7.1 Floorstander System - any specific tips/hints for best set-up???

Hi guys,

Have just received my last pair of Monitor Audio Bronze Reference BR5's, which I'm now using as a 7 channel (with the Monitor Audio BR-LCR Centre) system.

Thing is, I've never had a complete 'floor-standing' speaker set-up before, so been in 'virgin territory' so to speak, are there any hints/tips that I should be aware of that wouldn't normally apply to book-shelf/stand-mount speakers? Or are things more-or-less the same?

Any ideas would be gratefully appreciated

With my thanks in advance,

DC

[nova]

Hmmm,... not from me. I am jealous though. Wish I had 7 floor standers. Fact is I kinda wish I had seven speakers for my main HT system,... maybe one day i'll get the other two.

I'm sure someone will come along soon with some tips for you.

nova wrote:

Hmmm,... not from me. I am jealous though. Wish I had 7 floor standers. Fact is I kinda wish I had seven speakers for my main HT system,... maybe one day i'll get the other two.

Hi Nova,



But no need to be too envious; I'd say my set-up is quite modest (I know of peeps with much higher-end stuff than me), but hey, IMHO it's always nice to have something to aim for; I've had 6.1 and 7.1 for around 6 years now, and I wouldn't be without my back 2 anymore. Really can add a worthwhile difference, more related to soundstaging etc. But yeah, having 6 floors with a dedicated centre is something I've been looking forward to for some time...

nova wrote:

I'm sure someone will come along soon with some tips for you.

Hope so; I'm just applying the basics of normal 'bookshelf' positioning, bass-management etc - it seems that there's probably not too many HT owners (at least on the forums) who have all floors as I've also asked this on a AV forum here in England and zero replies as well

Anyway, my thanks again mate

Best wishes,

DC

[Sonnie]

I know SteveCallas just got towers all around... Towers All Over ... I'll see if he can chime in.

[SteveCallas]

I can offer a few tips. To maintain solid center imaging and good soundstage from the mains, try to keep the center floorstander behind them depth wise. Try to keep it at least 1' behind the mains if you can manage. For the side surrounds, you'll probably want some way to elevate the floorstanders, as typical tweeter height on a tower is ~36-40", and it should be ~1-2' higher than ear level for side surrounds. For rears, though it may look silly, you'll want even more elevation, 2-3' above ear level. You do this because you don't want the source of surround information to be too locatable, you want more of a diffuse sound. Your preferences may very, but I also find I like my side surrounds to be parallel to my seat and aimed slightly behind me.

Oh, one more thing. If your towers are rear ported, give the surrounds a bit of breathing room behind the speaker - don't put it flush against a wall. Whatever the diameter of the port, give it at least that much clearance from the nearest wall.

Sonnie wrote:

I know SteveCallas just got towers all around... Towers All Over ... I'll see if he can chime in.

Sonnie,

Really appreciated....

DC

SteveCallas wrote:

I can offer a few tips.......For the side surrounds, you'll probably want some way to elevate the floorstanders, as typical tweeter height on a tower is ~36-40", and it should be ~1-2' higher than ear level for side surrounds.

Hi Steve,

Very grateful for the tips. I had thought about the likelihood that raising the side and rears might be useful, but wondered how the I'd do it. What do you use for 'elevation' for the sides/rears? Would you recommend something such as a small(ish) wooden plinth, or would something much more solid (small paving slabs) be better?

SteveCallas wrote:

.....your preferences may very, but I also find I like my side surrounds to be parallel to my seat and aimed slightly behind me

Will try this, sounds interesting. I have mine slightly behind me just aimed a little toward the 'sweet spot' at the mo...

SteveCallas wrote:

Oh, one more thing. If your towers are rear ported, give the surrounds a bit of breathing room behind the speaker - don't put it flush against a wall. Whatever the diameter of the port, give it at least that much clearance from the nearest wall.

Great stuff; really appreciate the advice

All the very best,

DC

[SteveCallas]

I had thought about the likelihood that raising the side and rears might be useful, but wondered how the I'd do it. What do you use for 'elevation' for the sides/rears? Would you recommend something such as a small(ish) wooden plinth, or would something much more solid (small paving slabs) be better?

In that thread of mine, you'll see that I put one on top of an end table and another mounted on a DIY speaker stand. Had I known I'd be using that stand for a tower inseatd of a bookshelf at the time I made it, I would have made it thicker for aesthetics, but it's plenty sturdy enough as is. I don't know what the height of your towers is, but I doubt a few paving slabs would be enough to raise the tweeter height sufficiently.

SteveCallas wrote:

In that thread of mine, you'll see that I put one on top of an end table and another mounted on a DIY speaker stand. Had I known I'd be using that stand for a tower inseatd of a bookshelf at the time I made it, I would have made it thicker for aesthetics, but it's plenty sturdy enough as is.

Cheers Steve

Sounds like wooden pedestal(s)/plinth(s) would be more than suitable - as a bit of a DIY enthusiast myself, that suits me ; fortunately I have a good bit of pine lying around

SteveCallas wrote:

I don't know what the height of your towers is, but I doubt a few paving slabs would be enough to raise the tweeter height sufficiently.

I s'pose I'm in the (again) fortunate position that my Monitor-Audio BR5's have the tweeter only - approx - an inch from the very top of the cabinet; so I assume that they won't need raising too much (my ear height is more-or-less 3' and the tweeter a couple of inch short of 3')

Thanks again Steve for the input,

Regards,

DC

[tonyvdb]

For the front speakers your placement is good the way you have them now but for the surrounds you do not want the speakers to be directly firing at your main listening position. the whole point of surround sound is that the rear speakers "fill" the space with sound not direct the sound to your ears. Most people get this wrong and loose some of the surround imaging that is sent to the rears. This is why most HT installations use "bookshelf" sized speakers mounted just above head hight when standing and angled slightly down.