Dispersion

[DIYer]

And that's precisely my problem. I have plenty of vertical distance but no horizontal distance.

Distance is distance, no? :confusion-scratchheadblue:

 

[TitaniumTroy]

I remeber a few years back that some brands of surround speakers had a bi-pole or direct switch, so you could change according to music or movies. Would that be of any help Zing?

 

[Dennie]

With my HT, I had a similar problem with the room. No place to put surround speakers.

I use in-wall bi-di-pole speakers and they solved the problem. My HT Rocks, with no problems hearing any of the speakers.

I do use a 7.1 set up with in-ceiling back surrounds that exactly match (at the time) my mains.

So, what about in-wall bi-di-poles?

Remember, we can't always have everything the way we want it. It is not the best for music, but I listen to music in 2.1. So, you either have a great HT or great 5.1 music? You have to make the choice.

I think Randy mentioned this option.

Dennie

 

[Zing]

And that's precisely my problem. I have plenty of vertical distance but no horizontal distance.

Distance is distance, no? :confusion-scratchheadblue:

No. Not even remotely.

The crude drawing below is a rear-facing view of my room. The two small boxes at the top of the drawing represent the location of my rear speakers. The three large boxes at the bottom represent my seating. There is no problem with the center seat, as represented by the green line. The problem lies with the speaker above each outer seat as represented by the red line.


In the center seat, the rear speakers measure a linear 6 feet away (roughly 5 feet horizontally and 4.5 feet vertically). In the outer seats, they're (obviously) still 4.5 feet away vertically but only inches hortizontally.

 

[Yesfan70]

Is there a way you can rotate the speakers where they would fire into the wall instead of the sitting position? Would that give you a better dispersion pattern across the back of the room?

 

[DIYer]

When you said you have plenty of vertical distance, this is what I pictured, assuming what you drew is a section of your home theater. As you can see, if the surround speakers can be moved further above thus gaining more "distance", it can eventually cover the entire seating area.

 

[Zing]

^ :laughing-rolling:

I just didn't take the time to draw the other 13 JBL speakers I'm using as Super Spatial Surrounds. :teasing-neener:

BTW, no bunny ears? What gives?

 

[DIYer]

^ :laughing-rolling:

I just didn't take the time to draw the other 13 JBL speakers I'm using as Super Spatial Surrounds. :teasing-neener:

BTW, no bunny ears? What gives?

This is what I should've attached.

 

[Zing]

You extended the height of my room. My room is 8.5 feet high, not 13 feet. Look at my original drawing. While not to scale, it's pretty accurate. I have no more room to elevate them. The speakers are about as high as they can go. About the only thing I could do (and haven't tried yet) is essentially ceiling mount them pointing straight down.


And to be clear, when I said I had plenty of vertical height, I meant it as already in use (i.e., the speakers being 4.5 feet above the listening position).

 

[DIYer]

I have no more room to elevate them. The speakers are about as high as they can go.

And to be clear, when I said I had plenty of vertical height, I meant it as already in use

Well, then that paints a very different picture. You made me spend all this time for the diagram and tell me this now? :angry-tappingfoot:

 

[Zing]

I have no more room to elevate them. The speakers are about as high as they can go.

And to be clear, when I said I had plenty of vertical height, I meant it as already in use

Well, then that paints a very different picture. You made me spend all this time for the diagram and tell me this now? :angry-tappingfoot:

From earlier in this thread...

I'm currently using a pair of SVS SBS-02 mounted very high up (almost ceiling) on the side walls of an 8.5-foot high room. Simply put, they're too high.

 

[Doghart]

Simple solution,
all you have to do is play governmental entity and declare imminent domain over your old speakers and tell Doghart that he must immediately send them back to you at his expense. Who cares what he thinks, you are the govt.




BTW, the above post is completely tongue in cheek and has no merit. I realize that there is no way for him to actually do this and would not advise him to even if he could.

Hey Now!!!

 

[mazersteven]

Is there a way you can rotate the speakers where they would fire into the wall instead of the sitting position? Would that give you a better dispersion pattern across the back of the room?

This is a good recommendation. And Dennie mentioned In-Walls or In-Ceiling.

www.speakercraft.com

 

[Zing]

Is there a way you can rotate the speakers where they would fire into the wall instead of the sitting position? Would that give you a better dispersion pattern across the back of the room?

Not using my current mounts...

...but that's an easy fix. And yes, that would offer a similar less-localizable, more-diffused ambiance that bipole speakers offer.

However, I was just looking around the room and contemplating further options. If I could move my gear rack to another location, there is a spot where I could wall-mount the speakers that places them about a foot lower. That's not insignificant! It would also provide much better coverage across all three seats. The only obstacle is relocating the gear rack. I don't have many options there either.

Hazards of a small room! :angry-banghead:

In-wall or in-ceiling speakers are not completely off the table. I do have future plans of completely gutting the room and remodeling but I'd rather go the traditional speaker route if I can. What I'm doing right now is experimenting (and slowly destroying my room one drill hole at a time) so I know precisely where things will go when it's time to remodel.

 

[heeman]

Zing,

I have been following this thread all day today and I am leaning toward you speaker placement as opposed to the speakers themselves.

You seem to have a room issue similar to mine?

If you have access to an attic above, have you considered a mount like I used for my Studio 20's to get your speakers at the proper height and angle to cover your listening are better?

http://www.theaudioannex.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=1632

Keith

 

[Zing]

If you have access to an attic above, have you considered a mount like I used for my Studio 20's to get your speakers at the proper height and angle to cover your listening are better?

The room is an addition on the house so there's no attic above it, just the empty space between the ceiling and the roof and I do not have access to it (at least not before I tear down the ceiling). Even so, if I were to mount the speakers just where I want them, they'd end up being chest level when standing in the room (or walking through) behind the seating in its current location and that of course is unacceptable.

With the new seating and pushing it further back in the room, there won't be enough space to walk or stand behind the seating but then suspending the speakers from the ceiling in this new location won't even be possible.


And by the way, I completely agree that it's the placement (of both the seating and the speakers) that is the biggest culprit here. I'm just using it as an excuse to buy better speakers. :happy-smileygiantred:

 

[heeman]

If you have access to an attic above, have you considered a mount like I used for my Studio 20's to get your speakers at the proper height and angle to cover your listening are better?

The room is an addition on the house so there's no attic above it, just the empty space between the ceiling and the roof and I do not have access to it (at least not before I tear down the ceiling). Even so, if I were to mount the speakers just where I want them, they'd end up being chest level when standing in the room (or walking through) behind the seating in its current location and that of course is unacceptable.

With the new seating and pushing it further back in the room, there won't be enough space to walk or stand behind the seating but then suspending the speakers from the ceiling in this new location won't even be possible.

:think:

 

[Zing]

Here's a top-down view of the current layout...

Red box = Sub
Green boxes = LCR
Blue boxes = rear speakers
Purple boxes = seating


Reposting of the rear-facing view for convenience.

 

[yromj]

I second Flint's comments about matching the speakers. Don't worry about the finish (although I can relate to the OCD part). Instead of spending that much for the matching finish, either just go w/ black and take some Zoloft (at least until the twitching stops) or fashion some sort of sock or other cover which would closely resemble the color of the finish (since they're not directly in sight as the mains are).

Personally, I wouldn't opt for multipole surrounds. I've documented my personal experience w/ them and, IMHO, even poorly placed bookshelves will provide a much better surround effect than multipoles.

John

 

[mazersteven]

Here's a top-down view of the current layout...

After looking at this diagram would Di-poles on the side walls work? You'd have to go 7.1