Speaker placement for 7.1 system

[tonyvdb]

On a 7.1 system where should the larger speakers be placed. I have a pair of Mission 761's and a pair of 762i's. The 762i's are a little bit larger than the 761's and wonder if they should be mounted at the rear position behind the listening position or on the side walls?

[drdoan]

Your best speakers should be used for the front as that is where most of the sound information is going. I prefer my surrounds to be mounted higher than the listening position just behind my ears. Dennis

[tonyvdb]

Hi and thanks for your answer. I do have my best speakers in the front they are Mission 765 towers. I was only concerned with the rear surround channels.

[jerome]

Try to Google for speaker placement and you will probably find an answer to your question.
Dolby laboratories have one version:
Speaker Placement
THX have a slightly different one:
http://www.thx.com/home/setup/speakers/71.html

You will have to try and figure out what works best for you. It is not always so easy to place the speakers are Dolby and THX expect them to be placed.

[alexadams77]

Most of the movies out these days are decoded in 5.1, so the larger speakers should be on the side walls as they will see more action from movies then the rear surrounds. Even if you have NEO or Matrix on your receiver, the side surrounds will always play more then the rear surrounds.

[jerome]

alexadams77 wrote:

Most of the movies out these days are decoded in 5.1, ...

You mean coded not decoded, right? That's correct that most DVDs today are coded in 5.1 but an extra (pair of ) speaker(s) can help a lot if you have a large room by creating a complete surround stage (i.e. something is happening behind your back, not just on your sides).

Budget and priority are important here. For instance, I haven't updated my 5.1 system to 6/7.1yet because I feel that there is more to get by upgrading the components in my current system than going to 6/7.1.

[tonyvdb]

Thanks for the advice guys, I have an Onkyo TXSR805 on its way to me and I needed to know the proper placement for the speakers so this helps allot I will put the 762i's on the side walls as my room is fairly large (15'X40')

tonyvdb wrote:

Thanks for the advice guys, I have an Onkyo TXSR805 on its way to me and I needed to know the proper placement for the speakers so this helps allot I will put the 762i's on the side walls as my room is fairly large (15'X40')

B/C of my current room layout I was forced to put my side surrounds on the back wall flush with the seating position (i.e. no R side wall). Wherever you decide to put your speakers, may I suggest being sure to calibrate them with the rest of your system using a sound meter. In my experience, it probably makes just as much of a difference as whether you hang the surrounds on the side vs. the back wall.