Opinions on elevated speakers?

[Crème Blu-ray]

I'm considering wall-mounting my surround speakers just below the ceiling. My seating position would be about 8 feet from the side surrounds and 12 feet from the rears. I could probably do an ear-level installation except that I'd have to move a bookcase to make space for my right side speaker and it wouldn't be asthetically pleasing.

Any opinions or recommendations on elevated vs. ear level?

[rogman]

Originally Posted by Crème Blu-ray

I'm considering wall-mounting my surround speakers just below the ceiling. My seating position would be about 8 feet from the side surrounds and 12 feet from the rears. I could probably do an ear-level installation except that I'd have to move a bookcase to make space for my right side speaker and it wouldn't be asthetically pleasing.

Any opinions or recommendations on elevated vs. ear level?

I have wall-mounted bipole/dipole surrounds (Aperion 534SS) and they've worked out great! I have them about a foot or so from the ceiling, probably 2-3 feet above ear level. (They're about ear level if you're standing behind the couch.) I put them at that height for aesthetic reasons- to line up with the wall sconces. It's often recommended to mount them above ear level for a more diffuse sound field, and thus a more realistic surround effect. Since it looks like you're doing a 7.1 system, you should also make sure all surrounds are at the same height.

Below are a couple of shots of how they look on the wall. You may also find a few more at my home theater gallery. Hope this helps!

[MacDaddyOJack]

There are plenty of people who will call you crazy for having your rear speakers up in the air, but I actually prefer it that way. I used to have my rears on speaker stands at ear level but I didnt like it. I almost always watch movies with my girlfriend and lots of times a few others. When there are people sitting next to you and the rears are at ear level, the sound coming from them gets blocked. If you ever have people on the couch next to you then mount them up high. I really have not noticed any drastic differences with them up in the air.

[jsteinhauer]

As you know, most of us can't design a room from the ground up for a home theater and must make use of the space we have and install hardware appropriate for the space. My side surrounds are well above ear level, so passersby can't run into them while walking. My rears are near the ceiling, because there is nowhere else to mount them, and I had to create an artificial partial wall (essentially a ceiling beam) just for that purpose. I did the best I could. I also have to live with the fact that every room in my home has nearly one entire wall of windows, and I have off-peak space heaters that dictate the positioning of furnishings.

[Beta Man]

Get directional tweeter speakers if possible.

[ArkGuy]

Speaking of having to live with the demensions you have, will the earth spin out of control if the two surrounds are the same height but different distances off the center axis? In other words, using the display and the center channel as a reference point near the east wall, one (side) surround would be about 7 feet (south) off that line but the simpliest place for the other (north) speaker would be about 11 feet off the center line.

Is there a way for the receiver (705) to compensate for that?

[gearyt]

yep the 705 will "delay" to make up for the difference in distance

[rogman]

Originally Posted by ArkGuy

Speaking of having to live with the demensions you have, will the earth spin out of control if the two surrounds are the same height but different distances off the center axis? In other words, using the display and the center channel as a reference point near the east wall, one (side) surround would be about 7 feet (south) off that line but the simpliest place for the other (north) speaker would be about 11 feet off the center line.

Is there a way for the receiver (705) to compensate for that?

Any of the more recent receivers (with auto-calibration) will compensate for both the distance difference and also the frequency response differences between the two speakers. Even a budget receiver should let you measure the distance and enter it manually. This would keep the sound arriving at your ears at the proper time. The budget models may not have any auto-calibration to allow you to keep a proper EQ between the two speakers.