5.1 newbie - rear speaker position questions


Hi,

I have always been a 2-channel audio purist. Well, not anymore. I am going to morph my old two channel equipment with newer surround equipment and even listen to my records and CDs with rear recovery and a center channel. I am really having a hard time figuring out where to mount my rear channels. I know that ear level straight across from one another going right through my ears would be close to ideal, but I can't approximate that at all. The best that I seem to be able to have is the rear speakers mounted just under my 8-foot ceilings (kind of high). I think that I can fudge around to at least keep them roughly equidistant from my listening position. Will this be any good? Or, is this what pretty much everyone that can't afford an in-home theatre has to deal with? Are the results worth the effort and expense, seeing that the setup is sub-optimal (at least theoretically) ?

Thanks,
B
brjoon1021

Showing 1 response by cdwallace

If you are using the system predominatly for music, do not mount the speakers high...at all. Keep the position the same as the rest of the speakers, ear level. 3 to 5 feet above the listening position is the textbook answer for using dipole speakers.

Using rear speakers is ESSENTIAL for surround sound. Not just for ambience, but for soundstage depth, imaging and frontstage localization. Do not get tricked into thinking its only for echo. Thats a farfetched tale. If your rears sound horrible, its more than likely user error. Something is not correctly set.

Meridian's Trifield is great. However, its leaning more to the side of ambisonics, which is another beast in itself. Chazzbo is right; really worth the listen.

Pzuckerman has given you a very consise intro. These are the keys to get you started. A lot also has to do with processor settings too; compensating for the difference between the physical speaker distance to listening position and how it can effect the soundstage in relation to main speakers that are at a lesser or greater distance.

If you want to get surround for music right, you have guidelines that you must abide by. When you start adhering to the guidelines, you will understand why they are so important. There are many others on audiogon that listen to music (2Ch and MC) in surround sound. They hold a wealth of information. I'll email you soon!