Rear Speaker Placement Mission 78DS

[DANRB]

Can someone offer their opinion on where i should place my surround speakers in my new setup.

Pic 1 or pic 2.

I can make it into a7.1 setup by placing the speakers in pic 1 then adding in the rears on the back wall but seeing as the romm is only 3.5m wide will i gain anything from it? Also my back is to the window/wall so will have to face the rears rather down.

All advice and opinions welcomed!

 

[DANRB]

Anyone?

 

[RugbyAl]

I originally had my rear speakers fixed as per pic 2, wondered why I could anly hear them properly in the middle of the room! Moved them so they were as per pic 1, what a transformation. I could finally hear rear surround effects.

It's also worth ensuring the tweeter is pointed directly at the listining position as the higher frequencies are quite directional. I had to angle my speakers on their brackets to achieve this.

 

[Jules Tohpipi]

Can someone offer their opinion on where i should place my surround speakers in my new setup.

Pic 1 or pic 2.

I can make it into a7.1 setup by placing the speakers in pic 1 then adding in the rears on the back wall but seeing as the romm is only 3.5m wide will i gain anything from it? Also my back is to the window/wall so will have to face the rears rather down.

All advice and opinions welcomed!

Given the wide bipolar dispersion characteristic of the 78DS then you shouldn't hear a great deal of difference between either position. However, putting them on the back wall might be slightly prefered.

I'd caution against angling a surround speaker down too much as it will collapse the ambient soundfield. As well as providing rear effects, the surrounds are designed to provide ambience i.e. generate lots of reflected sound waves in the room. This is why surrounds work better if placed higher-up (there's more bare wall available generally, and the sound isn't absorbed by sofas, people etc - so you will get plenty of multi-path reflections arriving back at the listening position = ambience). If you angle them down too much they will lose their ability to energise the room.

Balancing the two requirements can be tricky - especially if you're sat very close to the rear wall, as a high position runs the risk that you won't hear any direct sound from the rears. The best compromise might be to drop the height of the 78DS to a level that you can hear direct sound from them - usually two-three ft above head height if sat on the back wall - and then keep them parallel to the ground so that ambience isn't lost. Maybe ask someone to hold one and then raise/lower it whilst you are seated to test if you can hear it properly.

If this isn't possible, then you'll have to choose between either strong rear effects and poor ambience (i.e. angling them down sharply), or weak rear effects but good ambience (i.e. not angling them down).

Ultimately it's your choice, so long as you are clear what the choices are.

HTH

 

[DANRB]

Thanks for the responses.

I managed to do a test last night with them in the different positions as shown but at ear level.

you can def notice the difference when they are set as in Pic 1, much more noticeable sound from them. I think I will use this and have them mounted near the ceiling. Unfortunately I can't bring them down lower due to windows and doors being right were I need the speakers.

Do you think adding to addtional speakers making it 7.1 will make a big difference?

Have the option of these or presence speakers for the front.

 

[RugbyAl]

Forgot your Missions were bipoler, Jules is right. Go with what sounds best to you.

 

[Jules Tohpipi]

Given your tests so far, then putting an extra pair of speakers on the back wall (in the Pic 1 position with sides in Pic 2 position) in a 7.1 configuration may not add much benefit. If you can put the rears more towards the centre of the back wall (above the window ?) then maybe. But otherwise it doesn't look like your room layout is lending itself to the full 7.1 monty. Not that that's necessarily any great loss.

 

[DANRB]

I can place the rears on any part of the rear wall.

The position of the speakers was intended only to indicate where the rear speakers would be in a 5.1 config.

In a 7.1 the rears would be placed where required.

 

[Jules Tohpipi]

In which case, I would cautiously recommend giving it a try. Having a single or pair of speakers on the back wall might give better focus for rear effects. This can work well in cases where the listening position/s are close to the side-walls (being sat close to a speaker on the side-wall can sometimes spoil 'over-the-head' effects somewhat). It looks as that might be true for your situation.

For your set-up (the room doesn't look that big from the drawings) a single bipolar speaker mounted centrally on the back wall might suffice. Otherwise you're looking at a pair placed approx 6-8ft apart centred on the middle of the back wall (if you see what I mean). There's no point going further apart as they'll get to close to the existing speakers.

Again, this is probably only worth doing if you are sat quite close to the side-wall. If you're fairly central when listening then you may not see much benefit. More surround speakers always helps ambience though.