Placement of HT - Corner vs Wall?

[Nick]

The living room in my new apt allows me to place my HT set up either against either a flat wall, or in a corner. It's nice to have choices, but I find myself thinking about which would be best.

Visualize a square room with a TV and audio system in one corner, and L-shaped sofa/loveseat/chair seating arrangement in the opposite corner.

My current corner placement gets the gear out of the way, but in order to get separation with the front LR speakers, but moving them out away from the TV also brings them forward along the two walls. The forward extension of the speakers isn't so bad now with only a 32" TV, but when I get a ~53" HDRPTV, the wider TV will force my front mains further out on each wall, and will bring the speakers quite close to the outer positions of my L-shaped seating arrangement.

Using the flat wall wil arrangementl solve the speaker problem, but will really mess up the seating and the "look' of the living room.

If you have had to deal with this or a similar HT placement dilemma, I would appreciate having the benefit of your thoughts.

[brentp]

I found this site helpful when making this type of decision, . . . not sure if it will help you or not, but it is a good read.

Dolby Labs HT Info (http://www.dolby.com/ht/Guide.HomeTheater.0110.html)

BTW - we use to have a set up similar to yours. But with the purchase of a 57" RPTV and the balance of the HT equipment, things had to change (RPTV would not fit in the same corner due to fireplace). My wife was a little hesitant at first with what I was proposing for a new set up (based on info from the above link), but after a single movie, she really fell in love with the result! :)

[DarrellP]

Nick, had to yank the URL, it wouldn't work directly. Go to Sound & Vision (http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/index.asp) and click on the Archives, Hot Topics, More, then look under the Home Theater heading and click on "Tune up your room".

Hope it helps.

[cnsf]

are you using 5.1? 6.1? 7.1?

IU find the corner setup makes setting up sound separation very tough, you end up getting dead sound zones.

Consider where your windows are placed and what position would give minimal screen glare. Also, consider whether your wife will go for the change.

I managed to deal with the corner setup and snaked speaker wire through the wall putting jacks near the floor. Then, ran wire from the stereo along the molding or under the baseboard.

The speakers are up high in front and I have three in-wall rears also snaking through the wall to jacks near the floor.

Anyway, to answer your question, I don't like the sound gap because of the corner setup and the acoustics are awkward (bouncing off the wall in strange directions). I would much rather have set it up in a square room (if I had a choice).

[Nick]

Thanks, cnsf.

5.1 in near future

Dead spots? Oh, good. I thought I was going deaf! Just out-of-phase cancellation I 'spose.

I don't think I will concern myself with my (ex) wife's opinion. She lives elsewhere with my husband-in-law. :D

[cnsf]

5.1 should be easier to place. The in-walls help in a cramed space, but make sure the tweeters are directional (can be pointed). I personally like the high mounts aiming down.

Consider planning around the size of your needed sound stage and get some good fish tape and spackle.....

:D

[Nick]

Well, I bought two recliners which led me to rearrange the room with the TV flat against the outside wall in front of a double south-facing window.

I immediately noticed an improvement in the audio, Previously 'muddled' at times, to the point where I couldn't understand some dialogue due to the cancellation effects of having the sound bouncing off an oblique wall.

A secondary benefit was a slightly shorter viewing distance, from about twelve feet to nine and a half feet (32" TV).

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions. I'll keep them in mind when I get my HDTV :) in a few months.