Rear Speakers on the Side

[Sticky Hawk]

First off for the many lurkers out there like me I would like to say thank you to the forum I have learned a ton over the last four months which has helped me ask good questions of my dealer and plan out my project. I do have a question for which I hope I will not get stoned for asking.

I have put together our first stereo/home theater system together. It is in a large room (20x40x10) so in the back my wife was not comfortable with floor standing rears, so I picked out the DM601 3S for this (I am going to them on the top of the cabinets in the rear of the room). The cabinet guy showed up yesterday and the height of the cabinets were about 8" higher than what he originally told me. :M . My wife loves the cabinets (we have a bar with these as well as a home theater set up in the front and some custom stuff around the fireplace) this was her part of the basement project (mine was the wine room and the stereo/home theater. So the odds of me getting her to whack off 8" is low (read non existent).

My question (sorry for the long winded explanation) is if I lay the speakers down on the side so they will now fit (and tilt them down toward the listening area) is this anything to worry about (i.e. will it really mess up the sound from the back). Or because they are rear speakers (and I already have surround in the middle of the room along with the front 3 speakers). The impack is minimal?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[Clepto]

These are the rear surrounds of a 7.1 system? I'd think leaving them vertical, but angling slightly down would be preferable to going sideways.

[Gump]

I think laying them on their side would be OK. These are rear speakers primarily meant for HT ambient sound so it's not as critical as your fronts. As you said the impact will probably be minimal.

My suggestion is to call or E-mail B&W tech support and ask them for their opinion if it's OK to lay them horizontally.

Also, if it's really going to bug you that much, perhaps you should consider other options.. B&W has some excellent in-ceiling speakers that extend out and point forward at an angle that would be fine for that application. (Cm817 I think?). Good for the WAF too.

[Aldo]

Remember what sorround means, don't worry, they do not need to be perfectly directed to you in fact that is what the Dipolar speakers do, send part of the sound to the ceiling or the nearest wall to make the sound as a backround noice! One day I read that if you can tell where your back speakers are closing your eyes.... they failed.

[Sticky Hawk]

Thanks for all of the replies.....

Clepto - I should have posted the whole system ops: (804S/HTM3S/DS6S3) Along with the DM601's and two subs (DD-15 Velodyne and an Outlaw LFM-1). So yes they are the back of a 7.2 system.

Gump & Aldo -- this is what I was thinking it shouldn't be a big deal but I haven't had anything close to this from an equipment/complication standpoint prior to this so I have had no real experience on what sound comes from where. My guiding light has been make the front three speakers the best I could afford and then fill around with the rest of the budget. Wish I could afford 6 802D's, an HTMD1 and Classe/McIntosh electronics with 2 DD-18's.... :E, but unfortunately as we all know there are limits (both financial and WAF).

Gump I am using B&W ceiling speakers back for a zone 2 for my wife so I am excited to see how they compare to the NHT's the builder had installed upstairs in the family room.

Thanks again!

[Gump]

I'm considring B&W's CWM-DS8 in wall speakers for my surrounds. You can switch them back and forth via the remote between di-pole or conventional so that you can listen to HT or multi-channel music respectively and get the best of both worlds.