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5.1 newbie - rear speaker position questions

Hi,

I have always been a 2-channel audio purist. Well, not anymore. I am going to morph my old two channel equipment with newer surround equipment and even listen to my records and CDs with rear recovery and a center channel. I am really having a hard time figuring out where to mount my rear channels. I know that ear level straight across from one another going right through my ears would be close to ideal, but I can't approximate that at all. The best that I seem to be able to have is the rear speakers mounted just under my 8-foot ceilings (kind of high). I think that I can fudge around to at least keep them roughly equidistant from my listening position. Will this be any good? Or, is this what pretty much everyone that can't afford an in-home theatre has to deal with? Are the results worth the effort and expense, seeing that the setup is sub-optimal (at least theoretically) ?

Thanks,
B
brjoon1021
chadnliz
3,736 posts
 
I wouldnt mount them low, you want the sound diffuse so higher is better, this is for mostly ambient depth.
pdn
438 posts
 
Brjoon1021:

According to the experts, the 2 surround sound or rear satellite speakers should be located directly to the sides of the listener at the walls (listener sitting in the middle of the room of course) or slightly behind the listener and 2' above the listener's head when seated. I would not mount them just slightly below your 8' ceiling. That could wash them out and you would not have true surround sound audio. I too was a 2 channel hobbiest for over 30 years but now I love having the music all around me in a 5.1 configuration. Have you selected an A-V receiver yet? If so, which one did you go with? Just curious.
pzuckerman
23 posts
 
When Sony and Phillips developed SACD, they included a small pamphlet with their discs which recommended that main speakers be located 30 degrees each from the forward position of the listener, the center channel straight ahead, and the rear channels 110 degrees from center, with each speaker equidistant from the listner; i.e., on the circumference of a circle, with the listener at the center of the circle. All speakers are recommended to be a ear level. I prefer my rear speakers elevated, however, finding this improves the surround soundstage.
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