B+W front and center

[Arneson]

I'm sorry this is more of a placement question.
I have two DM601 up front but almost cieling height and ten foot apart.
The CC6 S2 is center and also close to cieling.
The reason is, they are on top of a large entertainment center and I'm sitting
ten foot back.
The intention is almost all for HT, but the screen is diagonal in the corner, a 60'RP behemuth, and I put a sub behind it.
The viewer, me, is always turned at a 30 degree angle, one ear in, one away.
My movies are loud, but not immersive because of this.
I was wondering if there's any advice out there for this situation?

[misterdoggy]

the closer the center speaker is to the screen the more precise the soundstage for the voices. Do you have a foto ?

soundstage becomes larger with the front left and right further apart. Play with the positions to see how the sound changes as you approach the screen and height. Then you can chose the best desired position.

Then send us a picture and I'm sure everyone will put in their 2 ¢

[dmccombs]

Jim,

Yes, as Arneson suggested, a picture would help everyone make recommendations.

I am sure there is a reason you are sitting at a 30 degree angle. Of course correcting that would improve your sound imaging and reduce neck pain when watching movies. :B

If you can get the Center lower (just above the screen), then you should lower the fronts to the same height if possible.

I am guessing that if your speakers are 10' apart that they may be in the corners of the rooms. Many B&W speakers sound clearer if they are moved out from the wall a bit. Check your manual to see what B&W recommends.

Once you have done that, I would consider moving the seating postion so that the distance from the primary seating position to the front speakers is equal to the distance between the two fronts.

Once all that is done, play with rotating the speakers. B&W recommends point the speakers so they focus just in front of the primary seating position. Many people find pointing them so they intersect just behind the listening position.

This should be a good start.

Regards,
Darrell

[Arneson]

Thank you, I will work a little of each of your recomendations, such as shifting the center closer.
Then I'll post a picture of the arrangement.
To add a bit to the decision of direction I should say there are ceiling speakers slightly behind me and the RPTV has it's own speakers below.
As it is, I've kind of used the projectile sprinkler method, the movie sprays all over the room and I'm in the middle getting all wet.

[Arneson]

I'm just starting to attempt optimising sound in my living room.
I have the DVE DVD to help with pink noise adjustments.
I've just discovered the biggest hurdle in arangement of components and listening to effects, IS my wife.
She ran screaming out of the house yelling I must be def, but I didn't hear her.
So here are two pictures, one right one left, shows screen in corner and speakers kind of all over.

[ZX10 Guy]

I'm sorry this is more of a placement question.
I have two DM601 up front but almost cieling height and ten foot apart.
The CC6 S2 is center and also close to cieling.
The reason is, they are on top of a large entertainment center and I'm sitting
ten foot back.
The intention is almost all for HT, but the screen is diagonal in the corner, a 60'RP behemuth, and I put a sub behind it.
The viewer, me, is always turned at a 30 degree angle, one ear in, one away.
My movies are loud, but not immersive because of this.
I was wondering if there's any advice out there for this situation?

You're not going to want to hear this but the first thing you would need to do is get rid of the entertainment center, position the RPTV in the center of the wall, and properly position your speakers. Otherwise any suggestion for improving the sound is just a lesser of two evils proposition.

[Arneson]

Correctomundo ZX, I thought that. In fact I figured on taking out that wall as well.
Problem is I just have too much crap.
That is the kind of eye opener ideas I was hoping for, Thanx.

[wolfgang]

Seems like you have some very nice gears esp that big screen and B&W speakers but you need to rethink the furniture arrangement and which TVs you really wanted to keep.

How big is the room? Maybe try moving the big cabinet a bit to the left side so you could move the big screen more toward the centre or even just at least put the centre speaker on top of the TV and others 2 speakers on both side of the screen as a start.

Best is still sit down and decide what furnitures, toys etc you really wanted to keep. Then you'll have more space to move things around a bit.

[dmccombs]

The only idea I have without a amjor re-arrangement of the room is.

1) Put the center channel on top of the RPTV, or mount it on the wall right behind the RPTV.

2) Move the old/smaller TV out of the wall unit and put the left speaker there.

3) Put the right speaker equi-distant from the center, on the right side. Get a stand so it is the same height or mount it on the wall.

This would provide a huge improvement with relatively little work.

Regards,
Darrell

[Arneson]

You know we really never actually use the small crt JVC tv in the middle so that can be given away.
That would allow the tighter arangement and be a little more real.
What do you think about the sub behind the big screen, how is that good or bad?
It's right in the corner back there just because it was a convenient location.
I can also clean up the other side which is jusy more unused stuff, karioky, computer, robot and such.
The room accoustics are not to bad and I'm getting a meter to take the sound measurements and graphic spectrum analysis.
I appreciate the response guys and really enjoy this site.

[Arneson]

I have not moved my screen or speakers because I had to set some levels first.
So I sat down with the sound level meter and a bunch of setup disks.
I have the Digital Video Essentials, Stereo DVD Install and Phillips Audio system Check.

I attempted to shift the sound stage so at least the levels of pink noise hit my location equally. The rear ceiling channels were difficult, DTS seems to combine them and 5.1 has seperation, this is new to me but I did manage to get something of a surround effect.
I'm not sure if bringing up the speakers in the RPTV is correct in this situation but it sure adds a lot of fill in sound.
The subwoofer, in the corner behind the set, far right side of room, cannot be heard below 40hertz I can see and feel it but can't tell otherwise if thats normal.

I know circuitry and I know PA sound, but this is new to me and my ears need to be replaced. Can they do Lazerkaretonomy for the ears yet?

[ZX10 Guy]

What sound level meter are you using? If you're using the Rat Shack errr Radio Shack SPL meter, you have to adjust for the mic characteristics of the meter. There are correction curves on the Net which will help you get the true dB reading at the lower frequencies.

Callibrating and tuning a sub is a very tricky proposition. Didn't know how far off I was until I got a DD18 sub and an SMS-1. In my opinion, a sub like the DD series or an outboard EQ like the SMS should be almost mandatory.

[Arneson]

I have this one by ADC.
I'd be better off with somekind of ass rumbling device that mounts under the seat.lol
Seriously though I heard the girls love those things, it's like a vibrator for your sound system.