Can surrounds go in front?

[cutter]

Hi, I've just purchased a new home theatre system (5.1). I will be setting it up in a room which is 12' by 21'. However, the sofa will only be about half the length of the room (10 or 11') away from the TV. My surrounds are Mirage FRX "omnipolar" Surrounds. I am planning to place the Left one about 6 feet high and level with the sofa; however, due to windows, the Right one must be placed about 3' in FRONT of my sofa (same height). Will this cause a big problem? (for two reasons, one being that the speaker will be in front of me, the other being unequal distances from each). Moving the couch further back is not an option.

[Dmantis]

Surrounds work best when there on the side or slighty behind the listening area.
but slight movements forward or backward,you will still get some of the effect.
Anytime the room gets in the way,you gotta do what you gotta do.It will be fine.The Mirage speakers are omni polar so it won't be as bad as if they where direct.Make sure you use a SPL when setting levels and pay close attention to setup.

You'll be fine

Dan

[David Meek]

Hi Cutter, welcome to The Guide. :welcome:

You SHOULD be okay as long as you (like Dan says) level-match your speakers. Testing will prove whether it's viable or not. Also, with the difference in distances from the surrounds to the listening position you should set the delay parameter on your receiver/pre-pro for each channel accordingly. You want the sound from each speaker (not just the surrounds) to arrive at the listening position at the same time. Staggered arrival can muck up you sound field, and if it's bad enough, can be annoyingly noticable.

[cutter]

Another option COULD be to put both of the surrounds on the back wall (10 feet behind the couch), if it would make a huge improvement in the sound; however, my wife (and I to be honest) would prefer to keep the surrounds on the sides for aesthetic reasons. Hopefully level-matching and setting the delay properly will work out.

Besides, I'm not sure if the "omnipolar" Mirage FRX-r's are designed to be placed on the back wall?

ps. thanks for the welcome. this is my first ever HiFi/HT system, and I'm pretty excited about it!!!

[Clive]

1) Guys, could speaker stands behind the couch be an option? or
2) How about ceiling mounts angled down towards the seating possition.

Just some thoughts.

[cutter]

speaker stands behind the couch get a very low W.A.R. (wife approval rating).

I live in an apt. so the ceiling mount is a no-go.

[Blazar]

run a thin white speaker wire along the floor or roof with some wire staples... you can put the speakers on the wall behind the couch if you are creative about it.

[cutter]

I may do the speaker at the back of the room thing. My wife would let me do that (the speakers are white, as are our light fixtures, ceilings, etc, so they would look OK). Do you guys think that would be better than having them on the sides (as in the diagram)?

Also, the guys at the shop where I bought all my stuff are very knowledgeable. Their shop is only one block away from my place, so I may get one of them to come over (bribe with my wife's cookies) to give me some advice.

My speakers are on order, and I should have everything in about one week. I'll let you guys know how it went.

[cutter]

Well, for those of you still following this thread. I set up my whole system today (well yesterday and today, to be honest). I set it up exactly the way I have it in the picture, with the L surround beside the listener and the R surround about 3-4 feet in front, and, after adjusting the levels and delays, it sounds awesome!! And, probably more importantly is that my wife approves of the aesthetics. Thanks for everyone's input.

[David Meek]

Congratulations Chris! I'm glad it worked out like you'd hoped. :yesnod: