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Surround Speaker Placement with Couch Against the Wall

R
Userlevel 4
Badge +8
I expect to have a new Sonos 5.1 system (Beam with Ones) in just a couple days and just planning speaker placement. After browsing these forums for about a week I realize my small livingroom is not the ideal room for surround sound.
So I'm here asking for opinions and advice.
My livingroom is on the smaller side and my sofa (main listening position) is against the rear wall. So there is not an option to place the Ones behind the couch and to make things worse I am not able to sides either (wall or stand). Well maybe one wall as the couch is in a corner.
Seems my only option is mounting on the rear wall.
With that in mind how should i go about mounting them. Higher up than normal? Facing toward seating area? Angle down? Up? Facing forward?
I tried researching this earlier and frankly there doesn't seem to be A CORRECT answer. I found many different solutions some which completely contradicted each other.
Still relatively new here and have already received good advice here so I'm back for more.

Thank you in advance.
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Best answer by AjTrek1 1 April 2019, 14:20

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11 replies

spydrwebb
Badge +7
Having had both angled and direct facing mounted rear-speakers, I agree with the advice given. It really is subject to your own interpretation.

There's times I liked the angled down approach, and other times I felt it was harsh. For example, my kids were watching Transformers once when they were angled down, the intense action scenes and corresponding audio felt very piercing to my ears. I recall after that experience wanting to face them directly out, if not only to see what result(s) I might have. I watched The Shooter shortly afterward and preferred the straight forward. The best example is when there's a sniper scene where the person's target is several kilometers from where they're positioned. The shot's fired and you can actually hear the "distance" traveled in the audio versus where it almost seemed like they were right next to you when the speakers were angled down.

These days, I have stands because my furniture setup changed. About the only time I favor angled down speakers is when they're mounted near the ceiling for music and there isn't one specific focal point or ideal seating/standing position in the room.
Beam, Sub, 2 x P:1 -- 5.1 (video) / 2 x P:3 (music) / 2 x gen1 One (music) ----> ever evolving setup, as they say...
R
Userlevel 4
Badge +8
spydrwebb, thanks for that. Your experiences are very helpful. Thank you for sharing. I think I'm going to favor the direct facing approach but as both you and AjTrek1 recommended I will experiment for myself to see what suits me best.
Your example of the Transformers movie kind of swung me into direction of direct facing vs aiming downward.

I've received a lot of excellent advise in this community so big thanks to everyone.
R
Userlevel 4
Badge +8
I also have a sofa against the wall situation and MAY have room for the floor stands.

Does to the L and Right of the sofa facing 'inwards' work ok?

I have floor stands and I've tried both ways. Either is ok, You'll have to try both ways to see which you like better.
Currently I have the facing forward. Now that I've had them for awhile have used to the way the sound, I'm going to face inward again to see the difference.
AjTrek1
Userlevel 7
Hi Ravica3

My comments assume there is no way for you to use stands. Therefore, based upon your post I suggest getting the wall mounts featured in the link. I'd position them at 6 to 7 feet above the floor over your sofa or ideally split the difference. You'll want to use a stud finder to make sure the are solidly anchored to the wall. Don't worry if the are not exactly symmetrical (left/right) to your sofa. You can use an iOS device to engage TruePlay via the Sonos app to balance the sound for the entire HT setup.

https://www.sonos.com/en-us/shop/flexson-wall-mount-pair-one.html

Cheers!
Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
R
Userlevel 4
Badge +8
Thanks AjTrek1!

Question though, would I aim the speakers straight out or angle them downwards. I've read both ways. Some people say to angle them down to the listening position while others say to head face the straight out to keep from pinpointing the ambient sound.
Thanks for you advice so far. Looks like I'll be picking these up very soon.
AjTrek1
Userlevel 7
Hi Ravica3

I personally do not have wall mounted speakers so I can't give an opinion one way or the other. However, listening is very subjective. As far as I know the mounts can be adjusted out or down and are not permanently fixed to one position_meaning you can experiment. That said my suggestion would to try them both ways with Trueplay and decide which is more pleasing to you. Good luck!

Cheers!
Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
spydrwebb
Badge +7
There's some real top shelf people here. Happy to help wherever I'm able.
Beam, Sub, 2 x P:1 -- 5.1 (video) / 2 x P:3 (music) / 2 x gen1 One (music) ----> ever evolving setup, as they say...
K
I also have a sofa against the wall situation and MAY have room for the floor stands.

Does to the L and Right of the sofa facing 'inwards' work ok?
D
I am also in the same predicament having a sofa against the wall. I may have room to place stands slightly behind, but very little room either side. I’m interested to hear people’s experiences of stands vs shelves vs mounts in a small living room?
jgatie
I am also in the same predicament having a sofa against the wall. I may have room to place stands slightly behind, but very little room either side. I’m interested to hear people’s experiences of stands vs shelves vs mounts in a small living room?

Have had both stands and mounts, not with Sonos, but with traditional 5.1 setups. Vastly prefer the mounted speakers. About 6 feet up, to either side of the couch.
Airgetlam
Never tried mine facing inward, but if they’re in stands, why not just test and see what you prefer?
Bruce
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