speaker set up for beginers

[jokerpaulonline]

I dont know to much about the speaker set up apart from on a 5.1 system you got 2 front speakers, a centre front speaker that should be kept in line with the fronts and 2 rears, but where in the room are you supposed to put the sub? and if you go for a 7.1 system then where do you put the other 2 speakers?

Also what is the difference between 7.1/5.1 and systems like the yamaha z11 that has a 11.2 or 5.2 what is the .1 or .2 ?

also, if i was to buy something like b&w mt30 then wanted to upgrade to a 7.1 system then what type of speakers would i need to get and how would they be arranged?

 

[simonlewis]

.1 is the sub which can go pretty much anywhere in the room.
A 5.1 is where you have three speakers at the front, left, right & center & two speakers either side, like if you hold your arms out to your side, thats where your speakers would be.
& 7.1 you would have two speakers at the rear, behind you.

hope this helps.

 

[Torres09]

jokerpaulonline:

I dont know to much about the speaker set up apart from on a 5.1 system you got 2 front speakers, a centre front speaker that should be kept in line with the fronts and 2 rears, but where in the room are you supposed to put the sub? and if you go for a 7.1 system then where do you put the other 2 speakers?

Also what is the difference between 7.1/5.1 and systems like the yamaha z11 that has a 11.2 or 5.2 what is the .1 or .2 ?

also, if i was to buy something like b&w mt30 then wanted to upgrade to a 7.1 system then what type of speakers would i need to get and how would they be arranged?

jokerpaulonline, ideally you would put the sub to the left/right of your screen, maybe in the corner of the room....

The other 2 speakers in a 7.1 set up would be positioned between your front left/right and your surround rear left/right- thats if you have adequate room.......

The .1 and .2 refers to the Sub ( or Subs ) hence 5 speakers (front Left/ Right speaker, Centre Speaker, Rear Right / Left ) and .1 ( The Sub )....

However set up's like an 11.2 are very rare, unless of course you have checked out The_Force set-up...

Hope this helps.......

 

[Torres09]

Also, not sure on the B&W MT30 if you can buy 2 speakers to go 7.1, IIRC Big Chris has the MT25 and may be more educated than me to give advice on these........

 

[jokerpaulonline]

Hi slewis, you just got me confused, from the way I read what you just said,

"5.1 is where you have three speakers at the front, left, right & center & two speakers either side, like if you hold your arms out to your side, thats where your speakers would be."

That sounds like you saying you got 3 front speaker then to the left and right of them you put the other 2, should that not be at the back of the room, left and right?

Also I know the centre and the sub is different but are all the other speakers the same, or do you get different types of speakers for front and rear and if 7.1 then centres as well?

If it was a .2 set up then would that mean you would have 2 subs?

 

[simonlewis]

I am sorry you didn't understand, i will try & explain again, 5.1 you have three front speakers, center, left & right, then two more along the side walls.
7.1 gives you two more speakers at the rear (behind you) -if you only have 5.1 you won't have the speakers behind.
.1 or .2 means subs.

 

[Sorreltiger]

No, slewis is correct. He meant that when 'you hold your arms out to your side' you're in your listening position. Arguably, those speakers (surround left and right) could be a LITTLE behind the listening position if you are running a 5.1 system. It is a popular misconception that they should be directly BEHIND the listening position.

If you have two extra speakers (surround back left and right) in a 7.1 configuration, they should be behind the listener at about twenty-five past and twenty-five two. The surrounds should be to the side of the listener.

In a typical speaker package, all of the satellite speakers (front, surrounds and surround back - if present) are the same size. However, it IS possible have larger speakers at the front - sometimes floorstanders. This might prove advantageous for listening to music in stereo.

Occasionally, people run two subs, but this is IMHO overkill in most people's homes and only advisable in a large home theatre installation!

 

[Anonymous]

You know, for a 5.1 setup, I always thought that speakers 4 & 5 were supposed to go behind you! Never realised they were meant to be side speakers! Thanks for that...

 

[Messiah]

Have a look HERE

 

[jokerpaulonline]

Well you learn something new everyday.Thanks I understand now slewis

and good link messiah very usefull.

So what is my next lesson? lol

 

[Anonymous]

Hey Joker,

Also the MT-30 package comes with 5 M1 speakers and the PV1 sub.

You can buy the M1 speakers individually, so if you wanted to make your system 7.1 you could just buy 2 more....

Hope this helps..

 

[Big Chris]

Torres09:Also, not sure on the B&W MT30 if you can buy 2 speakers to go 7.1, IIRC Big Chris has the MT25 and may be more educated than me to give advice on these........

MT-30 chap!!!

Yep. The M1 sats are available individually. If you can't find room for 2 rear channels, you could always stick with 6.1.

 

[jokerpaulonline]

On my excisting hifi system I have got 2 pioneer s-x1a surround speakers. would you have any idea if these would be suitable for the 2 rear speakers in a 7.1 set up

 

[Big Chris]

jokerpaulonline:On my excisting hifi system I have got 2 pioneer s-x1a surround speakers. would you have any idea if these would be suitable for the 2 rear speakers in a 7.1 set up

They'd be fine in the interim, but I'd look at speakers that match the rest of the 5.1 personally. This way, you'll have an even tone around all the speakers. The rear channels are used the least in any surround system though (especially as the bulk of movies still come with a 5.1 soundtrack), so if you seriously want to use your Pioneer speakers, the rear location is the place to put them.