Off axis speaker setup

May 30, 18, 2, Portugal. Nyal Mellor said:. Aug 6, 1, 92 Milford, Michigan. Asamel said:. Apr 20, 11, 34 New York City. Sep 30, 1, 4 Sep 20, 1, 20 69 Colorado Springs, CO. Interesting thread. One of the things I noticed when I went from Martin Logan to my Wilson's was how good the Wilson's sounded, no matter where I sat in the room. With the ML's I had to sit in the sweet spot, else the sound suffered. May 27, 37 Chicago suburbs.

Robh Well-Known Member. Aug 25, 1, Destiny. Apr 26, 6, Snohomish, WA www. Martin Logan speakers do many things very well, but their horizontal dispersion is admittedly limited. They attempt to overcome this by the curve of some of their ES panels, but they are known by many listeners as "head in a vice" speakers since when you move outside of their relatively narrow sweet spot the sonic performance drops off considerably.

Magnepan planar magnetic speakers on the other hand offer very good horizontal dispersion by comparison. As with most things in high end audio component selection often comes down to a series of tradeoffs, and selecting those that you are willing to live with and whose strengths meet your sonic preferences most effectively. I find the speaker interacts much less with room boundaries and I get more direct vs.

CGabriel Industry Expert. Jul 8, 3, San Diego, CA almaaudio. Apr 21, 11, Manila, Philippines. I've got rock solid degrees. I have a funny trick I pull on friends. I make them walk from in front of the speakers to right between them. Emerging audio formats like Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and Auro-3D are also bringing immersive height effects into the home, creating more channels that extend to 5. Regardless of the number of speakers in a home audio system, the final goal is the same — precise localization of special effects, a spacious sound stage, seamless panning across all channels and three-dimensional imaging.

This can only occur if each speaker channel is properly placed. It does not refer to the room dimensions in any way. The importance of symmetrical speaker placement for near field listening, especially in small to medium sized rooms, is hugely important for optimizing stereo sound quality. After the speakers and main listening position are set as close to a perfect equilateral triangle as possible, the speakers must be angled slightly toward the listening position also called toeing in.

When done correctly, you will be able to clearly perceive a center focused voice when the sweet spot is hit. Check out the entire SVS Speaker line-up to choose the speakers that are best for your music experience. The main speakers should be placed degrees off-axis, relative to the primary seating position. The best imaging will be obtained when the tweeters are close to ear height when seated. Most tower speakers accomplish this naturally, and a bookshelf monitor will require stands.

Pulling the main speakers away from the corners to the extent allowed by room traffic will reduce boundary reflections and improve imaging.

The center channel should be placed directly on-axis, relative to the primary seating position. But depending on the placement of the video display or projection screen, this is not always possible. In a 5-channel system, the side surround speakers should be located degrees off-axis. For the best sense of spaciousness, the tweeter height should be about 2 feet above ear level. Place the rear surround speakers at degrees off-axis, relative to the primary seating position.

As with the side surround speakers, position the rear surround tweeters about 2 feet above head level when seated. Since native Blu-ray formats are currently only available in 7. The wide speaker channels are intended to be placed between the main front speakers and the side surround speakers.

The goal of the wide speaker is to minimize any gaps in panning and imaging between the front main speakers and the side surround speakers and provide an additional sense of envelopment.

The optimal location for the wide speakers is about 60 degrees off-axis, relative to the primary seating position. Audyssey recommends that the wide speakers be placed at head level when seated.

Typically, this will be degrees off-axis and about 8 feet in height. The height speakers enhance imaging in the vertical plane and can even be used to create sound effects which seem to come from directly above the listening position, which provides total immersion into the surround sound experience. Introduced several years ago to commercial movies theaters, Dolby Atmos adds ceiling-mounted speakers to create special effects which emanate from above the viewer.

More recently, DTS:X and Auro-3D have expanded the options for object based surround sound and height effects speakers. This brings a new and thrilling dimension of realism to the cinema experience. Implementing Dolby Atmos in a home theater involves either mounting speakers like the SVS Prime Elevation high on a side wall and firing down, in the ceiling, or by adding Dolby-Atmos-enabled speaker modules which fire upward at the ceiling, thus relying on boundary reflection to provide the illusion that the special effects are originating from overhead.

All SVS loudspeakers are timbre-matched so you can mix Prime and Ultra Series in a home theater system and never have to worry about voicing or phase issues. They blend seamlessly together. When this whole process is done correctly you will be able to clearly enjoy a significantly improved surround sound with a center focused balanced quality. The speakers should be placed degrees off —axis relative to the sitting position, you will get the best imaging when the tweeters of the speakers are close to ear height when you are seated.

Most of the tower speakers out there can accomplish this naturally however a bookshelf monitor will require some stands. In order to reduce the the boundary reflections as well as improve the the imaging you have to pull the main speakers away from the corners, to the extent that is allowed by the room traffic. The center channel speaker should be placed directly on the axis , that are relative to the primary seating position.

Just like the main front speakers, most surround speakers come with tweeters. Therefore placing these tweeter speakers at their nearest head level possible to your seating area is optimal, but again that depends on the placement of your entire home enttertainment system video display or projection screen , this is definitely not always possible to hapzardly just suggest. If the channel that is the center must be located below the head level then the upward tilt of the speaker is recommended to improve, mid high frequency response as well as dialogue intelligibility.

When you are using a 5. To get the best sense of spaciousness the tweeter height should at least at about two feet above the ear level. If you are using a 7. Put the rear surround speakers at at least to degrees off the axis, relative to the primary seating position. Just like the surround speakers place the rear surround tweeters at about two feet above the head level when you are seated. The wide speaker channels are meant to be placed between the main front speakers as well as the side surround speakers.

The goal of the wide speakers is to minimize the gaps in panning and the imaging in between the front main speakers as well as the side surround speakers and provide an additional sense of envelopment. They offer some really crisp clear quality sound that will turn your home into a cinema. These speakers can make your gaming experience so real.