optimum rear speaker placement

[spederman]

In the process of building a new house with media room. Its gonna have a 7.1 setup. The sound wiring company wants to put the rear speakers in the ceiling behind the seating area instead of on the back wall. Will that make any difference or should I have them on the rear wall?

[2K2 LS1]

In the process of building a new house with media room. Its gonna have a 7.1 setup. The sound wiring company wants to put the rear speakers in the ceiling behind the seating area instead of on the back wall. Will that make any difference or should I have them on the rear wall?

When I did pro AV that is the same thing we did. Mine at home are on the back walls and I plan to move them to the ceiling right behind the seating area.

[spederman]

So you think leave the rears in the ceiling? Does that create a better sound field?

[fordracing19]

In the process of building a new house with media room. Its gonna have a 7.1 setup. The sound wiring company wants to put the rear speakers in the ceiling behind the seating area instead of on the back wall. Will that make any difference or should I have them on the rear wall?

Wharz build thread? We are getting ready to build also and doing a dedicated media room.

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[LS1Goat]

Interesting. If they put the surround back speakers in the ceiling behind the listening position, then where exactly in the room ~ in relation to the listening position, do they plan on putting the surrounds?

[2K2 LS1]

Interesting. If they put the surround back speakers in the ceiling behind the listening position, then where exactly in the room ~ in relation to the listening position, do they plan on putting the surrounds?

probably to the right and left of the seating area in the ceiling as well or directly above the seating area. this was the norm when we were installing them just 2 years ago?

[jluv]

Why would you want the sound coming from above you? If you don't have the option, that's one thing, but if you have the option to put them at about ear level in the back wall (assuming it's not a huge distance away and there are no real obstructions), that would seem ideal to me. If someone can say with 100% certainty that it sounds exactly the same or better in the ceiling, then I'd like to learn more about that.

[LS1Goat]

I realize a lot of people will do this for the rear speakers to have "cleaner room aesthetics". However, I'm old school. I don't believe in putting any speaker in a home theater environment more than 2 feet above ear level at primary and secondary listening position. I've heard a demo home in Roanoke with an in ceiling system. They weren't even Axiom or Mirage, just some mid level bi-pole, but was pro installed. The installation was clean and the room had acoustical treatments. Surprisingly enough, even the sub was sitting on a SubDude. Couldn't get much better than that in terms of prep. However, the spatial panning and sonic detail to the rear channels during a DVD Dolby Digital 5.1 Demo sounded technically awful and out of phase. The sound stage and ambiance is supposed to be seamless and you need timbre matching to some degree on the speaker gear. Why? Sound Engineering 101 - Human beings do not properly detect vertical sound direction because our ears are placed symmetrically on our head. Humans are more adept at picking up horizontal sound direction and cues vs. vertical.

[spederman]

doing some research on avsforums.com i found out that the ideal place is on the rear wall. So thats what i'm gonna have the sound company wire for.

[STROKD]

So you think leave the rears in the ceiling? Does that create a better sound field?

No, in wall properly spaced behind u is best