the aesthetics.

Luckily the single seat is mine, so when I watch movies by myself I will just move it into the center of the room. We do sometimes pull the couch out in line with the TV when it is just my wife and I watching (or playing video games).

Since I've already started to purchase the things I need, I guess I will just have to experiment and see what works best.

Ain't that the truth! I had a very similar setup (but with the loveseat pulled off the wall and closer to the set) and it took some convincing to get my wife to let me change it.

However now we have a better soundfield, better "prime" seating, and less wiring running around by moving the tv out of the corner. See if she'll let you at least give it a try- she may find it works out better overall.

[kingofgrills]

Originally Posted by Johk

If you have the choice, I would recommend changing the layout to a more standard rectangular layout... The corner placement is definetely not the best.

If it's not possible, I would only use the big couch and put it off the wall in the same angle as the TV. Then you could setup a 6.1 with the surrounds on both sides of the couch and a rear in the back (or two rears if it's a must for you). Acoustic panels would also be a good idea (in every case)...

In the end, you will have to decide what's more important for you a great HT room with an enveloping soundfield or a normal room with speakers in it and sound coming from places not really representing what is playing on the screen (don't take this the wrong way I'm just trying to help )

+1. You're going to get some bad reinforcement by having the surrounds close together pointing out from the corners. It might end up being distracting more than anything. Any chance you could go with in-ceiling speakers for your rear surrounds. At least that way you can spread them out some, point them down at the viewer, and get some separation that's even in the sound field? Just a thought.

[aramis109]

Or heck, why not just go with a forward-facing 6.1 setup? In this case, 7.1 isn't really gaining anything.