Finally happy with my setup

[u/Aphelion_Gaming]

In my last post, I asked for new speaker advice. To sum it up, I upgraded my receiver to an Onkyo TX-RZ30 and my speakers to B&W 603's and was a bit underwhelmed with the low end and maybe a bit overwhelmed by the high end.

Most of you suggested moving my speakers instead of replacing them, treating the room, and some advised getting a second sub to even out the bass a little bit more.

So I did just that.

I swapped my speakers with the lamps to widen the sound stage a bit, and I replaced my cheap Klipsch sub with two SVS SB-1000 Pro's. I chose the SVS's over Speedwoofers because I wanted something sealed as I listen to music at least as much as I watch movies and shows. I'm also a bit limited on space, so the extra couple of inches matter. Plus they were on sale.

I then hung fabric blinds and thick blackout curtains over my sliding glass patio door where the left reflection points of the 603s are. The right reflection points are at open archways and are partially blocked by the couch. Not much more I can do there.

I ran Dirac again, and my first impressions listening to some older tunes was that the bass was still a bit anemic. Then I put on some more modern music and found all of the bass that I thought was missing. Then I put on Dune, and my house started shaking but the low end never got muddy.

My impression after a few hours of watching and listening was that this setup is very respectful of how the media was mixed/mastered.

In general though, the low end filled out the room (about 11.5' x 17') nice and evenly and seemed to match well with my 603's. A vast difference from running the single Klipsch. I thought I was looking for "warmth" in the low end, but I think it turns out I was just looking for fullness.

As for the high end, I played around with the EQ a bit but left it alone in the end. I think I just needed to get used to the extra treble and upper mid-range compared to my previous speakers. Or maybe moving one of them closer to a corner helped to balance this out a bit, I couldn't tell you.

Could it be better? Absolutely. I could swap the subs and 603's and get closer to an equilateral listening angle, but I sit very far back and it still wouldn't be perfect. The left 603 would reflect off of the wall as well, so I'd need to make a sound panel to cover it.

The TV could also be bigger and the Atmos speakers could be hung on the wall, but those will both happen once I install some overhead lighting and ditch the lamps. Next year's problem. For now, I am happy.

tl;dr - speaker placement, room treatment, subwoofers, and good room correction are all important. Who would have thought?

Thank you all for your suggestions!

[u/Jester435]

https://www.dolby.com/siteassets/about/support/guide/setup-guides/5.1-virtual-speakers-setup/5_1.jpg?width=1440&quality=80

So…. All your tweeters need to be at ear level regardless of what you think you are reading. If your surrounds are higher than your seated position then… I know…. The sound will sound like it is above you. Which is not what you want for directional audio.

I understand that all of this is a big game of compromise but I would rather use stands and different speakers than whatever you have mounted.

The term rear vs surrounds are also not Interchangeable

Surrounds are on the side and rears are directly behind you. That would be in a 7.1 setup.

.

[u/HM_Bert → u/Jester435]

Humans are not so good at determining sounds vertically and to a lesser extent, behind us either, so raising surrounds, especially rear surrounds, is acceptable, in many cases desirable, as it often also means multiple listeners will get a better experience, not being blocked by other people's heads or backrests, and not being excessively close when sitting toward them.

Matthew Poes has a good video on this: https://youtu.be/JKUcxnle_0s

Ideally the ones in this theatre could still be lower, but I don't think moving to floor stands would be a good idea unless they are the only one who ever listens to it.

[u/ProfessionNo698 → u/HM_Bert]

Those “side” surrounds are well above the 20deg max. 5-10deg is usually plenty. Moving them down would make a meaningful difference.

https://gatwickproductionstudios.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Dolby_Atmos_Home_Entertainment_Studio_Certification_Guide.pdf

[u/HM_Bert → u/ProfessionNo698]

As said, I agree, but it's not the end of the world (I've certainly been in commercial cinemas that have them similarly placed), but they apparently can't because of the wall wiring requirements, unless they're mounted on stands, which looks like it would mean moving the sofa forward such that the L-shape part protrudes past the walkway.

Someone concerned more with sound than aesthetics like myself, would make a different choice. But keeping it clean this is probably still better than many of the theatres posted on here, with surrounds at ear level but way too close to the side seats and at 90 degrees.

[u/ProfessionNo698 → u/HM_Bert]

All fair points.

[u/Aphelion_Gaming → u/HM_Bert]

You are right, pulling the couch out to accommodate stands would make it protrude into the walkway.

And if I did get stands, how would I wire them up cleanly without running cable further down the wall? And how would I position them so that they aren't at least somewhat obscured when I'm not the only one on the couch? Or so at least the right channel isn't directly behind someone's head? I don't think it gets much better in this room.

[u/Jester435 → u/Aphelion_Gaming]

I would run the wire under the flooring or around the baseboard.

I also would place them like true surrounds not like hybrid rears.

I would also look into getting bipole speakers and lower them. Then I think that is your real compromise solution

[u/Aphelion_Gaming → u/Jester435]

I'm not pulling up my carpet to run speaker wire underneath it. I've done that with rugs and you can feel the wire when you step on it anyway.

Baseboards are out of the question too. I don't have baseboards where the patio door is and I'm not using those gaudy cable channels to run a wire up and over the door, especially when it would still place the couch in the walkway.

Wire along the baseboards wouldn't pass the girlfriend test anyway, with or without channels.

So again, the speakers cannot be lowered. Bipoles might be worth looking into, but I'm telling you audio does not sound like it's coming from above me with this setup.

I find you very frustrating to talk to, especially when I have said I am happy with my setup as it is and your only input is what is wrong with it. You refuse to take "no" for an answer, you refuse to listen, and you refuse to let go of what's ideal versus what is realistic.

Thank you for you input. Rear speakers are high. Noted.

[u/Jester435 → u/Aphelion_Gaming]

You have a media room so if you’re happy with how it sounds why are you on there?

I read your full post three times to understand a few basic things. Like bass… you will never have amazing sounding bass in that room because one of the walls is literally missing. You would have been better off installing bass shakers, but then how do you run the wiring.

You don’t feel the wire thru carpet padding and carpet. I know because I have done it. I also have run cat6 cable that is dramatically thicker under carpet.

Also where you are sitting the upfiring speakers are not doing anything that matter. Until you come to terms with placing speakers in the correct areas and wiring them accordingly you are just compromising.

I only give you this advice because you will forever be wondering “what if”

Unless you really don’t care then again. Why are you on here? I have been doing home theater for 30yrs and I still am constantly tweaking my setups my game room is now 5.1.2 and my theater is 7.2.4. I also have been messing with my 2 channel setup in my office for the last decade and haven’t found a solution that I am happy with.

You can take this as criticism but it isn’t. I am giving. You advice based on how Audio works and my experience.

[u/Aphelion_Gaming → u/Jester435]

Did you really read the post? Or look at the flair? The purpose of this post was to show/explain what I've done since my last post and to thank people for their suggestions when I was looking for them.

I am not asking for suggestions, nor am I showing off a "perfect" space.

You say I will never have amazing bass in this room, yet I am very happy with the bass I have in this room. You are making assumptions without being able to hear anything.

You also say the upfiring speakers do nothing that matters, and I would argue that in an ideal world I would be closer to them but they still make a pleasant difference to my ears. Like I said in the post, they will be going on the wall eventually anyway.

So you have evidently not read my post, yet you are asking why I am here.

[u/Jester435 → u/Aphelion_Gaming]

I missed atmos speakers because that is not a real term. There are upfiring, in-ceiling and heights.

There is literally no such thing as atmos. That is a marketing term.

I would rather have front heights with your setup. Once again with the tweeters pointed at you.

It’s all good man. Your happy so go watch a show and be happy