Speaker Placement Question

ronsweet2

Hello:

I recently purchased a Yamaha HT-690 surround system (five speakers with subwoofer and HTR-6140 AV receiver) and am in the process of setting up the speakers in my bedroom. I have a Toshiba 62MX195 HD TV and have attached (with velcro) the center channel speaker on top of the TV (which is about 59” wide). My front wall is 16 ½ feet wide, but there is a doorway on the far left side, about 3 feet from the corner (with a door that I always keep open). The left side of the TV is just to the right of the doorway. My question involves exactly where I should place the front left and right speakers.

My original thought was to place the left speaker on the wall to the left side of the doorway, and I strung the speaker wire over the doorway’s molding to that location, about 5 ½ feet from the center speaker. I strung the speaker wire for the right speaker just to the right of the TV’s right edge, about 2 ¼ feet from the center speaker. I’m a newbie to all of this, so my logic on the placement of the left speaker may not have been very sound (no pun intended). Given my set up, exactly where should I place my front speakers?

1) Will the sound be better if the left speaker is to the right of the doorway, given that the door is always open and sound would “escape” if I put the speaker on the right hand side of it?

2) I know that the front speakers should be between 6-10 feet apart (as per my manual) but how important is it for each of them to be the exact same distance from the center speaker? Given my set up, if they needed to be the same distance from the center speaker, I have two options:
a) I can move the left speaker to the right side of the doorway, making it also 2 ¼ feet from the center speaker. To make this work, I will have to elevate the speaker by quite a bit because of how high the top of the TV is. The left speaker would have to be only about 15” from the ceiling. Otherwise, the speaker would partially be “behind” the top of the TV.
b) I can leave the left speaker on the left side of the doorway, and move the right speaker and its wiring over so that it is also 5 ½ feet from the center speaker. Potential issue with this is that the rear speakers have to be aligned or to the outside of the front speakers (as per my manual). But in order to make this work, my left rear speaker will have to be raised so that it is almost touching the ceiling because there is a window in the left corner back there.

FYI, my bedroom is 16 1/2x17 feet and my bed is centered from the TV, with the end of my bed about four feet from the front of the TV. Any advice would be appreciated!

Here is a layout of my room (simply ignore the red x's).

Thanks, Ron

Attached Images

Bedroom layout2.jpg (20.3 KB, 16 views)

soupnazi

If possible keep the speakers in a position so that the tweeters are at ear level.

I would put the front speakers as symmetrical as possible to the center channel and center of the screen.

The surround speakers will be better mounted beside you rather than behind you. This will help to give you a better perception of surround sound, less localized, rather than hearing the sound come from behind you. You shouldn't really be able to tell where the surround sound is coming from.

ronsweet2

Thanks.

If possible keep the speakers in a position so that the tweeters are at ear level.

Are the "tweeters" the front speakers?

I would put the front speakers as symmetrical as possible to the center channel and center of the screen.

Okay. So, should I place them 2 1/2 feet from the center speaker or 5 1/2 feet (the doorway is on the left side and is 3 feet wide, so these are my only two options) Again, if they are 2 1/2 feet from the center, they will need to be up higher, or the left speaker will be behind the TV.

The surround speakers will be better mounted beside you rather than behind you. This will help to give you a better perception of surround sound, less localized, rather than hearing the sound come from behind you. You shouldn't really be able to tell where the surround sound is coming from.

Someone else told me to put these on the side as well. So why would the manual mention they should be on the floor or the wall behind you?? The subwoofer is on the far left side near the middle of the room about where the surround speaker would now go. Are you suggesting that I put the surround speaker on the wall behind where the SW is placed?

Lastly, I am planning on getting a set of JBL speakers a bit later (meaning I would have 7 total). My plan was to put the JBLs on the back wall and moving the surround/rear speakers to the side where you suggested. When I get the JBLs, will these "replace" the surround speakers I have now or can I set up all 7 of them?? But on my receiver, there are two sets of connections for "Front Speakers" ("Front A" and "Front B"). When I get the JBLs, will those go in the rear or is that not possible given the avauilable connections on my receiver?

Thanks! Ron

soupnazi

Tweeters are the high frequency drives usually situated above the low frequency woofer on the speaker. If you have small compact speakers just place them close to ear level.

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I guess you should place them farther apart if you can keep them at ear level and point them into the listening position.

What kind of speakers do you have now?
It is good advice to keep all your speakers of the same brand and model because it can mess with the harmonic sound quality of the speaker system.

The subwoofer can be placed pretty much anywhere in the room that fits best. Typically though a lot of people will place it in the corner of a room against two walls which is supposed to help give you more bass. The low frequency sounds from a subwoofer are hard to localize, meaning you can hear it but can't really pinpoint where it is coming from, it's just there.
Like I said before the surround speakers would give you a better perception of surround sound from the sides. If they are behind you, you will not be as "surrounded" by the "sound"

I think your receiver is 5.1 so you wouldn't be able to hook up 7.1 speakers. For 7.1 you need a rear channel.
The front speakers A and B is meant for if you want to hook 2 speakers up in a second room also I think they could be used for certain speakers that are bi-wireable, meaning some front speakers have 2 sets of terminals on the back but I wouldn't worry about that.

hope this helps

DaveJ

Sweet Ron
If the door is always open, why not take it off and store it under your bed (I've done this). That way you can position the L & R fronts further apart (too close together and they will seem like the center channel).
dave