What height should my Atmos ceiling and surround speakers be?

Desk

Prominent Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2002
Messages
1,254
Reaction score
956
Points
410
I'm lucky enough to be setting up a new 5.1.2 system this coming week, but haven't quite figured out speaker heights.

I've a high vaulted ceiling, so the Atmos is going to be two Gallo Acoustic Micro SE pendant speakers. Question is, how far above the listener's head should they ideally sit?

The surround sound are Oberon 1 bookshelf speakers. I've seen the Dali E-600 stands recommended as a match, but they only stand 602mm which would put them head height with a VERY low seat. I've seen it recommended that surrounds should be 1 or 2 ft above head height but don't know if that's when wall mounted and angled down - not floor standing like this?

Any advice very gratefully received.

Desk
 
Last edited:
With Atmos, the bigger difference you can get between the base speaker and Atmos speaker is generally better.

Without Atmos, you would want your surrounds slightly above head height, but with Atmos, you should be aiming at ear height if you have no obstacles in the way.
 
Many thanks for this - that genuinely is a really big help.

A stand of 863mm would put the Oberon 1s directly at ear height.

I’ve found stands at 800mm and others at 1000m (preferring the look of the latter)

Is it key to get one as close to 863mm as possible, or if going lower or higher which would be better?

Many thanks,

Desk
 
Many thanks for this - that genuinely is a really big help.

A stand of 863mm would put the Oberon 1s directly at ear height.

I’ve found stands at 800mm and others at 1000m (preferring the look of the latter)

Is it key to get one as close to 863mm as possible, or if going lower or higher which would be better?

Many thanks,

Desk

It won’t make a huge difference. I’d say probably go higher rather than lower between the two though.
 
That’s great - thanks again.

The only final reservation I have is that the front speakers are Dali Oberons which are quite short - measuring just 830mm.

With a 1000mm stand and Dali Oberon 1 surrounds the full height of the surrounds would be 1274mm.

I’m happy to go a little bit higher than ear level with the surrounds, but will this cause a disparity with the Oberon 5 fronts (which will be tilted up very slightly)?

Desk
 
That’s great - thanks again.

The only final reservation I have is that the front speakers are Dali Oberons which are quite short - measuring just 830mm.

With a 1000mm stand and Dali Oberon 1 surrounds the full height of the surrounds would be 1274mm.

I’m happy to go a little bit higher than ear level with the surrounds, but will this cause a disparity with the Oberon 5 fronts (which will be tilted up very slightly)?

Desk

You won’t notice once you’ve run your EQ 👍🏻
 
Got some nice stands from amazon that are 900mm high, took me ages to find that height as most were 800mm or 1000mm

Fisual Dynami 900 , cost £60, come in 4 colours and nice and sturdy, with speaker cable channel in the leg, these put my speakers at ear level and seem perfect
 

Attachments

  • F0563BFB-CD87-46FF-9ECA-3E7FAB6FBDAF.jpeg
    F0563BFB-CD87-46FF-9ECA-3E7FAB6FBDAF.jpeg
    270.9 KB · Views: 68
Last edited:

The latest video from AVForums

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