Ep. 1 - Achieve HUGE sound! Home Theater Setup! Proper placement and Setup !! | Home Theater Gurus 

Great video

Came for surround sound placement, left with geometry homework Thank you for this series of videos! My setup was completely off

I can't begin to ezpress my gratitude for this video. My home theater sound has changed dramatically after placing the speakers where they should be. Now the sound fills the room and it sounds amazing. Thank you!

I have to say , this is the best video I have found for speaker placement ! At 52 I am just now getting my first home theater, nothing crazy , it is going in my living room. Right now I am at a 7.2.2 and I love the system but I knew it could be better. Thank you for your time in doing this and others on your channel.

I watched all of your Home Theater Gurus videos while i was building my "room". My room is done now and would like to compliment you on a really good series. Difficult to describe just how good my room sounds today. My hobby and work has been electronics for over 40 years and i can say i learned a lot from you sir. Thank you!

Awesome vid! Clears everything up. Is there a minimum distance from listening point to the rear surrounds in 7.1 layout? I'm trying to figure out if there's enough room behind my couch to convert my 5.1.2 to 7.1.2

What I love about these videos are they are so obvious but I had not thought about it before he said it.

You have a very well informed tutorial, always look forward to new episodes. I have a Denon x4800h and 10 svs speakers, including the sub. which is the pb-1000pro then my l.c.r are the ultra b/s my surrounds are the prime b/s and then the svs elevations 2 fronts and 2 rears. This is all new to me, lm the old school type 5.1 and basic a/v receiver. So lm learning alot from your shows. I'm trying to rap my head around Audyssey and speaker placement. So lm greatful for your style of teaching, us old school types of guys. Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. What do you think of the equipment l put together. Hope l started off on the right foot.

Awesome content! Thanks for the knowledge!!

First off, excellent videos! They've been an invaluable resource for me as I learn more about the home theater hobby. I was hoping you could address speaker placement in a room that is less than ideal; for context my room is 7'8" tall, 25 feet in length, and 13 feet wide at the front of the room, but starting at about 9' in length my room's right side widens out 3 more feet, then widens again another 5 feet at 14 feet in length. My L and R surround speakers have been difficult to place; the left side has a wall running the length of the room so the LS is pretty much right up against it (1 ft from the couch edge and the couch is 8 feet long), and the right side has more space to work with but the RS either needs to be up against the wall as well (which places it about 3 feet further away from the MLP than the LS) or pulled closer to the couch to avoid the entry to the adjacent laundry room. If the RS is closer to the couch then i can also more closely adhere to the 90 degree spec, otherwise both LS and RS are placed @ about 103 degrees for a clear line of sight for the whole couch. I also have a central beam/duct running directly over the couch which is about 11" lower than the rest of the ceiling, and the rear spkrs are a little closer to the MLP the the front top Atmos spkrs as well. I placed the rear ceiling Atmos spkrs in DIY spkr boxes between joists to lower them about 10" to avoid reflecting off of the overhead obstacle. So I have 2 Q's: 1. - Should I prioritize the 90 degree speaker angle and try to keep the surround speaker distances the same from the MLP, or leave it as I have them now which has the RS further away and both at about 103 degrees? 2. - Is my approach of lowering the rear Atmos spkrs a sound one or am I missing approaching the situation wrong?

I just moved my speakers from 55 degrees to 68 degrees and it sounds way better. I thought the center image would collapse but it didn't it actually made it better. I don't have a center speaker so I need it to be good. If I could go wider I'd try 80 lol. Thanks.

Trig like Pythagorean theorem. Thanks for showing the way.

Your video is amazing! So much information that I was able to apply and start making huge changes. Thank you for making your videos! Maybe I’m being a complete airhead but how are you getting the decimals you’re using? I’ve just been using a protractor. 😂

This is great information! How would this work for multiple rows of seating on risers? I am hoping to build with 2 rows of 4 chairs.

Very good knowledge. Good luck to your channel. Subscribed!

Great Video. Quick question. I have open concept living area and don’t have option to have speakers on the walls. I have 2 options but not sure what direction to go. 1 - 5.2 Bookshelf speakers on stands but would not be able to keep speakers there permanently. Only during movie listening. 2- 7.2 Place speakers in ceiling using Paradigm Angled speakers. Thank you.

Awesome video!!! Question - I have a 135” acoustic transparent screen as I have the speakers behind. Can I make the cavity where my LCR + 2subs wider than the screen to get the proper distance between speakers? I sit 11 feet from the screen. My room is 16(w) X 20 (l) X 9 (h) I want to expand the cavity at least an extra foot on each side but it would be the length of the screen then - and it may not meet the recommended distance.

Thanks for this tutorial. I was going to put my 3 frontstage speakers behind my screen. Now I think I will go with a different design. I am now a subscriber.

amazing content! great work!

Thank you for sharing the knowledge

I can't help imagining a huge wardrobe full of the same style, but different coloured Smedium sized V-neck shirts :P Great videos mate, keep up the excellent work ;)

How (if at all) would placement be different for mains if I've got bipolar tower mains? do I still do the 53 degree setup or something different due to the design of the speakers. I love the channel. Thanks.

Talking about distance. I read that we need a minimun distance to listen and feel 80 Hz, maybe 9 ft I don't know. Due to the size of my room, I need to be more close to the sub and speakers. Is there a way to solve this issue or is it imposible? Regards, great great channel and content

When calculating the distance b/w MLP and the front speakers, do you use the baffle or Tweeter to calculate the distance? My speaker is JBL 4722n and its tweeter is 12" further away from the baffle (Large horn). I'm assuming its the distance from tweeter since most of the sound comes from there?

Steve, thank you for the videos, they are helping me very much. I am new a still trying to figure out some things. I am laying out my speakers now. As for my side surrounds in a 7.1 I am using Klipsch RP-502s. Should I treat these like a one woofer speaker and place 90 deg. From my main listening position? Or should I treat them as wides? My room is 17x21 and my main seat is front row center. Behind that I have another row of 4 seats. Thank you for the help.

Do the rule and calculations apply to rooms with 2 rows of seating ? Is the front row always the reference row?

Man time flys. 3 years later and I’m back where it all started.

So I have a question: if you set the distances of all the speakers, and then you rerun calibration and it sets them at different feet from your main listening position do you just recorrect that to what it's supposed to be inside your avr levels?

Great video Steve! Definitely got a subscriber here and I'm really looking forward to next weeks video. Keep em coming!!

Good informative video but I want to know u r taking reference from centre of seating position but what about the people who r sitting in second row or side of reference point ...will the sound effect will change for other people who r sitting around the centre reference point

Great video! Please advise...my trusty kenwood reciever (17yrs old) has just packed up and I need to replace. My budget is £500. Are the all in one blueray home cinemas any good for this price..or should I stick to recievers?

I am trying to get into this kind of stuff but don't really know where to start, to begin learning about all the technicality of it. Any advice where to start? Thanks!

I found your channel looking for articles about Atmos. My HT is allready setup using KEF dipoles as surrounds and backs. I have two rows of seats. That is why I use them.. Would uou be willing to do a video of setting that up?

I have a long wide, open, three tiered layout where the speakers are located up and over the seating area based on the room setup. Meaning, part of the room has an 18” lower hanging part where they covered up the support beam and ran duct work. Yes, it sucks. The seating area is about 9'x24'. My first seat starts at 11' and the last is 22'. I want to place the speakers in a better place, as well as add Atmos. The right wall past the hanging row is about 5' past this. My concern is, I will totally mess my sound stage by putting the right speakers on the wall, as well as create a bigger problem with setting up Atmos. What would you suggest?

Should I use flat or angled surrounds? I feel if I use 15 degree angled surrounds they might be set too high and I will have little separation to atmos speakers, flat surrounds seems to be the winners but I’m not sure?

If we also look at the front speakers making an equilateral triangle, would that be an accurate way as well?

Hi, can i ask a question, i have a tv on my garage wall that i sit 12ft from and a 5.2 surround. I only have 30 inches on each side for wall mount speakers. To go any wider i would have to mount speakers 5ft in front of tv on shelf 6ft high aimed down to sitting area. I can leave center channel on wall with tv or move as well. What do u suggest? Thanks.

Very helpful, thank you.

Mr. G. My receiver does not have a "sub out" rca jack, but does have "tape out" right and left rca out jacks, can i hook my sub to one of those jacks? If so should i use a Y adapter at the R&L out put jacks of the receiver because my sub only has One rca input jack. ?? Thank uoi.

Thank you for the excellent video full of details. I am wondering if we will hear any noticeable difference between 7 and 9 channels for the bed layer. Does room size matter for deciding if I should use 9 vs 7? My HT is 17’ wide x 24’ long x 10’ high. Thanks!

This is very informative. I have a question. What calculation was used to get the couch back 11 feet?

If you could build your home AROUND your home theater, what size room would you build? Also, is there a mathematical recipe for LxWxH that is best?

This is what I've been looking for, actual math. I can't stand channels that act like math doesn't exist and all this stuff is just personal preference. Of course, our TV room is probably about as poorly designed as possible. I'm going to have to make serious compromises as I build our system.

How did you determine seat location, you just passed by it and went to main speaker distance. Maybe I'm wrong?

I'm wondering what you do if you're seating position is off-center

How high should my rear speaker be and do you have a calculation equation for that? Thank you! (5.1.4)

If your seating is not centered say off to the right side, should you focus on the angles vs. alignment. Specifically the surrounds, my setup right now based on angles as my left surround sitting back further as the left wall is further away from center. I assume use angels vs. aligning the left and right surrounds to be even?

Great Video Steve. Subbed!

I'm setting up a 5.1.6 in a 10ft wide by 20 ft long 8ft tall room with the listener right in the middle. The TV in on the 10 ft wall. Not sure if the heights should be inboard, outboard or in line with main front speakers. Maybe I missed this in the video but any advice would be appreciated.

Great dtuff Steven! Very useful

Hi! I'm really enjoying your videos and gaining lots of good info as I plan/design my new home theater room. I have a question: What is the recommendation for the minimum distance for the seating from the rear surrounds? I had figured I would just place the seating against the back wall, but then started thinking about adding rear surrounds behind the seating - and thought that a foot or two of distance between my head and the rear speakers would be too overpowering. What is your recommendation? Thanks!

Great channel Steve. After watching Episode 1 I found that my mains were not meeting the minimum Dolby standard of 44 degrees. I have a 140 inch 2:35 act screen with speakers behind. I extended mains out to 53 degrees & are no longer behind screen as a result but sound stage is much bigger. Big improvement. However mains are now within 2 feet of side walls & towed in to MLP. The room is treated but are they issues with close proximity to side wall boundary?

Awesome stuff. Love to see some sub intergration/minidsp vids With speaker angles i use a protractor app on my android phone. Works well

Arent you supposed to go from the MLP to measure and not the side walls? or did your calculations already account for this difference? Where did you get the multiplication factors like x0.25 and x1.16 etc etc from? you didnt mention that in the video. You could have just picked the mid-point of the allowable range instead of doing the calcs for both extremes just to keep the video shorter and find the optimal spot but we appreciate all the work you put into this. thanks. Im redoing my home theater seating area now and needed some good info on what to do

I plan to install acoustically transparent screen. F C speaker plus the subwoofers will go behind the screen. I have seen lot of videos and people are stuffing the empty space especially close to the speakers with sound absorbing material. How important is this treatment and if it’s important do i need to stuff the entire empty space behind the screen. Correction; fronts will be hidden but not behind the screen. Just learned this from your videos :).

Wouldnt 60º just be an equilateral triangle?

I like ur method, it's easy to understand. Thanks for making this video. May I know, what is the formula you use to get the multiple times X value based on the degree set? For example u 110 degrees = 1.15, how did u know 1.15 is for 110 degrees?

Damn this information is so solid, I got lost 5 minutes in :D

I have a question about your placement of the front Left and Right speakers. I understand wanting all the speakers 60 degrees apart. That makes perfect sense to me. My concern is putting them in the corners. It was beaten into me over a very long time period, "Thou shalt not place speakers in the corner." I've also seen you say the Dolby recommendation for front speakers in 22-40 degrees off-axis. But the pdf file I downloaded from the Dolby website has 22-30 degrees for a 7.1.4 system (which is what I'm changing my home theater space to be). So 30 degrees is on the extreme edge of the Dolby recommendations from what I can see. Have you had any problems with putting the front in the corners? Or I guess in my case, they would really be about 2 feet in front of the corners along the side wall behind an AT front wall (part of which will be the AT screen). Total room is 15' wide X 20' long. It's just hard for me to get over what I've been told for so long about not placing speakers in/near the corners of a room. Thanks.

Mmm, I have the Focal Evo Atmos 5.1.2 set, problem is that I have one side of the room full of windows, so my curtains will block the speaker if I place them in de 90-110­° position. Can I place them instead against my back wall? The distance will be 260cm to the front of the speakers. The width between the speakers could be 260cm

How did you determine the seat location and how did you get the 11 foot distance seating position? Can you help me out?

Realising my room space doesn’t support the science but I love home theatre 😭

How important is speaker distance from the main listening position? I’ve heard online that if you can, you want to set your speakers up an equal distance from the MLP. So left front 11 feet from MLP, center 11 feet from MLP, right front 11 feet from MLP etc. Is distance from MLP important, or should you mainly be concerned with angles like displayed in the vid?

@Home Theater Gurus (HTG) I’m sorry for my long winded reply. Made me a subscriber m! Pour yourself a tall one and relax I say this w/out reservation: set up is key paralleling sound treatments and your vid is the simplest yet most comprehensive setup description for 5 & 7 channel systems! I will share every opportunity I get. A pre-purchase “must-view” for all first time buyers. Tip to viewers: take all measurements from the tweeters. A question for HTG: measured from the tweeter, how high should surrounds, sides and rears, be off the floor? I’ve heard/read 6’ regardless of 2 or 4 surrounds. Dogma from ~2010: “execute 5 channels well than a “so-so” attempt on 7 channels.” You should develop a video to help buyers make logical decisions to fit systems into a given space. I’ve seen more than a few cram 7+ channels into a space barely enough for 5. I have the means* to execute 7 channels well. My existing space (living room) allows the couch about 1’ from the wall - not enough space for the Back speakers from my EARS. Dedicated space awaits the last of the “herd**” to exit the house. There I’ll have about 6’ from them. Too often people cram speakers too big*** and/or too many channels into too small space. The “insult to injury” badly under powering them especially across the front. *add’l speakers and separate amp **kids ***4’ towers you can almost touch from the couch, when “CORRECTLY powered & positioned medium sized “bookies**” would do better. I’ve been into 2 ch audio since 1980 and Home Theater since the early 90s. I’ve read countless articles and viewed many YT videos to ring the most possible from my current system & space.

Is there no webpage that you can use and enter your room size and then it´s calc all the distance auto in feet/meters,,would be quite easy to avoid measuring all angles yourself

Great video. You've missed an important part of your tutorial and that's determining the height of the law surround sides and backs. Do they change depending on if you're using Atmos?

I see a lot of people who believe in having the Left and Right Speakers pulled more into the room in order to get them the same distance as the center to the MLP. Anyone else tried this and what is your experience with the way it sounds compared to them being the same distance from the front wall.

Dope.. What if you don't have the room in the back.. I have 7.2.4.. So I ended up having side rears..

I’m a little confused. That processor’s layout shows the front three speakers in an arc placed equal distance from the center listening position. Your LR’s are the same distance from the front wall and toed in. I have 3 identical speakers under my projection screen. Should they be placed the same distance from the front wall? Thanks!

Hi .... Great video so much useful information.. Fabulous Do you room setup / Acoustic consultancy as im planning an in wall project ?? Many Thanks

Hi Steve, I have a simple question. Videos 1 and 2 assume you are using a 3 chair layout to obtain speaker placement. [0|0|0]. Where the center seat is the on-axis position for LCR. So the string you pull diagonally across the room goes through the reclined head position of the center seat. I have a four seat configuration that looks like this: [00||00]. In this case, where would I pull the string through to achieve proper front and rear speaker placement?

Hello..hey bud my couch sits right up against the back wall, so instead of using back rear speakers can I use height speakers instead? My room is probably 10 x 10 with 10 foot ceilings..I have small Polk satellite speakers and I just purchased two small JBL’s that I was going to mount on the ceiling..None of the speakers are Dolby Atoms compatible.also I have one Subwoofer..The small JBL speakers will basically be mounted on the ceiling right above are listening position..What’s your thoughts on this set up, provided we don’t have much of a choice..Thanks for your awesome video. I just started watching because I just purchased a new demon avr.

Undortunately, I dont have walls for my side and back surrounds. Is it good to use inceiling angled speakers for side and back surrounds?

Are your rear speakers up high or ear level?. Really confusing..

Hey Whats the difference between using a protractor and your method?

so... put them next to the television, next to the couch, behind couch and let build in calibration of receiver balance the sound.... there, i saved you time and energy.

Awesome thanks really need for multiple row of seats please

Great video. Why no publish the math in the video description?

Dude I watched your video where you painted the speaker in that red with the clear coat. You know I went and bought all the supplies to do that. It costed me close to 300 so there no backing out now. I want to put a 13w7 in there. I want to get the calculations perfectly correct on the box. I am about to watch episode 1 through 35 in the next week. I’m gonna learn all the rew. It’s a daunting task but I’m passionate about music. Not so much watching movies. I think a 13w7 would be absolutely gorgeous in that box. I’ll shoot you some pictures when I’m finished. A while back I purchased the UMIK. ITs been sitting in storage but it’s time to bust it out and get down. I think I’m going to seal the w7. JL uses the w7 in the fathom and Gotham home subs I’m pretty sure. Have a good one and keep doing what your doing dude. A lot of people are learning and appreciate the long videos with all the details.

But what happens when your sofa is against the wall how will you place the speaker not everyone has the perfect home theater

Surely youve gotta start with desired screen size, because distance need3d away from screen by ThX standards tells you how far back your seat should be 🤔

I hope this guy has got a protractor already. Could figure this up in less than a minute. 😂

I trust Kelly Slater with my Home theater

I would just like to ask, how are you getting your point numbers, (.35, .53, 1.15 etc...)?

Hi Steve, where are you getting your info from? Are you in the industry? Hobbiest?

I thought my room sounded good before. I have a lot of work to do.

Recommended things messes everything up. Theres too many contradictions. Im sick and tired of seeing different recommendations for speaker locations. They are where they are. F-it, done, sounds great. Too much work moving 15 speakers around based on this weeks recommended locations.

Any chance you can do the same thing but including ATMOS? 7.1.4? Is there a link for that?