Question In Ceiling speaker placement advice

michaelgordon

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After advice on here thanks @Gasp3621 i finally decided to get in ceiling speakers, i bought the fisual IC80. Im now wondering on placement and cant really find out where to put them.

I have seen the Dolby recommended positions at 45 degrees but i dont have enough room behind me to do that. I was sitting right against the back window wall but have moved the couch forward as much as possible and have 2ft to play with. I am also reusing my height speakers, minx min 21s as rears in what will be 7.1.4.

My room is 13ft x 13ft x 8.5ft. Ive seen for best placement that the speakers should be 2m apart but that will be difficult. I have one mail listening position direct infront of TV abount 3m away. The Front left & rights are 1.3m apart. Would i be best putting the front ceiling at the 45 degree angle in line with the front L&R which would put them about 2ft in front of the fronts and the rears would then be about 2m away again in line with the fronts?

Or and this is how it looks from the dolby picture, put the rears i line with the fronts as far behind as i can, allowing for joists and then the front ceiling about 1.5 m from the rear which will then be about 1.5 from the fronts and about the middle of the ceiling?

If they need to be 2m apart in a square, i could do that but to centre them in line with the MLP id need to put the left side in alcoves, would this make a difference?
 
I've altered the basic's for a 7.1.4 Dolby setup to give you two options as an illustration. Neither are ideal, yet both will give you a compromised Atmos solution which should work better than if you was to use a wall mounted option.

7-1-4-not-ideal.jpg


If you have no room at the rear, you could use this option. I have not included any angles as it is an illustration.

7-1-4-not-ideal-v2.jpg


As I've mentioned neither of these options are perfect for Dolby Atmos and I feel all the speakers are a little close to each other (especially on the bottom illustration, but as you already have the speakers, one of these two options will work as a compromise
 
cheers Shane. I have about 2 foot behind the couch for the rears so more like the first image. I have MA FX speakers on the side walls either side of sofa but thinking about getting the oberon on wall for teh sides and moving the FXs to the rear in dipole mode. The rear ceiling would be as close to the back wall as i could get so the would be behind me and then looking at those images the front ceiling about halfway between fronts and mlp.
 
Here is my room layout at the moment.
 

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I'd most likely say that using this diagram would be better suited if thats the case.

If you have di-poles and a set of traditional, I'd add the di-poles to the rear so that they can spread the sound whilst keeping the atom somewhere in line with them towards the rear of the room. This way, it shouldn't remove everything they produce.

7-1-4-not-ideal-v3.jpg
 
Bit of a nightmare room for so many speakers to be truthful

Please can you list the speakers you have so I can better get my head round the room to better help you with your setup
 
it is a bit of a pain with the chinmey and the 'porch'. I have the Dali Oberon 5 & Vokal centre. MA FXs but im looking to get a dali either on wall or spektor 1 and use those as sides and put the FX as rears.
 
More likely to be the spektor 1s as sides looking at the prices of the oberon on walls
 
Bit of a nightmare room for so many speakers to be truthful
Have to agree with that Shane. If that were my room, mine is actually bigger, I would concentrate on getting 5.1.2 right.
 
@gibbsy Really, 5.1.2? I like how the 5.1 sounds with the current setup, i generally get the surround sound, i just want to get the Atmos sensation.

I was orignally going to do 5.1.4 but realised i could use the minx speakers but they are not that good so was going to get some Spektor 1.

What would you say was right if i go to 5.1.2?

Due to the door & chimney, the front left & right cant go any wider and the coach is as far fporward as it can go, id be sitting the FX on the window sill on stands at ear height if i get the spektor, if i dont they will stay where they are on the side walls.

I just thought having the extra heaights at the rear would give a better sound immersion that two just in front of MLP would.
 
it is a bit of a pain with the chinmey and the 'porch'. I have the Dali Oberon 5 & Vokal centre. MA FXs but im looking to get a dali either on wall or spektor 1 and use those as sides and put the FX as rears.

No that is not advised FX being surround backs! Surround sides (bipole mode) and monopoles (Minx) as surround backs. You can easily try them if you have extra wire without mounting. It`s never ideal to have speakers so close, personally i wouldn`t go for that but you don´t lose anything trying. The Minx has wide dispersion at least. If they don´t work then Spektors won`t either. It´s usually about meter recommended the distance from listener to surround backs.

As for the ceiling speakers you would install them like Rich in the other thread, although if you move couch forward then the better as you can get the 2nd pair slightly behind you and another pair in front bit further away. You had decent height ceiling 8,5feet if i remember that correct. That is great for the overhead channels!
 
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Cheers everyone. Think i just need to do it. Ive got the cable and the bits to measure and cut. so ill be doing it tomorrow after measuring a lot more, im not convicnced by my night time measurements.

Rear heights in line with Front Left & right and 60cm behind couch. Front ceiling will be 1.4m away from this as its then another 1.4m to the front speakers and is abou9a lot stronger word) t 1m infront of MLP and they will be 1.4m apart so im getting a bit of a rectangle / square between front L&R and both ceiling. It cant sound any worse than the minx as front heights as there was nothing i could really determine that was coming from them.

Ivwe brough the left FX to the front of the alcove and they are already in bi-pole mode anywas. Ill be making some wooden stands and getting a set of Spektor 1 for the rears and take the minx out completely.

I hate things like this, i can never make a decision until i reach stuff it (insert much stronger word but not sure the rules in AVF for this) and just do it. Thats what i did with the TV and the speakers, spent two weeks researching and 45m demoing which did the trick.
 
What a day. So already and set to install the speakers and there isnt a gap big enough between the joists. So plan B i got the altecos and fitted, along with the spektors fro rear back. AVOnline great service. All fitted and audesseyed. Cant seem to get the surround rears to work though. research time
 
What a day. So already and set to install the speakers and there isnt a gap big enough between the joists. So plan B i got the altecos and fitted, along with the spektors fro rear back. AVOnline great service. All fitted and audesseyed. Cant seem to get the surround rears to work though. research time

Did you go with 7.1.4? You need extra 2ch amp in that case if you have X3600H. Last time we spoke i think you mentioned 5.1.4 which is what the receiver can do out of box. Or 7.1.2.
 
Did you go with 7.1.4? You need extra 2ch amp in that case if you have X3600H. Last time we spoke i think you mentioned 5.1.4 which is what the receiver can do out of box. Or 7.1.2.

Yeah i didnt realise that, i thought as it had all the inputs it would be able to do all the channels. Not sure what to go with 7.1.2 or 5.1.4. Hopefully i could return one set of speakers.
 
Tested the first few chapters of Deadpool as ive gotton quite used to them and what i like the sound of and im getting a bit more from the 5.1.4. The 7.1.2 was nice and the rear effects were there but i found i still go most of it anyway and just sounded a bit nicer.

In terms of placement, i have the left in the Alcover as far back at ceiling height and the right on the side wall. Looks like im keeping them so in regards placement would the be better more central say over the side surronds or maybe even a little more forward?

I was going to place on the back wall but the left would fire direct into chimney alcove and the right would be in line with the front firing out into the room but not at the MLP or i could use them as upfiring on the stands the spektors are currently on?
 
Pic of the room as it currently is.
 

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what it could look like if i put on wall in line with fronts or upfirers. Do say i like the look of the edit with them faceing out but would it sound better?
 

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Ill just say again, thanks for everyones help with this. Its a great place to come when im stressing over things.
 
@Gasp3621 im looking at and not sure i quite understand what i need in a 2 ch power amp. I wouldnt mind spending a bit more but not too much.

I do have a Denon PMA720ae stereo amp. Could i simply connect the Height2 preouts from the 3600 to say the aux input on the 720 and then id be able to use 7.1.4?
 
@Gasp3621 im looking at and not sure i quite understand what i need in a 2 ch power amp. I wouldnt mind spending a bit more but not too much.

I do have a Denon PMA720ae stereo amp. Could i simply connect the Height2 preouts from the 3600 to say the aux input on the 720 and then id be able to use 7.1.4?

Make a new thread on av-receiver section or use the X3600H owners thread and post picture behind of 720AE. Other members will know best how to setup it with Audussey with the volume, connections etc. Just copy the picture below there. Ideally you would use that Denon to keep the cost down.

973543e9bf61cb1a385a21c02492d8362086c97d_PMA720_rear.jpg
 
I would connect the front left and right to any two channel amp as they will bear the brunt of the audio along with a centre channel. Problem you have is that the 720 doesn't have HT bypass so you would have to balance the volume of the audio. Not too much of a problem as you can just mark where it needs to be on the 720 dial.

Using the 720 would give you a better stereo performance on music than that afforded by the 3600.
 
Cheers guys, ive set up the 720 for the rear heights. Volume matched and then ran audessey, Sounds lovely.

Didnt think at 85w per channel would be suitable fgor the Oberon 5 floor standers?
 

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