# 5.1 surround sound setup help



## Funtoss (Sep 25, 2011)

How can i setup a 5.1 surround sound in this type of house?







can anyone help me out? 

you can download the picture or setup a new way for me to do the 5.1?
thanks


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## de.das.dude (Sep 25, 2011)

Funtoss said:


> How can i setup a 5.1 surround sound in this type of house?
> 
> http://i52.tinypic.com/4uyvti.png
> 
> ...



you cant, you need to relocate your TV to another corner at least.


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## Funtoss (Sep 25, 2011)

Can you do one on paint for me? 

can you also tell me some good website/forums to get help from?


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## AsRock (Sep 25, 2011)

2 large couches on the north wall if they will fit
2 small ones on the east wall
TV center of south wall.
Sub south east of room in the curner
Front speakers on the south wall
Rear speakers on the north wall
Center speaker under TV or can be above in some cases.

Only issue's i see is that the to large couches may not fir and the 2 small couches it's going suck.  And depending on how picky you wonna be it's going suck anyways with all those couches


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## 15th Warlock (Sep 25, 2011)

This is a rough estimate of how I would do it, - this is not to scale of course - it'll require you moving your TV and re arranging your living room:






The small squares are the speakers; BTW, is your TV a CRT or a projection TV? if it's a flat screen, the center channel would be a lot closer to the wall of course.

On more thing, you may want to use your receiver's setup mic after arranging everything to make sure it compensates for discrepancies in your room dimensions and walls.


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## BumbleBee (Sep 25, 2011)




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## Funtoss (Sep 25, 2011)

Hmmm i m getting some really good ideas! 
the tv is a projection tv

Thanks i might try those setup's and see if it works


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## de.das.dude (Sep 25, 2011)

wiat till while e or someone shows up. they are good with audio.
im a noob


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## Mussels (Sep 25, 2011)

putting it bluntly, and in text form:

Center speaker must always be above or below the image. not to the sides. it'd be like looking someone in the eye while someone else was speaking, it's just weird.


the other four speakers, should form a square or rectangle with the listener(s) in the middle. you want them all at the same height, and all focused in towards you. the idea is that it forms a 'sweet spot', a  rough'circle' where you can hear all the speakers equally loud and clearly from that position. so if the rear left was muffled or too far away, the front right would seem too loud in comparison. you need that balance.

avoid obstacles blocking the speakers, or having them facing the wrong way.


we can draw pictures all we want, but the height of the TV/TV stand, and furniture can really make it hard for us to be accurate.


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## Funtoss (Sep 27, 2011)

Hmm okay thanks, my centre speaker is on top of the tv 

btw how do i make my front speakers LARGE? and still get bass from subs?
(z-2300) connected to the amp lol


15th Warlock, BumbleBee & AsRock thank you sooo much guys 
i got my 5.1 nicely setup (tried all of you guys ideas and got rid of the 2 small couch haha)


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## BumbleBee (Sep 27, 2011)

you want to set the receiver or amplifier to medium or small not large. large means your speakers are full range and you don't want the sub to reproduce low frequencies.


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## CJCerny (Sep 27, 2011)

BumbleBee said:


> you want to set the receiver or amplifier to medium or small not large. large means your speakers are full range and you don't want the sub to reproduce low frequencies.



Just to clarify this...if you set any speaker to small, the receiver sends frequencies for the speaker(s) configured to small below your configured cut off point to the sub. Additionally, the sub also plays all of audio on the .1 track--so it is effectively doing double duty. If all your speakers are set to large, the sub just plays the audio on the .1 track.


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## CJCerny (Sep 27, 2011)

BTW, Dolby has had a home theater setup guide on their Web site for years. You can find it here:

http://www.dolby.com/consumer/setup/speaker-setup-guide/index.html

Note that none of the diagrams you were given actually reflect the recommended positioning for the rear surround speakers. The ideal position for them is 100 degrees from your head, with the speakers angled back towards your head. Most people are not willing to arrange their furniture to accomodate that recommended position, however, since it means moving your seat away from the wall it is normally against in most cases.


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## BumbleBee (Sep 27, 2011)

CJCerny said:


> BTW, Dolby has had a home theater setup guide on their Web site for years. You can find it here:
> 
> http://www.dolby.com/consumer/setup/speaker-setup-guide/index.html
> 
> Note that none of the diagrams you were given actually reflect the recommended positioning for the rear surround speakers. The ideal position for them is not directly to the side of the seating area, but slightly above and behind the seating area, with the speakers angled back towards your head. Most people are not willing to arrange their furniture to accomodate that recommended position, however.



that speaker configuration is for monopole rears.

your supposed to mount bipole/dipole speakers 2-3ft above ear level.

dipole rears are mounted this way.


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## CJCerny (Sep 27, 2011)

BumbleBee said:


> that speaker configuration is for monopole rears.
> 
> your supposed to mount bipole/dipole speakers 2-3ft above ear level.
> 
> ...



True enough. Dipoles are pretty rare, though, especially in a lower end home theater.


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## Jack Doph (Sep 27, 2011)

Can I ask why there's this insistence on putting the sub in the corner?


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## Mussels (Sep 27, 2011)

Jack Doph said:


> Can I ask why there's this insistence on putting the sub in the corner?



sounds better since it reverbs from the walls.


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## CJCerny (Sep 27, 2011)

Jack Doph said:


> Can I ask why there's this insistence on putting the sub in the corner?



The sub doesn't necessarily need to be in a corner. Sub frequencies are too low for you to directionally locate so, at least in relationship to where your head is, it doesn't matter where the sub is. Putting a sub in a corner of the room does increase the amount of bass that it can put out, however. Physics stuff. People also tend to trip over it less there.


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## Jack Doph (Sep 27, 2011)

I'm not convinced at all.
In the old days of acoustic speakers (prior to proper bass-reflex - which I hate), shoving this in the corner might've made sense, but nowadays..
Having owned the z-2300 myself, I can guarantee that shoving this sub in the corner, will actually result in a reduction of sub-bass* - walls, depending on their structural integrity (i.e, what they're made of) can seriously hamper this reverb. There's always going to be a certain amount of absorption of the energy output by the sub (there's a reason why these tend to have skinny 'feet', as opposed to standard speakers).

However, that is just my experience...

* Frequency response is diminished


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## Mussels (Sep 27, 2011)

i guess it varies based on your walls, and available space. i put mine in the corner, because its further away from my PC and hard drives and hidden from view. it does sound louder in this position.


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## Jack Doph (Sep 27, 2011)

Mussels said:


> i guess it varies based on your walls, and available space. i put mine in the corner, because its further away from my PC and hard drives and hidden from view. it does sound louder in this position.



Agreed; it does depend on how close you sit to it as well, for sure.


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