is there a minimum room size for 802's?

[tmt]

Hi there,

I'm going to build a house. Luckily my girlfriend said I should use a separate room where I could house all my speakers and cinema "stuff". :T
I don't have any detailed plans yet, but I wonder if there is a recommended minimum room size for nautilus speakers.
My setup:
Mains N802, centre HTM1, surrounds 602 (I have a spare LCR6 that could be used as back centre)
B&W recommends that 802s are placed at least 0.5 meters (1.6ft) from the walls, but I've read that 1 meter (3.2ft) is ideal.
What about length of the room? A square room is to be avoided I think.
Would a 5 by 6 meter (16.5ft by 20ft) room be big enough for such speakers? Or is it more than adequate as long as I pay attention to room acoustics treatment?

thanks!

[DrJRapp]

I think that your N802s would be very comfortable in that room. Also, assuming at least an 8' celing height you room is very close to the ideal proportion for avoding room reflections and standing waves . Speaker placement will be important to get optimum sound. You may have to experiment.

[misterdoggy]

Hi there,

I'm going to build a house. Luckily my girlfriend said I should use a separate room where I could house all my speakers and cinema "stuff". :T
I don't have any detailed plans yet, but I wonder if there is a recommended minimum room size for nautilus speakers.
My setup:
Mains N802, centre HTM1, surrounds 602 (I have a spare LCR6 that could be used as back centre)
B&W recommends that 802s are placed at least 0.5 meters (1.6ft) from the walls, but I've read that 1 meter (3.2ft) is ideal.
What about length of the room? A square room is to be avoided I think.
Would a 5 by 6 meter (16.5ft by 20ft) room be big enough for such speakers? Or is it more than adequate as long as I pay attention to room acoustics treatment?

thanks!

TMT

I've got a pair od 802D's in that size room and there isn't a day gone by when I don't regret it. That's a perfect size!!

[caleb]

That's my room size almost exactly (with a ceiling height od about 8 feet).

I have 802 fronts, (old) HTM1 centre and 802 rears and the sound is amazing.

[Jeff]

Since your new home is currently on the drawing board, may I make a suggestion.

Consider placing the speakers one meter away from each side wall and that or more from the back wall. Given that placement, consider the standing waves in the room size you mentioned. There are many programs to calculate this on the web. Your in a perfect position to correct acoustical problems before they begin.

I wish I were in your shoes. I would LOVE to design my own HT room!

Jeff

[grit]

That's my room size almost exactly (with a ceiling height od about 8 feet).

I have 802 fronts, (old) HTM1 centre and 802 rears and the sound is amazing.

802's in the REAR? :E Which bank did you rob?

[tmt]

Jeff, that was also my intention. I want a 3 meter wide screen; on each side the speakers, each 1 meter from the wall, that makes 5 meter total width.

Thanks for the "standing wave calculator" tip. I'll need to investigave this standing wave thing (and why is it A Bad Thing) a bit further because I just heared about this phenomenom for the first time last week


PS happy newyear to all! :later:

[JKalman]

Hi there,

I'm going to build a house. Luckily my girlfriend said I should use a separate room where I could house all my speakers and cinema "stuff". :T
I don't have any detailed plans yet, but I wonder if there is a recommended minimum room size for nautilus speakers.
My setup:
Mains N802, centre HTM1, surrounds 602 (I have a spare LCR6 that could be used as back centre)
B&W recommends that 802s are placed at least 0.5 meters (1.6ft) from the walls, but I've read that 1 meter (3.2ft) is ideal.
What about length of the room? A square room is to be avoided I think.
Would a 5 by 6 meter (16.5ft by 20ft) room be big enough for such speakers? Or is it more than adequate as long as I pay attention to room acoustics treatment?

thanks!

I currently have my 802Ds 4 feet out from the side and front walls, before that I had them 3 feet out from both. I have yet to test the sound between 3 and 4 feet and will do so as soon as I have more time. They sounded great at 3 feet but I still found the center image became a little diffuse, or perhaps it was just being overpowered by the bass.

3 feet is definitely doable and I am guessing I will find my sweet spot somewhere between the 3 and 4 feet. My front wall length in the area where I keep my speakers is 14 feet and my 802Ds do fine in that space. Seems to me like you have a good amount of space to work with for those speakers. If you move the speakers in 3.2 feet from the side walls, you will still have 10.1 or so feet of space between them. Of course you might be able to place the N802s closer to the walls than I was able to place my 802Ds without having the problems I was having.

[misterdoggy]

I took a graphic from the b&W site and played with it. Take it if you want.