Preferred Speaker Positioning When HDTV Is Between Speakers

I have never really had the opportunity to have a separate listening room. My set up has always been incorporated into the living environment. I am wondering for those of you who like me have an HDTV between your speakers what is your experience, your preference for speaker positioning as it relates to the HDTV? Do yo have the speakers completely in front of the screen, to the side, behind? Mine have generally been in front but I've given some thought to placing them at the sides such that the middle of the speaker cabinet is even with the edge of the HDTV. I guess I'm trying to figure out what would minimize the influence of the screen on the sound, reflections etc.

 

I would like to know this too. Because my stereo cabinet/tv stand is up against the long wall and the speakers really can't come out too far. I get great stereo imaging with the speakers a little in front of the edge of the HDTV but I don't get any depth.

 

I think that is exactly what my concern/interest is in the depth of field of the sound

 

I have mine 8 feet apart toed in, speaker face is about a foot in front of the tv screen, listening position is 7 feet, seems to work, I have read some people prefer to cover the screen with a blanket or such to deaden sound reflection

 

Speaker placement is room dependent but the idea of having speakers and hi-fi integrate with a video monitor is a bit different and can result in compromise or not, just depends on the space. Of course the TV will be in the center of the image field, pun intended. I have two such systems at home and have both TVs either on the wall or right up against it. The front of the speaker baffles are forward of that, of course ans spread out quite a bit from it. One system has the speakers form about an equilateral triangle with the main listening and viewing position, where the other system has the speakers closer together due to the space. You can often lose some depth of sound field when having speakers close to the back wall, so sometimes moving them out can help. The issue then becomes, do you want to move the speakers for audio only sessions or leave them anchored for best video sound and slightly compromised audio. The room use can also come into play. Both of my systems are in rooms where we move about quite a bit, one is very high traffic and we just can't have anything out into the room, not even audiophile speakers. I don't have much loss of fidelity by having the optimized system with the speakers apart a bit, but the one with the tighter space constraints in the high traffic area does hurt performance from where it might otherwise be. It still sounds better than most people's rigs, so it's not the end of the world and I have the main system in the more remote den where it is set-up quite well for both audio and video. Movie soundtracks are also important for me and I feel that an audio only system would simply be a waste and one that compromised balance with regard to the video system would also be a form of compromise, so i set-up the system to both look and sound very good.

Bottom line is, unless you are prepared to move stuff (speakers mainly) around between sessions, I recommend situating the speakers for the least compromise for best video soundtrack performance and for the best audio performance ,where the position will be permanent. You can experiment with room treatment as well if your aesthetic allows it. I have always had an audio no-no going on in my dens, always, and that is having a coffee table front and center between the listening position and the speakers and TV. Of course it doesn't interfere with the TV picture but sound does reflect off of it. Still, I get way better sound than in most audio showrooms I have visited simply because of other optimal placement techniques and careful component selection.
-Bill

 

Hi,


Based on optimising Stereo............


Where practical just locate your mains where they sound best with regards to addressing any bass reinforcement issues from the front wall.

Once you are happy with distance from wall try to build around that.

Any M/C audio issues can hopefully be minimized the Room EQ on your AVR/Pre Pro

If you can achieve the "golden" triangle great but if not don't worry.

I have to run an isosceles triangle and LOVE my sound!!!


If optimising M/C is the priority...........


Obviously more flexibility is available as stereo imaging is now not the primary concern.


There will ALWAYS be compromise in a DUAL system....... just try to compromise LESS in the area you like most!!!


Cheers.

JohnL

 

My speakers are now rear ported. I have the entire speaker cabinet extended just beyond the screen. This is what got me thinking about this issue. Since they are rear ported should they or should they not be extended beyond the screen? Would the rear porting create any reflective sound issues? I know I can just move them around and try for myself and I probably will but I do value other people's experience and opinion also.

By the way I am running strictly a stereo set up. I no longer use a surround set up. Music is primary but I do watch TV and stream movies

 

The bass output and quality will definitely change as you move a rear ported speaker cabinet further from/closer to a wall.

Once again it all depends on how much you value STEREO listening.

 

Yes I agree and in my mind I have now both the rear wall as a reflective surface and the screen as a reflective surface to deal with. The front baffle of my speakers are 38" off the rear wall and the rear of the speaker 28" off. The HDTV is on an AV rack with the edge of the screen 21" off the back wall. I'm thinking about moving them back about 10" moving the rear port behind the position of the screen and leaving the front baffle 28" off the wall.

 

By the way I am running strictly a stereo set up. I no longer use a surround set up. Music is primary but I do watch TV and stream movies

Sorry, missed that somehow.

If that's the case I would try moving anything including HDTV back as far as possible.

Then bring main speakers OUT and work from there.

Try further apart too if you can.

You can always toe in if you lose imaging

 

No, I don't think you missed anything. I didn't really specify.

I'm looking for people's opinions and experience and I appreciate the responses. I've made a slight adjustment in my positioning. I've put the speakers about 6" further apart and moved them back so that the rear of the speaker is 18" off the wall (the front baffle 28") and that puts the rear port about 3" behind the edge of the screen.

I noticed something immediately but that I hadn't thought of when starting the thread. The center image of the sound had seemed high to me as if the sound from the center was above the sound of the image left and right. This little change seems to have mitigated that and all sounds seem more on an even plane.

 

My speakers are out front and to the sides.

I have a 70" hanging on the wall, about 6" out. The back of my speakers are 3' from the wall, 7' apart and slightly toed in.