Could I get away with rears instead of side surrounds for 5.1?

John24ssj

Prominent Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2013
Messages
1,107
Reaction score
748
Points
371
Location
South Wales
So,

I got a friend who after watching a movie over my house wants a 5.1 system as well.
His budget is not great, but so far he was able to procure a Denon 1700H and Q Acoustics 3020 and 3090C for the L C R.

The only pain point that I see for him is the surround speakers as I don't think having side surrounds will be possible, due to room layout and furniture.
What I was thinking instead is putting a Monitor Audio di-pole/bi-pole speakers on the rear wall:
Idea.png


He's not too concerned with the perfect timbre matching with the LCR just having something that is adequate enough for the surrounds.

What do you guys think?
 
Yeah, that's the sort of accepted use-case for those speakers. You still wire them up as "side surrounds" but place them like you've shown.
 
Thanks :) Also in di-pole or bi-pole mode?
 
So,

I got a friend who after watching a movie over my house wants a 5.1 system as well.
His budget is not great, but so far he was able to procure a Denon 1700H and Q Acoustics 3020 and 3090C for the L C R.

The only pain point that I see for him is the surround speakers as I don't think having side surrounds will be possible, due to room layout and furniture.
What I was thinking instead is putting a Monitor Audio di-pole/bi-pole speakers on the rear wall:
View attachment 1805486

He's not too concerned with the perfect timbre matching with the LCR just having something that is adequate enough for the surrounds.

What do you guys think?
Nice to hear he went with the Denon in the end as it was clearly the best bang for buck unit! Although the prices are horrible atm. 😢

Bipole mode usually when mounted to rear walls, but just like AVF editor he didn`t follow the "recommendations" and went what sounded best to him.

MA recommends to have the FX speakers 1 feet out from corner minium (2feet optimal), in the picture it´s right against corner so not ideal, but nothing he can do about that really unless perhaps mounting the one speaker on top of left door and the other same height at the other side door, but he would need to move the couch forward then plus it wouldn´t look as "balanced" i guess.

If he goes forward with the current plan he should mount the speakers higher as they are so close to listeners and especially if he doesn´t go for atmos! MA recommends to mount them 2feet higher from ear level for 5.1/7.1 system!

SVS gives the same recommendation for their bipoles on 5.1/7.1:
"For the best sense of spaciousness, the tweeter height should be about 2 feet above ear level."

img_2646-jpg.852552
 
My parents also have the MA FX surrounds and I placed them 50cm above ear level and it does give a great effect :D

This is why I though of suggesting to him MA FX speakers instead of QA 3010 as their placement would have been real difficult
 
The FX surrounds are very good.

As you say, in a typical UK living room, mounting them at ear-height whilst standing is a smart move. Even in Atmos systems, I've found this allows for a decent amount of space between the bed layer and the height layer.
 
Just hijacking this thread, i have a similar setup issue and was thinking of going the SFX bi pole route but wondered would the flat kef t101 or 103 sound better? Albeit they are monopole
 
Just hijacking this thread, i have a similar setup issue and was thinking of going the SFX bi pole route but wondered would the flat kef t101 or 103 sound better? Albeit they are monopole
@Ali Raza just bought Kef Q150 to upgrade T301 and they sounded lot better which wasn´t suprising. Clearly you aren´t considering the Qs due to size i assume, but in similar fashion the Bronze/Silver FX would give you better sound quality over lifestyle speakers (T-serie) and if you prefer more diffused sound field for the effects over more directional then it should be fairly easy choice with the FXs. As mentioned when listeners are close to surround speakers then the FX type can be more ideal and many still prefers them even if the speakers are further away due to the "bubble" they create. If you look back my post ideally you would mount them on side/rear walls so that they aren´t too close to corner (1feet away min).
 
Just hijacking this thread, i have a similar setup issue and was thinking of going the SFX bi pole route but wondered would the flat kef t101 or 103 sound better? Albeit they are monopole
I didn't like the T-series speakers that much when I had them.

That said, I was using the T101s; and was using them for LCR as well; backed up by the matching sub. I'm sure they'd fare better as surrounds and being backed by a decent sub.
 
@Ali Raza just bought Kef Q150 to upgrade T301 and they sounded lot better which wasn´t suprising. Clearly you aren´t considering the Qs due to size i assume, but in similar fashion the Bronze/Silver FX would give you better sound quality over lifestyle speakers (T-serie) and if you prefer more diffused sound field for the effects over more directional then it should be fairly easy choice with the FXs. As mentioned when listeners are close to surround speakers then the FX type can be more ideal and many still prefers them even if the speakers are further away due to the "bubble" they create. If you look back my post ideally you would mount them on side/rear walls so that they aren´t too close to corner (1feet away min).
thanks for you reply, im thinking along the same lines as you regarding going FX.

I have screengrabbed part of my layout below, so the blue boxes are scaled to size MA Sillver FX's 30cm from the right wall and 30cm from edge of wall/door frame to left

Do you think i should bring them in slightly closer to get closer to the recommended 2 feet?

The pink dots are the 2 viewers head location -- red line is centre of screen (Yes i will be the left guy :)

Capture.JPG


EDIT : The sofa will be a little more forward so the speakers wont be overhanging like it looks in that image (its a recliner)
 
Last edited:
thanks for you reply, im thinking along the same lines as you regarding going FX.

I have screengrabbed part of my layout below, so the blue boxes are scaled to size MA Sillver FX's 30cm from the right wall and 30cm from edge of wall/door frame to left

Do you think i should bring them in slightly closer to get closer to the recommended 2 feet?

The pink dots are the 2 viewers head location -- red line is centre of screen (Yes i will be the left guy :)

View attachment 1805797

EDIT : The sofa will be a little more forward so the speakers wont be overhanging like it looks in that image (its a recliner)

I don´t think i would as the 1feet has worked fine for most owners, unless you feel they look better being closer as this is probably living room and not a man cave. The part where the tweeters are is angled so really it shouldn´t be issue.

I tried to find some ex-demo/display FX pairs, but only on white from forum advertiser. 1 year warranty and 200£ saving.
 
Nice to hear he went with the Denon in the end as it was clearly the best bang for buck unit! Although the prices are horrible atm. 😢

Bipole mode usually when mounted to rear walls, but just like AVF editor he didn`t follow the "recommendations" and went what sounded best to him.

MA recommends to have the FX speakers 1 feet out from corner minium (2feet optimal), in the picture it´s right against corner so not ideal, but nothing he can do about that really unless perhaps mounting the one speaker on top of left door and the other same height at the other side door, but he would need to move the couch forward then plus it wouldn´t look as "balanced" i guess.

If he goes forward with the current plan he should mount the speakers higher as they are so close to listeners and especially if he doesn´t go for atmos! MA recommends to mount them 2feet higher from ear level for 5.1/7.1 system!

SVS gives the same recommendation for their bipoles on 5.1/7.1:
"For the best sense of spaciousness, the tweeter height should be about 2 feet above ear level."

img_2646-jpg.852552

Those are way too high
 
I have bipoles on side and rear mounted just below the coving and I'm very happy with the sound
 
Nice to hear he went with the Denon in the end as it was clearly the best bang for buck unit! Although the prices are horrible atm. 😢

Bipole mode usually when mounted to rear walls, but just like AVF editor he didn`t follow the "recommendations" and went what sounded best to him.

MA recommends to have the FX speakers 1 feet out from corner minium (2feet optimal), in the picture it´s right against corner so not ideal, but nothing he can do about that really unless perhaps mounting the one speaker on top of left door and the other same height at the other side door, but he would need to move the couch forward then plus it wouldn´t look as "balanced" i guess.

If he goes forward with the current plan he should mount the speakers higher as they are so close to listeners and especially if he doesn´t go for atmos! MA recommends to mount them 2feet higher from ear level for 5.1/7.1 system!

SVS gives the same recommendation for their bipoles on 5.1/7.1:
"For the best sense of spaciousness, the tweeter height should be about 2 feet above ear level."

img_2646-jpg.852552


that looks more like atmos or auro3D height channel placement

no way can the tweeter sound detailed that far away.must have some crazy vertical reflectivity/sound stage if so.
 
So,

I got a friend who after watching a movie over my house wants a 5.1 system as well.
His budget is not great, but so far he was able to procure a Denon 1700H and Q Acoustics 3020 and 3090C for the L C R.

The only pain point that I see for him is the surround speakers as I don't think having side surrounds will be possible, due to room layout and furniture.
What I was thinking instead is putting a Monitor Audio di-pole/bi-pole speakers on the rear wall:
View attachment 1805486

He's not too concerned with the perfect timbre matching with the LCR just having something that is adequate enough for the surrounds.

What do you guys think?


this will be fine. bit close to your head so use tripole mode for some dispersion. also a bit closer together so the sound stage will be a bit close.
 
that looks more like atmos or auro3D height channel placement

no way can the tweeter sound detailed that far away.must have some crazy vertical reflectivity/sound stage if so.

Yep looks bit too high, but was only picture i could find from member who has actually put them higher as mostly they are on seated ear level due to people having atmos systems. The comment about @BlairH made should be quite spot on. However in typical living Mrs. has a say how things are done so probably have to consider the "how it looks" part aswell.
 
I am also looking at mounting a pair of Silver FX soon in a 5.1 setup with MLP about 4' from rear wall. MA recommended 2' above ear height, is that 2' to the bottom of the speaker or to it's mounting brackets? I was thinking of mounting so eyes are level with the centre of the speaker while standing.
 
I am also looking at mounting a pair of Silver FX soon in a 5.1 setup with MLP about 4' from rear wall. MA recommended 2' above ear height, is that 2' to the bottom of the speaker or to it's mounting brackets? I was thinking of mounting so eyes are level with the centre of the speaker while standing.
2ft to the bottom of the speaker. As I implement an Atmos setup, I've actually mounted mine a little lower. They'rejust above head height when seated. (as I wanted to get enough seperation between the bed layer & height speakers).

If you're sticking with 5.1 (eg non atmos). They can go a little higher. Since you have 2 chests under where they'll be mounted, I'd use some books etc to temporarily place the FX's on. That way you can trial different heights before fixing them permanently to the wall.
 
2ft to the bottom of the speaker. As I implement an Atmos setup, I've actually mounted mine a little lower. They'rejust above head height when seated. (as I wanted to get enough seperation between the bed layer & height speakers).

If you're sticking with 5.1 (eg non atmos). They can go a little higher. Since you have 2 chests under where they'll be mounted, I'd use some books etc to temporarily place the FX's on. That way you can trial different heights before fixing them permanently to the wall.
Thanks for clarifying, I was starting to overthink it. Good idea trialing different heights, seeing your setup has me thinking about Atmos. If I was to fit overheads they would need to be high up on the wall. My AVR has two spare channels and I have two spare pairs of cables at the back of the room from an old 7.1 setup. A pair of FX bought in the classifieds will arrive in the next few days. The left surround will be the closest to me, if 5.1 sounds suitably immersive without the LS being distracting I'll shop around for height speakers.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom