Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions Please Vote for the best surround placement

I am remodeling a room into a HT/MP room. I have created different speaker placement senarios. I am prewiring for QS8's. Please vote which setup will likely provide the best sound. If you have a better placement plan please tell me. This setup is going to be a projector type HT. My wife originally told me she did not mind seeing speakers ahnging from the ceiling but complained about the possibility of a projector hanging all the time. So now I am weighing the best senario for sound, then possibly looks.

Speaker Placement #1


Speaker Placement #2



Speaker Placement #3



Thanks

#1.

+1 on #1.

#1

Is there an option for "speaker placement from #1 but having the entire arrangement 2 feet further from the right wall like #2 and #3" ? If so, that's my choice

My mistake on the first drawing. The seating should be the same on all drawings. 4ft from the right wall. I am asking this question because it might influence me to go with in ceiling type speakers of some sort if #1 is the way. If #2 or #3 is good then it's going to be the QS8's. The room is Home theater challenged due to placement of the big bay window (on the right as you look at the drawing) and the doors located in the back of the room. The door is a big french style door 64"W X 80"H. I had a person tell me before it was better to place my surrounds like #2 or #3. So I thought I would come to the place that is going to build the speakers for advice on placement.
#2 and #3 bother me due to the distance from the seating area. SOme people have stated to allow for my receiver to calibrate for this issue. Anyway, I appreciate the input please continue voting with newly supplied info on seating location.

If you went with scenario 2 or 3, I'd opt for direct firing speakers on the rear channels due to the void between the back wall and seating position.

You park a car and a motor cycle in you livinroom?

Oh, um, #1 with the side surrounds moved back a little.

I like the placement of #1 if QS8s are used at least for the sides. I am not sure of the results you'll get with in-ceiling.
On #2, it looks like the sides surround are a bit too far back but might still work well. I agree with Adrian in using direct firing for the rears. It might work better given the fairly big distance.
#3 seems to be the worst IMO. The rears are far back and the sides are in front of the seating position, in between you and the mains.

Well because this is a projector setup, I am following the suggested ideal seating to the screen. I have come to determine that this is going to be a range 13'-15'. So the rear surrounds were going to be placed at 17'. Would it be better to place them at 19'.
So it sound like the unanimous choice is number 1. Now I guess I have a choice to make. In ceiling or QS8's. HMMMMM HMMMMM decisions decisions.

I think the rears will be best placed at least 4ft behind the seating position so 19ft is my choice. I think that no in-ceiling in the world will give you the same envelopment as the QS8s, not even close, but if aesthetic is the wife's main concern...

I like the rear channels on the back wall, direct radiating not QS's, this way you can have more sound/music behind the couch when using that space. You just need to use 7 channel stereo for the best sound back there. And yes, your avr should be able to adjust for that distance to the seating area for proper effect at the couch.

Bill, aside from the ceiling mount question, the #1 arrangement is closest to the ideal. The side surrounds in a 7.1 setup should be directly to the side of the listening position. The back surrounds should be separated enough to give listeners both a left back and right back effect. They certainly should be farther back than you propose, however, as Bruno points out, for a rear sound field to form, even on the back wall if necessary.

The use of the QS8s for at least the side surrounds is strongly suggested, with the right one on the wall about 6-7' up and the left one suspended from the ceiling.

For me, it's not even close. #1 all the way but I cannot stress enough you MUST get QS surrounds. They are simply amazing, and the less space and less ideal placement/setup you have the more advantage the QS' will have over bookshelf speakers. Next choice #3 and last choice #2.

Another vote for QS8s, at least for side surrounds, in the #1 position of course. Seems like direct speakers in the rear surround position would be OK if they were mounted on the back wall in the #2 or #3 position, although I don't have any experience with 7.1 yet so am mostly aggregating comments from others. I have a pair of M2s I plan to use for rear surrounds, also at a fair distance back from the seating area.

Seems to me that there has been altogether too little discussion about the car and motorcycle in the back of the room. This needs to be addressed ASAP.

The back of the room is a workout area. This actually was a garage that is being turned into living space.

Well the room change and I was wondering what peoples thoughts are to the different surround locations as compared to the new seating locations. People sit 13' from the screen. The L/R side surround would be located 5' behind and to the left and right. The L/R rear surrounds would be approximately 12.5' from the listeners.

I like the new layout. Wondering if it would be possible to move the side surrounds a bit further forward ?

You seem to have enough distance from viewer to rear surrounds that conventional speakers (eg M2s) could be used if you want.

Those side surrounds are what I have been battling. From that right side surround speaker to seating position is one biggggg bay window. SO I have been having a bear of a time for surround speaker placement. So in your opinion 12.5 ft from the viewers is not to far away?? So if I stuck with this setup and switched to direct firing speakers in the rear and then QS8's for the sides would this help to make up for the placement issues that I am having to deal with??

Thanks for the response I do greatly appreciate the help

Bill, the back surround position looks good. The side surrounds should be placed directly to the side of the listening position, rather than farther back, since the back surrounds take care of the rear sound field and don't need any help doing that from the side surrounds. The sides should therefore be placed in the best position to reproduce the side channel effects.

Ok so it looks like I will position my rear speakers where they are in the drawing. Is it best to go with direct firing pr QS8's. In order to correctly place the side surrounds I will need to get good quality inceiling speakers. I know what people are going to say "No inceilings" but this is a WAF on speakers hanging from the ceiling. SO any suggestions for the side surround inceilings? I was looking at the Speakercraft wide one.

Thanks for the info.

I would get QS8s and leave them that far behind rather than go in ceiling. I would even consider direct radiating over QS8 with them being that far back/to the side.

QS8s "too far back" on the wall would still be much better side surrounds than anything in the ceiling.

Based on the discussion since you posted the new diagram, I think that diagram is the way to go (QS8s on the side wall mounted a bit further back than ideal, direct speakers on the back wall). It's what I would go with, anyways.

i have QS8v3's for side surrounds (yes, directly at the sides) and M2v3's for surround backs and they all work and sound incredible, especially the QS8v3's they create the biggest surround field of any speaker i have ever used for surrounds, EVER!