Help/advice needed for speaker placement

marcaaron22

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Hi all, I have just moved into a flat, been in since last October, I have just recently hooked up my TV and surround sound system, I am wanting some advice and guidance on positioning my speakers,
Also, struggling on where best to have the centre speaker, as I’ve read that the tweeters need to be aimed at ear level..
Please see attached photos of room and where I currently have placed the speakers.
Thanks
 

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That is a very difficult room to cram a 7.1 system into, especially with those rear surrounds right against your ears. Can't see any sub there or in your photographs so my thoughts would involve you getting a sub.

Personally I would revert to a 5.1 and dispense with the rear surrounds. Controversially, perhaps, I would also put the floorstanders into storage and use those rear surrounds as fronts as the floorstanders are pushed too far back against the wall. As for the centre it should be higher but it's a compromise where you have it, perhaps left the TV a little so that it is not blocking the screen.

The other solution, allowing you to keep both floorstanders and a 7.1 would be to put the TV in front of the window, far enough away from the radiator for safety sake. Still pretty crammed but the audio would sound a lot better firing down the room that across such a narrow area.
 
That is a very difficult room to cram a 7.1 system into, especially with those rear surrounds right against your ears. Can't see any sub there or in your photographs so my thoughts would involve you getting a sub.

Personally I would revert to a 5.1 and dispense with the rear surrounds. Controversially, perhaps, I would also put the floorstanders into storage and use those rear surrounds as fronts as the floorstanders are pushed too far back against the wall. As for the centre it should be higher but it's a compromise where you have it, perhaps left the TV a little so that it is not blocking the screen.

The other solution, allowing you to keep both floorstanders and a 7.1 would be to put the TV in front of the window, far enough away from the radiator for safety sake. Still pretty crammed but the audio would sound a lot better firing down the room that across such a narrow area.
The sub is in the far corner to the left of the cupboard door in the 1st photo, got a printer sat on top of it..

Really, I am wanting to keep it as 7.1, but having the tv near the window is simply not possible as I would obviously need to turn the sofa, but the sofa is too big
 
I think I would also drop the system down to a 5.1. In many circumstances, less is more. If you wish to use all the speakers, you maybe able to use a pair of the surrounds as front heights (but I feel that will be still to much in that room)

So, I'd say simplify the system by dropping it down to a 5.1 (remove the speakers from behind the settee). With the woofer, I would try it in a few locations to see where it sounds best for the seating as the throw is very narrow even though the room is long

With the other speakers, if your amp has the ability together with app control, why not place them in another room and boom you've got two system without spending any more money :thumbsup:
 
The stands that I have the surrounds and rear speakers on are adjustable, so they can go higher, also, I’ve seen that you can get bases to angle the speakers up or down, would they help? Also, can move the surrounds closer or wherever if needed
 
I would say, drop it to a 5.1 first and see what it sounds like afterwards. remember before making your decision do remember that the subwoofer ideally wants to be moved so have a play (one way is to move the woofer to where you sit, but with that settee and no real place to put it could be very challenging).
 
I would say, drop it to a 5.1 first and see what it sounds like afterwards. remember before making your decision do remember that the subwoofer ideally wants to be moved so have a play (one way is to move the woofer to where you sit, but with that settee and no real place to put it could be very challenging).
Am I able to disable the 2 rears in the AV receiver settings and just shift them out of the way, then bring the 2 surrounds closer, find a good spot for the sub, then see what it sounds like? Then once got it all sounding right, then to try re-adding the rears? And I should know by then if the rears are too much?

Also, as for the centre speaker, what can I use to tilt it to the listening position if I put it on the floor?
If I were to put it above the tv tilted down, is there some sort of stand/bracket to go behind the tv that I can sit the speaker on?

Thanks
 
If you go into the speaker settings, you should be able to switch them off. The only issue is you will need to run the room eq and when it tests them, it may (and I’d expect it to) switch them back on. So the only way to be sure is to unplug them from the back of the amp once it’s powered down

As for the centre, having it above the TV will do the opposite of having it below the TV, so I’d say you have the best compromise where it is at the moment

You can try some rubber feet at the front, but if it’s to sharp an angle, that will be just as bad as not having one. (For me, I’d leave that unless you are loosing dialogue)
 
Ok, moved the sub to just beside the sofa to the right of me, went down to 5.1,
Only thing is, it doesn’t seem as immersive as I would like
 
Have you re-run the room eq to see what happen's.

The difficult thing when you drop down is it can sometimes decrease your expectations, however within a day or two, you should hear the benefits which should be less confusion with one speaker trying to over power another

One thing I will add is that after a couple of days, if you do not get on with the downgrade in speakers, then put them back. It's your room and regardless of what me or anyone says, its your enjoyment that matters and only your ears can truly answer that question of the placement of your speakers.

The rear rear speakers behind the settee are still in the wrong place and if you do revert back to a 7.1 then place them at the edges in place of the middle as this is the right location

One other option as the room is not ideal, I would say looking at a bi/di/tri-pole speaker in similar to these Bronze FX speakers. This would enable you to create a similar sound with less speakers due to the way they work. You will be able to mount them on the rear wall just above head height for the best results
 
A question, how will I know if the sound is right or near enough to what I should be hearing?
Are there any movies or discs which are good for judging the sound? On Blu Ray or 4K?
 
Hi - how do you find the rear speakers fixed so close to the sofa I am in a similar position my sofa is also tight against the back wall and was thinking of MA Bronze FX speakers as suggested above but was scared they would be too close to me and be too loud or too noticeable for the effects My room is approx. 11' x 11' TIA
 
Hi - how do you find the rear speakers fixed so close to the sofa I am in a similar position my sofa is also tight against the back wall and was thinking of MA Bronze FX speakers as suggested above but was scared they would be too close to me and be too loud or too noticeable for the effects My room is approx. 11' x 11' TIA
I don’t know what I should/should not be hearing, what is right and what is wrong, I have just come to the fact that it’s what sounds good or what I think sounds good..
I could have my setup completely wrong, I am just not sure..

Just to add, I have moved the surround speakers to either side of the sofa at the back, angled toward my seating position and kept the rears at the back, just moved them closer together.
 
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Moved the surround and rears so that they are like this..
 

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That is... intense.
How does it sound? I'd love to know what your AVR sets the levels to.
 
This is the actual shape of the room,
 

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Here are the room measurements, as you can clearly see, I am not good at measuring..
 

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Rear surrounds need a metre to work. Can't see that they add anything when everything is that close to you. Sometimes less is more and you need to work with the space you have.
 
Rear surrounds need a metre to work. Can't see that they add anything when everything is that close to you. Sometimes less is more and you need to work with the space you have.
When I’ve got the surround on and I’m sat watching a movie, I spread out the surrounds and it seems to do the trick
 
Right, this evening/night I’ve tried a couple of movies first in 7.1 and then in 5.1, and I definitely prefer the 7.1 over the 5.1,
 
Would a simple basic Atmos setup be possible, even if the benefit is only slight?
 
As an alternative to 7.1, so 5.1.2?
I think that would be better than having those speakers quite so close to you.
 
Which "rear" speakers should be kept as I said I was thinking of mounting mine on the rear wall directly behind the sofa as shown in the OP's photos as the MA FX's are reduced now
 
Neither, really. In a 5.1 set-up the speakers are mid-way between where the rears and sides are in a 7.1 set-up.

 

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