Hello all - I have a room with a 60” TV above a fireplace mantel. From TV to back wall is 27’. From center viewing position, right wall (windows) is 6’ to right. There really is not left wall up to 7’ as it is an open concept that spills into a kitchen and hallway. From 7’ to 15’ the left wall is 6’ to left. The ceiling runs at a pitch from 7’ at the right to 15’ feet on the left - again from the viewing position. Basically, it is a long room with a high pitched ceiling. Adding a beam on the mantel (approximately 6’ from floor) made a big difference as compared to the TV speakers. Adding two Ones along back wall and a Sub(3) was nice but really not as big an impact as I was hoping. Downstairs, I have an 80” TV. From TV to back wall is 12’ and from side wall to side wall is about 27’. TV is situated on the right 13.5’ of the room. Drop ceiling height is 12.5’. I just installed an Arc with a Sub (3) and so far so good. Should I relocate the larger Arc to the larger room and the smaller Beam to the smaller room? I am thinking I should keep the Arc downstairs where it will perform better and keep the Beam upstairs and live with it until I purchase something more suitable for that size room, which may be neither a Beam nor an Arc nor any soundbar. The sound is good upstairs just not great or particularly impressive. Thanks everyone!
Picking Room for Arc v. Beam
Hi. Not wishing to be unhelpful, but you can actually hear the results in the rooms where the speakers will play. That is worth 100x anything we could add here, isn't it?
Thanks John and I do not take your response as unhelpful. To your point, where I ultimately place the equipment will in large measure be driven by my own personal experience over time. Nevertheless, I was hoping to obtain some insights from people a lot more knowledgable than me before I move the Arc upstairs and test it out and move the Beam downstairs and do the same. I also would need to make sure I was testing each with the same movie, music, etc., for an apples to apples comparison. Also, I do not entirely trust my ear to be honest. I figure I would get some thoughts and guidance from the community first then move stuff (or not) and then adjust based on my own user experience over some time with different sources of audio (movie, music, etc.)
OK. I do understand and there is no harm in asking. But you have to test it out by moving the gear around.
You have to trust your ears, as you have no alternative means of listening. Whichever you prefer is right for you.
Enter your E-mail address. We'll send you an e-mail with instructions to reset your password.