Speaker type and placement

TheHighFlyingBirds

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2016
Messages
3,057
Reaction score
3,235
Points
1,062
Location
England
Hi all,

I currently have a 5.1 setup, using Q3050 as front L&R, Q3090C and Q3020 for rears, however, these are placed on my 3050s and my amp is setup for front virtual surround. As usual, the wife has final say :laugh: as I did buy brackets last year to install them at the rear but SWMBO put a stop to that. However, since thinking about it more I wonder if I would be best getting rid of the 3020s and replacing them with some more shallow speakers (maybe bipole/dipoles) as the location that I can install the 3020s doesn't feel right as they would need to be in the corners, with one close to the sofa and the other one further away (and behind a door during the day).

I have done a mock-up of locations, the red indicates where I would have to install my 3020s, and the blue indicates where I could potentially install some slimmer speakers (they need to be slim so not sticking out so far as there is a radiator behind the sofa which gets clothes put on it to dry).

Back room 1 highlight.pngBack room 2 highlight.png

I am correct in thinking that suitable speakers in the blue location is far better than the 3020s in the red locations? If so, can anyone recommend some suitable speakers for behind the sofa. Quite fancy the new MA bronze FXs (especially in plain black and not black oak); are these suitable for the location and will these sound ok with the Q acoustics? Are there others which I should look at? I will hopefully be looking at getting atmos upfirers in the future when I upgrade my amp, so ideally whatever rears I look at , they will have matching upfirers so I don't have three different brands.

TIA
 
I think we have some member who has FX speakers just like you have drawn, hope he chimes in. You need about 1feet to side walls minium what i have seen recommended. I would still want them to be higher, cause they are so close to you. For 5.1 MA recommends that you install them 2feet (60cm) higher from seated ear height. This is how that looks @stevelup " Mine are on a rear wall and the result is perfect - they create a nice all enveloping surround " If you add those upfiring speakers then it gets tricky. Maybe you need to do some compromise with the height, but your drawing shows them shouting your ears literally. I would hate that.

img_2646-jpg.852552
 
Might be able to move them higher, but might be a bit close to side wall due to shelves (also got to be careful as radiator pipes and cables are running down wall in that vicinity and light switch cable on the over side).

Maybe moving them up removes the need for atmos if it creates a good sound envelope, besides just having surround is going to be better that my current arrangement. Would save me money and earache from the mrs though. Do you have atmos in your setup?
 
Might be able to move them higher, but might be a bit close to side wall due to shelves (also got to be careful as radiator pipes and cables are running down wall in that vicinity and light switch cable on the over side).

Maybe moving them up removes the need for atmos if it creates a good sound envelope, besides just having surround is going to be better that my current arrangement. Would save me money and earache from the mrs though. Do you have atmos in your setup?

Yep that would be good idea to start with and see how you get on. It could be all you need cause the bipoles can create more dispersed soundfield and to have them bit further away is always better. I don`t know which receiver you have, the new ones has Atmos Virtualization feature which can bring bit of height effect to 5.1 system without physical speakers. Example Denon X2600, x3600 etc.

No man i don`t have yet, have sold almost everything. Waiting to find new flat and then buy everything new after seeing the room what is possible.. Summer time watching stuff less, more outside so no rush..
 
On a low end yammy RXV381 at moment, but wanting to upgrade at some point as it doesnt pass through DV (hoping ps5 has DV for the UHD drive). It sounds like the bipole are the way forward at least (and being slimmer is a bonus as mrs seemed happier with suggestion). Are there any others worth considering besides the MAs?

What you got an eye on? I'm waiting for the new yammys to be properly announced, will be interesting to see if they have atmos virtualization.
 
On a low end yammy RXV381 at moment, but wanting to upgrade at some point as it doesnt pass through DV (hoping ps5 has DV for the UHD drive). It sounds like the bipole are the way forward at least (and being slimmer is a bonus as mrs seemed happier with suggestion). Are there any others worth considering besides the MAs?

What you got an eye on? I'm waiting for the new yammys to be properly announced, will be interesting to see if they have atmos virtualization.
I doubt there is anything similar for around 300£ mark. Going up in price you have Silver FX, Arendal 1961 Surround (Triaxial), M&K M40T...

I don´t have anything in mind yet. 2020 Yamaha models may be introduced October so still little wait ahead. I´m sure they have all the new bells and whizzels plus some more. But in UK Denon is tough to beat if we consider features/channel count & processing for the low price.
 
If you are thinking of adding any kind of Atmos speaker then the surround placement should be kept to just above a seated head height. Thr FX do make for a good surround speaker as long as you can give them the minimum distance from any side wall.

I'm not convinced by Virtual Atmos, it certainly won't be as good as correctly placed speakers.
 
I doubt there is anything similar for around 300£ mark. Going up in price you have Silver FX, Arendal 1961 Surround (Triaxial), M&K M40T...

I don´t have anything in mind yet. 2020 Yamaha models may be introduced October so still little wait ahead. I´m sure they have all the new bells and whizzels plus some more. But in UK Denon is tough to beat if we consider features/channel count & processing for the low price.

Yeah tempted by Denons, would be wanting the 3x00 model though for pre-outs and better room correction, but cost quite a bit more.
If you are thinking of adding any kind of Atmos speaker then the surround placement should be kept to just above a seated head height. Thr FX do make for a good surround speaker as long as you can give them the minimum distance from any side wall.

I'm not convinced by Virtual Atmos, it certainly won't be as good as correctly placed speakers.
As mentioned by @Gasp3621, could it be too close to the ears if at (or just above) head height just behind the sofa?

Made a template of the speaker and if I move it higher its probably too close to the side wall and will have shelves on the other side of it. Seems its going to have to compromise one way or the other, either too close to ears or higher and closer to side wall.
 
Good 5.1 system will still be enjoyable. Just get the surround channels higher. Example SVS mentions in article same recommendation as Monitor Audio for the placement. Sadly you can´t get them as wide as you would hope, but we do what we can. Just leave the 1feet to side wall so there is space for it to bounce. If you can push couch forward even 20cm then do it! If you read any site about optimizing speaker and seating location, couch against rear wall or dead center (length wise) are often worst spots.

" In a 5-channel system, the side surround speakers should be located 90-110 degrees off-axis. For the best sense of spaciousness, the tweeter height should be about 2 feet above ear level. "

hf8a.gif
 
Had a measure up and only way to get 1 foot distance to side wall is by having them about ear height. Moving them higher, and one would be about 7 inches from side wall, and the shelves immediately to the other side of it. Sofa is about as far forward as it can be, otherwise it will have to be shifted to the side, which will them block part of the doorway. So looks like only real place would be just above head height on the rear wall, with a gap of approximately 26 inches between wall and the front of the head rest, which after the speaker depth would leave a gap of about 21 inches from the speaker face to the head.
 
Hi @Gasp3621, I have revisited getting rear speakers as birthday coming up and finally got agreement to get some. The bronze are out of the question (did a cardboard mockup and wifey said no and can't install higher due to layout), so been looking at the following speakers and would like some input from your good-self (and others of course):

Kef T101 - slimmest so will not stick out causing issues for mrs getting to the radiator behind the sofa, only concern is they point straight forward and wary of dispersion.

Dali fazon sat - probably my favourite (but most expensive) out of the ones listed, but stick out quite far once on the mount so would have to install higher up, but they have swivel brackets so could point downwards and inwards a bit. Only concern is if I ever get atmos (probably never given how long its taken to get agreement for rears and haven't got a capable amp either) then they are too high.

Dali fazon mikro - probably least favourite, stick out a bit, and can't angle and therefore most likely discounted from my choices.

Have added pics of potential locations, blue being the kefs, orange being dali fazon. Will kefs be ok at ear level but so close to heads and pointing directly forward?

Will the dali fazons be ok being installed higher but being angled down and inwards?

Ta in advance.
 

Attachments

  • Rear 1.pdf
    646.6 KB · Views: 58
  • Rear 2.pdf
    420.3 KB · Views: 30

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom