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Height Speaker Placement
#354151 09/06/11 03:09 PM
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I'm looking for suggestions on placement. In the few diagrams I have seen it appears the (height speakers) should be directly above the front speakers. I'm wondering if they would sound better moving them out a few feet on either side. It would seem to me that my M80's whould overpower the height speakers if I place them directly above. I have 5'5" of wall directly above the tops of my front speakers and a lot of room to move them out if needed. Also wondering is anyone here has tried them and if they make much difference. I have EP800, M80's, VP150, and 4QS8's.
Thanks!


Samsung 65" 3D LCD TV, Samsung 3D Blu-Ray Disc Player, Denon AVR 3311CI, EP800, M80's, VP150, 4QS8's
Re: Height Speaker Placement
da-drifter #354162 09/06/11 11:20 PM
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I was also wondering about this and if M22's would be a good choice for heights'.

I have M80's, VP150, and QS8's and two Paradigm subs in a 7.2 configuration now and would like to try 9.2

Thanks

Re: Height Speaker Placement
SBrown #354167 09/07/11 12:54 AM
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M22s are overkill for height speakers if you want to go with a direct radiating speaker the M2 is fine. IMO the QS8 works better as a height speaker since it’s designed to better produce ambient sounds which is all that’s coming out of the height channels.

As for placement take a look at this suggest placement by audyssey:

http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com/image-files/audyssey-dsx-7.1.gif

They suggest placing the height speakers farther out than the mains. I found that this also worked best in my room.


3M80 2M22 6QS8 2M2 1EP500 Sony BDP-S590 Panny-7000 Onkyo-3007 Carada-134 Xbox Buttkicker AS-EQ1
Re: Height Speaker Placement
grunt #354178 09/07/11 05:52 AM
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Originally Posted By: grunt
M22s are overkill for height speakers if you want to go with a direct radiating speaker the M2 is fine. IMO the QS8 works better as a height speaker since it’s designed to better produce ambient sounds which is all that’s coming out of the height channels.

As for placement take a look at this suggest placement by audyssey:

http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com/image-files/audyssey-dsx-7.1.gif

They suggest placing the height speakers farther out than the mains. I found that this also worked best in my room.


Thanks Grunt, would you give some us some more details like what speakers you're using and how effective the height channel is? Does the height channel add to movies as much as regular surround channels or is there little difference?



Last edited by da-drifter; 09/07/11 06:00 AM.

Samsung 65" 3D LCD TV, Samsung 3D Blu-Ray Disc Player, Denon AVR 3311CI, EP800, M80's, VP150, 4QS8's
Re: Height Speaker Placement
da-drifter #354185 09/07/11 02:09 PM
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I have speakers set up for 11.2 however my receiver only supports 9.2 at one time so I must choose between height and wide. I’ve tried M22, M2 and QS8s as both height and wide speakers and found that in my room the M2s were indistinguishable from the M22s in both the height and wide positions. The QS8s were superior to the M2 and M22s in the height position though I’m not sure the additional cost is worth the improved dispersion for most people (I had the money so I went for it). OTOH the QS8s were inferior to both the M22s and M2s in the wide position. So in summary the QS8 was the best in the height position while the M2 was the best in the wide position (matched w/M80 mains). However, I’m not sure I would recommend paying extra for the QS8s as height speakers rather than the M2s unless money was no object.

No, the height speaker doesn’t even come close to adding as much as the side surround channels. How much it adds in comparison to surround back or wide channels is IMO very room/seating dependent. When I have my main speakers spread out to 45 degrees or a little more I find that the height channel adds more than the wide, however, if my mains are kept up front under my screen then the wide speakers add much more than the height channels.

In comparison to the surround back speakers again it depends on placement. If you can place your side surrounds such that they create a solid phantom rear soundstage then the height speakers add more than the rears. However, if placement issues preclude this then surround back speakers will add more than height speakers.

One place where height speakers do help out is when you have a very large screen. The height speakers can make the front soundstage sound fuller like a wall of sound rather than localized below the screen if that’s were your speakers are.

Note that the only sounds coming from the height channels are ambient one. They only come into play with music, rain, wind, echoes and other ambient sounds so often there is actually nothing much coming out of them. OTOH wide speakers are almost always playing something and if placement issues require a narrow placement of your mains then wide speakers add quite a bit by expanding the front soundstage so it wraps further around your seating.


3M80 2M22 6QS8 2M2 1EP500 Sony BDP-S590 Panny-7000 Onkyo-3007 Carada-134 Xbox Buttkicker AS-EQ1
Re: Height Speaker Placement
grunt #354194 09/07/11 05:46 PM
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Thanks again Grunt, to the point and well written. One last thing, do you think the (wide speakers) would work well close to the cieling, I have no room left on the floor at a 60% angle to my listening position.
DD


Last edited by da-drifter; 09/07/11 05:51 PM.

Samsung 65" 3D LCD TV, Samsung 3D Blu-Ray Disc Player, Denon AVR 3311CI, EP800, M80's, VP150, 4QS8's
Re: Height Speaker Placement
grunt #354196 09/07/11 06:29 PM
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Originally Posted By: grunt
So in summary the QS8 was the best in the height position while the M2 was the best in the wide position (matched w/M80 mains). However, I’m not sure I would recommend paying extra for the QS8s as height speakers rather than the M2s unless money was no object.


Maybe QS4's would be a little bit better. The price is right in between the M2's and the QS8's, yet the QS'4 will have the same dispersion of sound and the QS8's. The slight loss of low frequency extension should make just about no difference in the application, from what Grunt was saying.

Re: Height Speaker Placement
Nick B #354259 09/08/11 04:06 AM
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Quote:

One last thing, do you think the (wide speakers) would work well close to the cieling, I have no room left on the floor at a 60% angle to my listening position.

Although I never tried them higher up I’d have to say that wide speakers wouldn’t work well if the drivers aren’t fairly close to the same level as the mains. Most of the sounds I hear coming from the wide speakers are very directional sounds. Things like footsteps, cars driving, doors opening/closing and voices. There are some ambient sounds but not ambient like rain or echoes. Things more like office, crowed, bar and street noise. Also a lot of the directional sounds are things that pan from off stage to on stage or on stage to off stage so if there was a significant difference in height between the mains and wides it would be very obvious during the pans.

Note that the angle doesn’t have to be exactly 60 degrees, IMO there is a lot of wiggle room in wide speaker placement. Also if you used M2s like I am, and don’t have any floor space a simple shelf or wall bracket would hold them nicely.

Nickboros suggestion to use QS4s as height speakers is a good one. They are certainly less expensive than QS8s and would probably not sound any different in that role. I only got the QS8s to use as height speakers because I knew in my narrow room I would need to mount them on the side walls rather than the front and figured that would be easier than mounting a directional speaker so it pointed at the listening area. Plus if I decided to re-task them later to use as double surround speakers they would timber match my other QS8s.


3M80 2M22 6QS8 2M2 1EP500 Sony BDP-S590 Panny-7000 Onkyo-3007 Carada-134 Xbox Buttkicker AS-EQ1

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