Surround Speaker Placement Advice

senrab

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I'm thinking about upgrading our 5.1 to 7.1 and then maybe 7.1.2

I'm struggling to position the surrounds (SL & SR in the pic below) at the usual head height. The only place I can mount them would be at ceiling height.
The rest of the 5.1 speakers are head height-ish.

We can get some nice looking / sounding speakers such as the Monitor Audio Vectas (Maybe a bit overkill, but look good) or some DALI Altecos (They have a switch to act as "normal speakers" somehow). Or some Monitor Audio MASS speakers, they can be angled downwards.

(We have Monitor Audio Bronzes all round right now, but planning an upgrade to a Monitor Audio Apex A40 front stage).

I'm aware the placement isn't ideal or as per the spec.

Is this a bad idea?

Is it a bad idea if I am also adding some Monitor Audio C265-IDCs as an Atmos channel in the ceiling. I don't think they would clash.

Perhaps the Yamaha's YPAO will sound it all out and configure whatever I throw up there OK? However I am not convinced.

1582235746503.png


Any thoughts?
 
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If you any of the base layer, 5/7.1 in the ceiling or too high on a wall then it's pointless adding ceiling speakers for Atmos. There will no separation between the base layer and the Atmos layer. You need good separation for the format to work. Audio will come from ceiling mounted surrounds as wall as the Atmos speakers, the effect will be lost.
 
I'd agree with @gibbsy and would suggest if you can't accommodate back speakers properly I might suggest going 5.1.4 over just 2 ceiling speakers.
 
Thank you for clarifying my suspicions. I think we'll go for 5.1.2 or 5..14

Thanks
 
I'm in a similar but different position. I'm only running 5.1 but by necessity my rears have to be high up. In my case I use dipole rears which works well with the high location but does mean Atmos isn't really an option for me.
 
I'm in a similar but different position. I'm only running 5.1 but by necessity my rears have to be high up. In my case I use dipole rears which works well with the high location but does mean Atmos isn't really an option for me.
Unless we have the perfect purpose built cinema room then most of us that have to use the living room is going to have to compromise on speaker placement somewhere and that usually involves the surrounds. I'm no exception. Not so much as height or positioning, I could have got away with the perfect placement except for one factor...….the boss. No way was she having a speaker in her right ear. So instead of stands they are on wall brackets and set somewhat higher than they should be.

I did convince her to let me lower them when we, or rather I, went for Atmos and it does work. Had they been in the original position then that was simply far too high. I use upfiring modules so at least there wasn't drilling of holes in the ceiling and perhaps these particular speakers work better than in ceiling when surrounds are above the prime listening position.

You have to work with what room you have but I would suggest that surrounds in the ceiling is a step too far.
 

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