DAB2084's home theater!

[DAB2084]

Display: Philips 32PF7421D
DVD player: Sony DVP-NS75H
Receiver: Kenwood VR-716
Speakers: Kenwood KS-707
Subwoofer: Kenwood SW-15HT

[Pirate]

Nice setup. Have you thought about wall mounting your rears so they are more in ear line?



-PH

[biglyle]

Nice set up.

I agree with Pirate hunter, you should mount your read speaker so they are 2-3 feet abouve your seated listening position. Your fronts should also be raised so that the tweeter is at ear level in your normal seating position.

[DAB2084]

Would there be quite a noticeable difference if I were to mount the rears and raise the fronts? I'll have to look at my local hardware store or Home Depot for something to mount the rear speakers. Maybe even a little shelf would do. If you have any suggestions of what I could use then that would be great.

Thanks for the tips and comments!

[biglyle]

Yes, the differance would be very noticeable.

[Pirate]

Originally Posted by DAB2084

Would there be quite a noticeable difference if I were to mount the rears and raise the fronts? I'll have to look at my local hardware store or Home Depot for something to mount the rear speakers. Maybe even a little shelf would do. If you have any suggestions of what I could use then that would be great.

Thanks for the tips and comments!

The difference should be immediately noticeable. Your sound field is uneven now and once you get them all at the proper level, you will notice quite a difference.
As for your center channel, I've had mine above and below my screen and I prefer above. For your setup, I would keep it right where it is and mount your fronts to the level of the center.

I would go for wall mounts over the shelves so you can adjust them on the wall for the best aim.

-PH

[DAB2084]

I never noticed but on the back of my rear speakers there's hooks so that I can mount them by using a screw. Would that be okay? Or do I want to use wall mounts so that I can have the rear speakers pointing toward me? I always thought that you were supposed to have the rears facing straight forward toward the fronts.

[Pirate]

Originally Posted by DAB2084

I never noticed but on the back of my rear speakers there's hooks so that I can mount them by using a screw. Would that be okay? Or do I want to use wall mounts so that I can have the rear speakers pointing toward me? I always thought that you were supposed to have the rears facing straight forward toward the fronts.

Some of this will boil down to what you think sounds best, but with speakers like yours I would suggest that your get some wall mounts that can be turned left/right and aim them towards the center of the listening area (between you and the TV). This should help create a more surround experience. With the "swivel" speaker mounts you can play with teh ange to see what sounds best to you.

-PH

[DAB2084]

I took your advice and mounted my speakers on the wall. Although I just used screws because I don't have enough money to get true mounts that swivel. What a difference it made though! I feel much more engrossed in the movies now. I'll have to get a picture when I have a chance.

Now I just need to raise my fronts. I think I'll go to Home Depot and see what I can find to build some speaker stands.

Thanks for the help!

[Pirate]

I'm glad it worked out for you.

-PH

[DAB2084]

I was thinking that I also need to find some kind of mount for my center speaker. Right now I just have it sitting on the top of my TV.

[lakshman]

ensure that your high freq drivers of all the front speakers in one straight line so that you get seamless panning and no level diff in channels ,also i would suggest mounting your surrounds to 2/3 hieght of the room,IMHO this give a better a seamless sound field and is recomended by dolby also .

i have seen system with ear level surround speaker which image accurately in the listening position but do not give out a diffuse sound field wherin yu feel the speakers dont exist 2/3 hieght placement gets a very nice ambient sound field in the room but only when yu set yur speaker distance perfectly in the AV amp .Having setup 3 HT this is my conclusion.

[DAB2084]

I updated the picture of my setup. New room, new TV, new DVD player and new entertainment stand. I'm thinking of getting the Logitech Harmony 360 remote. Having to switch between all of those is starting to get on my nerves. I'll try and get a good picture of my bed with the rears and my DVD shelf. I just never like the way the pictures turn out.

Also, I need to lower the receiver's shelf so that it can breathe more. The reason I have it so high is that I originally had my 360 on top of my DVD player. The 360 was running way too hot and I had a couple of freeze-ups due to it. I took apart an old black TV dinner table and used the piece of wood for the 360 and air filter to rest on.

[Pirate]

Nice.

Get those fronts raised!

[DAB2084]

Originally Posted by piratehunter

Nice.

Get those fronts raised!

Haha, I know I know. I bought some little shelf supports from Home Depot to use instead of purchasing/making stands but I haven't been able to find any finished black wood to match the entertainment center. There's some that's the color of my coffee table but I'm not sure how good that would look.

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by DAB2084

I updated the picture of my rears.

Where is the picture of your rear?

Peace...

[Pirate]

Originally Posted by DAB2084

Haha, I know I know. I bought some little shelf supports from Home Depot to use instead of purchasing/making stands but I haven't been able to find any finished black wood to match the entertainment center. There's some that's the color of my coffee table but I'm not sure how good that would look.

I can’t paint worth a damn, but you could try painting some stands to match your other furniture.

[DAB2084]

Originally Posted by tomdkat

Where is the picture of your rear?

Peace...

That's from a very old post. I need to take new pictures of my rears.

[Iguana Man]

Very nice DAB'. I would also suggest moving your mains up a bit. Perhaps speaker mounts or stands? I'd shoot for at least leveling them with the center if possible.

Damn, you are the second person here I've seen face a front firing sub into the wall. May I ask why?

[DAB2084]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

Very nice DAB'. I would also suggest moving your mains up a bit. Perhaps speaker mounts or stands? I'd shoot for at least leveling them with the center if possible.

Damn, you are the second person here I've seen face a front firing sub into the wall. May I ask why?

I actually decided to try using the sub that way after seeing someone else on here do it. And to my surprise it sounds a lot better. The bass seems more clean or natural with it firing toward the wall. I'm working on getting the fronts raised though. I'm trying to decide if I want to build some stands or put up the money and buy some.

[wynterfire]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

Very nice DAB'. I would also suggest moving your mains up a bit. Perhaps speaker mounts or stands? I'd shoot for at least leveling them with the center if possible.

Damn, you are the second person here I've seen face a front firing sub into the wall. May I ask why?

Are you questioning my motives Iguana? Just for that, I'm coming to your house and taking all your Batmobiles away from you and adding them to my collection.

I got the very same results as you did DAB from doing that. Front firing subs need something to impact off of or else you lose something to the open space. I never understood why it isn't common knowledge that you should place a front firing sub facing a wall or something solid.

You got a good thing going there DAB. I wish my setup looked as clean as yours does. Glad you decided to raise up your speakers. I know when I finally leveled my soundfield things sounded MUCH nicer.

[DAB2084]

Added the picture of my rears.

Should I move the right rear so that it's like the left one, instead of sitting on my DVD shelf? Would it make a big difference?

[DAB2084]

Updated the pictures.

I finally got around to raising the fronts. I built and painted the stands myself. I think they turned out pretty darn good. Everything sounds much better. My girlfriend also got me a Logitech Harmony remote for our anniversary so now I don't have to mess around with all the remotes.

I still need to raise the rears though. I just need to get some longer wire. There isn't enough slack right now.

[Iguana Man]

Nice job on the stands! I also like how you changed your sub so that it faces you unlike that silly Wynterfire does with his!

Yeah, I'd raise the surrounds and probably buy some cheap swivel mounts so you can tune them in better.

Looks great, and seriously....what made you reposition the sub so it no longer faces into the wall?

[DAB2084]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

Looks great, and seriously....what made you reposition the sub so it no longer faces into the wall?

Thanks!

In all honesty, I moved it back because I think it looks better. Don't get me wrong, there was a difference in quality when I had it facing toward the wall but it's not a big enough difference to make me wanna change it back.

Do you have any suggestions of where to buy some swivel mounts from?

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by DAB2084

Don't get me wrong, there was a difference in quality when I had it facing toward the wall but it's not a big enough difference to make me wanna change it back.

Really? You noticed a difference and changed it anyway? I would think any difference towards the + side is worth keeping.

[DAB2084]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

Really? You noticed a difference and changed it anyway? I would think any difference towards the + side is worth keeping.

Yeah, there was a slight difference but like I said, it didn't bother me to change it back to how the sub is supposed to be positioned.

I updated the pictures again. The rears were raised and are on swivel mounts. I picked up some extra speaker wire (100ft) at Target for $10 and these speaker mounts made by Sanus Systems for $20.

So far I'm very pleased. To test I used Master & Commander, Jurassic Park, Heat and a little Gears of War. Everything sounds fantastic! Now I just need to hide those nasty wires and I'll be done with my theater... for now. I plan to go to Home Depot on Saturday to get some wall wire ducts. We still have some paint left that we used for my room so I'll give the ducts a quick paint job and you won't even be able to tell that they're there.

Also, I decided to ditch the Logitech Harmony remote. After fiddling with it for a month I just couldn't get used to it. The clicking noise the buttons made when pressed, the feel of the buttons, the response delay from components and having to fine-tune it made me want to go back to using my old remotes. I'd rather just pick up the remote I need and know what buttons to press and not have any problems.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions guys!