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Tarheel_
08-09-2005, 07:20 AM
i'm sick of watching all my movies with the 'sleep' feature on...my 2 yr old and 3 month old need their sleep and i need volume. I miss the booming bass and such. So, funds are limited and therefore i'm doing a cheap-o dedicated HT in my basement, but need help. I have a few vacation days and plan to get it done this week.

Room is large - wall w/ tv and front array is 15-17' - side wall is concrete and is 22' - rear wall is 23' and other side wall is open to rest of basement.

Since i'm going 7.1 and have tons of room for speaker placement - where do they go? I printed a diagram from Dolby's site but it doesn't fill in all the blanks..I have enough speakers to get this done. (Revels,Infinity and Polks)

Q's:
- how far apart should the back-rear speakers be (6 and 7)?
- i need to hang all surrounds around 9' high (should i angle them downward or firing straight)?
- i can place the sub anywhere, where should i begin?
- does SACD/DVD-A use different speaker placement than Dolby?
- plan to mount side surrounds just behind my sweet spot and above?
- any other suggestions?

Things i'm looking forward to:
- My HK receiver uses Logic7 to convert 2 channel into 7 channel (can't wait to try this)
- Hockey is back and will be loud
- DVDs in DTS ES and DD EX (Star Wars triglogy) ...is there a difference in 5.1 vs 7.1
- Music in 7.1
- Sub placement options..never happy with my current placement
- moving surrounds from the rear to the side. I bet it changes things

thanks for any suggestions, i'll keep looking here and report back next week on what i found.

kexodusc
08-09-2005, 07:48 AM
Room is large - wall w/ tv and front array is 15-17' - side wall is concrete and is 22' - rear wall is 23' and other side wall is open to rest of basement.
Since i'm going 7.1 and have tons of room for speaker placement - where do they go? I printed a diagram from Dolby's site but it doesn't fill in all the blanks..I have enough speakers to get this done. (Revels,Infinity and Polks)

Q's:
- how far apart should the back-rear speakers be (6 and 7)?

Nice size room actually, last I checked, 2- 4 feet was recommended by some sites, and opposite your front mains was recommended on either. I find the later to be the superior method in my system, how far from the rear speakers you are will probably dictate the results though.


- i need to hang all surrounds around 9' high (should i angle them downward or firing straight)?
I'd angle them downward for sure. In fact, if they're that high, you might consider placing them upside down. That kind of off-axis vertical response will not be so favorable for the highs. Experiment with the angle if you can, I've often found just overshooting the sweet spot works best, YMMV. Do they have to be 9' high?


- i can place the sub anywhere, where should i begin?
Place it in your sweet spot, then move around the room and find the place where the bass sounds the most full and even. Place the sub there.


- does SACD/DVD-A use different speaker placement than Dolby?
Yes.
Dolby recommends the side surrounds be in line with your head...ITU 5.1 for SACD/DVD-A recommend the sides be further back, and angled. Something like a 5 point star...search ITU 5.1 speaker placement on google and I"m sure you'll find it.

Here's a link I found really fast - http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/129023.html

If you plan on DVD-A...you can do what I do and "cheat" a bit...go down to the 7.1 picture in the link above - see how the rear surrounds are placed...move them towards the outside even more so the angle is more like 120 to 130 degrees. If your speakers image well, you won't notice at all in 7.1 and you can use those rear speakers as your surrounds for multi-channel audio. After a good 2 months of experimenting, this was the best compromise I found by far. Of course you might like something a bit different...whatever works for you.



- plan to mount side surrounds just behind my sweet spot and above?
- any other suggestions?
This is good, and where the sides should be....the only suggestion I can make again, is to see if you can get closer to 6.5 ft instead of 9. That's quite high. If not, angling and flipping the speaker might help.


Things i'm looking forward to:
- My HK receiver uses Logic7 to convert 2 channel into 7 channel (can't wait to try this)
- Hockey is back and will be loud
- DVDs in DTS ES and DD EX (Star Wars triglogy) ...is there a difference in 5.1 vs 7.1
- Music in 7.1
- Sub placement options..never happy with my current placement
- moving surrounds from the rear to the side. I bet it changes things

thanks for any suggestions, i'll keep looking here and report back next week on what i found.

I haven't been a fan of 7 channel music, except for increase volume when I'm just playing it loud in the house. 7.1 for regular TV is a good step up IMO.

What's your basement like? Carpeted? Furnsihed? If it's all solid walls and concrete you might have some room reflection problems.

Let us know how you make out.

Wireworm5
08-09-2005, 08:11 AM
This will sound crazy to you but I suggest you try a setup similar to mine since you have the room for it. Using your 22' wall place your center channel in the middle above the tv. Build a shelf if you have to, this should be about 5' from the floor. Then place a speaker about 2-3' on each side of the center. These can be bookshelves or floorstanders. Then place your main floorstanders in the front corner where the 22' wall meets the 15' wall and the open wall. Place your rear speakers to the side of your listening position this should be about 10-12' on each side with the tweeter at ear level or above. Place your rear center 3 to 4 feet behind your listening position. Place your sub if its front firing near the right front corner speaker facing the 15' wall. If the subs is downfiring than I would place it away from the open wall on the other side of the room. I would also want to put up some kind of divider or curtain to close off the open wall. This setup up the sound will dominate from the side giving you a wide soundstage.The center speakers may seem too close to your listening positon, but from my experience your ears hear sound from the side better, the front spectrum should blend in smoothly. Adjust the time delay on the center accordingly.
The same speaker configuration will work with all the various formats. DTS is slightly louder and more defined than DD. Dolby IMO puts more emphasis on the lower bass frequencies.
Hope this helps, at least give it a try.:)

Tarheel_
08-09-2005, 09:50 AM
i may be able to adjust the 9'. one side wall is concrete and i went to Lowes and bought a masonary bit and a large screw to hold the speaker...the problem is the other side speaker. There is no wall so i was going to hang it from an overhead beam. I may be able to make a mount of some type and lower the speaker.

Thanks for the sub tip...will try that for sure.

I listen to all formats...DD-DTS-Logic7-SACD-DVDA-LP-CD-Laserdisc....so i need to find a common ground on placement angles...i'll follow your lead and do some research.

don't laugh, (i'm desperate) but there are only exterior concrete walls, my wife and i are 'creating' walls from black king size sheets. The floor will be covered with a huge rug. Ceiling is insulated (hope it doesn't flake)?. Its temporary until the funds arrive to finish it right.

Wireworm...i cannot follow your layout, just too many compromises to make. I need to use the 15' wall as my front wall. thanks anyway, sounds like you've taken your time to find what works.






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kexodusc
08-09-2005, 10:44 AM
don't laugh, (i'm desperate) but there are only exterior concrete walls, my wife and i are 'creating' walls from black king size sheets. The floor will be covered with a huge rug. Ceiling is insulated (hope it doesn't flake)?. Its temporary until the funds arrive to finish it right.



I hear ya...my HT room was an absolute freakin' mess for two years. We moved it into our basement for space reasons. It wasn't pretty, or cozy, but it was the best place for us to watch movies, so what can you do.
In my new home has a finished basement and I've just had to install flooring and minor changes, so it hasn't been all that bad.

I wouldn't recommend hanging a speaker. you'd be better off to go to Lowe's or somewhere and buy a very inexpensive, 6 ft tall book shelf or something. The less chance of your speaker falling, the better.

I'll leave it in your capable hands. You could always build stands yourself.

Tarheel_
08-09-2005, 11:23 AM
I hear ya...my HT room was an absolute freakin' mess for two years. We moved it into our basement for space reasons. It wasn't pretty, or cozy, but it was the best place for us to watch movies, so what can you do.
In my new home has a finished basement and I've just had to install flooring and minor changes, so it hasn't been all that bad.

I wouldn't recommend hanging a speaker. you'd be better off to go to Lowe's or somewhere and buy a very inexpensive, 6 ft tall book shelf or something. The less chance of your speaker falling, the better.

I'll leave it in your capable hands. You could always build stands yourself.

Kex, yeah, you do what you gotta do....like i said....listening in the 'night' mode is great for some nights/movies, but damn sucks for some action flicks. I have the speakers so i'm going for it.
The concrete screws are rated at over 500lbs so if its a tight fit, i'll use em. The other side (without a wall) will be the most difficult. The rear surrounds also will be a challenge. I'm gonna mount them as best i can. Father-in-law is a retired contractor and knows his way around a saw so he'll finish up the mess i start.

(sounds like you gota nice basement HT. What are you using to power all 7 speakers?
I have a HK 7.1 reciever with 75watts per. It'll work for now, but what a great excuse to search for a nice used 5 channel amp.