# Need help trying to set up 7.1 sound system



## Prime316 (Nov 18, 2012)

Hello everyone. I'm pretty new around these parts and was wondering if anyone had any ideas as to how to go about my little mission.

I am currently running 5.1 on a 7.1 receiver and am trying to figure out how to possibly go about setting up 7.1.

Right now my surrounds are on the back wall but are dipole speakers so they diffuse the sound pretty well. The reason they are there is because there is a window to the immediate right of the main seating position. The window is the problem as I know you can see now.

I am wondering if it matters if I place speakers near the ceiling as surrounds on either side and leave the current surrounds as rear surround speakers. The speakers currently there are about 6 feet off the ground. The new set of speakers would be about 9 feet off the ground if placed near the ceiling.

Would I need to move all of my surrounds to that height? Another thing to consider is that my main seating is up against the back wall with no option to move further out into the room.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.


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## sdurani (Oct 28, 2010)

Prime316 said:


> Another thing to consider is that my main seating is up against the back wall with no option to move further out into the room.


Typical 7-speaker layouts have a pair of speakers at the sides of the listening position and another pair well behind the listener, for side-vs-rear separation in the surround field. How are you going to place speakers behind you, well separated from the ones at your sides, when your main seating is up against the back wall (no room behind you for the rear speakers). Better to stick to a good 5.1 set-up that works for your situation rather than try to shoe-horn a poor 7.1 layout where it doesn't fit.


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

I have all my surrounds in ceiling (great room, no good walls to put them on behind or beside the couch).

You can't localize the surround speakers that well (which is both good and bad), but they still provide the desired ambiance effect for music. The helicopter flying behind you, or gunshot echo on a movie soundtrack is more subdued, though.

Good luck.


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## Prime316 (Nov 18, 2012)

I guess the next options are going to be adding wides or heights.


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## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

My surround speakers are above doors, just point them down towards the listening area and you will be fine.
I have even seen dedicated HT rooms with obstacles to perfect speaker placement, so don't sweat the small stuff.


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## sdurani (Oct 28, 2010)

Prime316 said:


> I guess the next options are going to be adding wides or heights.


Heights would add a vertical dimension, turning the ring of sound around you into more of a bubble of sound. Rather than mount them above your main L/R speakers, I would mount the heights between your fronts and surrounds (as high up as possible). This will give you more of an overhead height effect instead of just sounding like a taller front soundstage.


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## Prime316 (Nov 18, 2012)

sdurani said:


> Heights would add a vertical dimension, turning the ring of sound around you into more of a bubble of sound. Rather than mount them above your main L/R speakers, I would mount the heights between your fronts and surrounds (as high up as possible). This will give you more of an overhead height effect instead of just sounding like a taller front soundstage.




So along the side walls. Doesn't matter if they are way above the surrounds?


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## sdurani (Oct 28, 2010)

Prime316 said:


> So along the side walls.


I would try for roughly ±60° from centre, which might end up being towards the outer edges of your front wall or somewhere on your side walls.


Prime316 said:


> Doesn't matter if they are way above the surrounds?


Oh you want them way, way above the surrounds. They're "height" speakers, so try to get them as high up as possible (for maximum effect).


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