Optimum 5:1 positioning

[tobenfun]

I've just moved into a new place with a very large living room. Can anyone can advise me whether there is any advantage in positioning my FL/FR/RL/RR speakers miles apart "just because I can", or what would be the optimal positioning?
Thanks.

[AarontheRipper]

As I do not have a very large living room, I can't say from experience, but in the manual for the bose system that I have it says the following:

We recommend a maximum distance of 3 ft from the edge of the TV screen so that the sound does not become too separated from the picture.

Also interesting to note is that they suggest that the only speaker that you have pointed directly at the audience is the center channel. They suggest that you bounce the sound off the walls so that you can't pinpoint the exact location of the sound source. This is especially important with the surround speakers.

All of this, however, is subject to personal opinion, so I would suggest finding a particularly cool surround sound experience on a DVD (pod race from Star Wars Episode I is one of my favorites) and then play it over and over with different speaker placement to see what sounds the best to you.

[JamesB69]

http://www.dolby.com/ht/Guide.HomeTheater.0110.html

go to this page, it is very reliable, lots of info. It really doesnt have to do with the distance of the speakers, but the angles they are at. What you are looking for will be a ways down the page. Lots of diagrams.

[tobenfun]

Thank you both for the advice. I'm checking out that website.
Certainly I agree with the 3 feet limit, and the bounce theory seems quite reasonalbe too.
But what about the back speakers? I have mine higher than the front. The front are level with the centre of the screen, but the back ones I want to be higher so that the sound comes clearly over the back of heads and bodies. I also figure that they should be a fair distance away, otherwise you have the feeling that a loudpspeaker is directly behind you rather than that it's an unspecific sound source, which of course it should be. Would you agree?
Cheers,
Alan.

[AarontheRipper]

In my bose manual, it suggests that all speakers be at atleast ear level, or higher. In the diagram, it shows them pointed towards the rear wall and bouncing off the wall before reaching the listener. On this one, I don't know how important it is that the surround speakers be so high up if they're directed at the wall.

[Cornucopia]

*NOTE*
BOSE is telling you this because their speakers depend on incorporating the bounce from the room's walls. They used to call it "Direct/Reflecting" or something like that. It is similar to another type of speaker called a "dipole" speaker.
Take what is said, then, with a grain of salt, because MOST speakers do not operate this way, and optimal positioning may be different for them.

In answer to the original question, there is probably not a single answer as a lot depends on the size and shape of your room, the distance of seating from the TV, the acoustical quality of the walls and furnishings, etc...
One thing I would do is maintain a circle or sphere around the central seating area, where all speakers (or at least L,C,R) are equidistant to the listeners. And remember that as the speakers get spread out, the soundstage perspective expands. There is then an area, which if you go beyond, there will be sound "holes"--not good.

HTH,
Scott