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Got the Arc, Sub3, and a pair of Era 300's with Sanus stands for Black Friday. Looking for suggestions on best placement. Unfortunately I won't be able to get 'ideal seating' with the room layout. Any other suggestions besides the attached photo? TV is 65" LG C9 wallmounted.

Unfortunately I can’t change the furniture layout just because of the door, openings, and windows. I am open to returning the 300’s though if I won’t get much of a benefit without ideal placement. 

 

Hi

Is that the TV in the wall facing the seating area or where you have the Arc indicated?


Hi

Is that the TV in the wall facing the seating area or where you have the Arc indicated?

Where the Arc is. That other thing is a table. I’m not very good at making designs/drawings :D 


Where are you going to sit to watch TV? The couch straight on is surely impractical without requiring neck physio afterwards. One could lounge lengthways I guess.

As shown, either the couch or chair position would have the L/R surrounds both on one side of the listener. Perhaps you could jam them into the corners of the room instead.

TBH I suspect Era100s would be a better fit. Or simply drop the idea of rear speakers for now.


Where are you going to sit to watch TV? The couch straight on is surely impractical without requiring neck physio afterwards. One could lounge lengthways I guess.

As shown, either the couch or chair position would have the L/R surrounds both on one side of the listener. Perhaps you could jam them into the corners of the room instead.

TBH I suspect Era100s would be a better fit. Or simply drop the idea of rear speakers for now.

Thanks for the reply!

And yes, couch is lengthwise. Chair is super comfy and usually my go-to. 

For jamming them in the corner, are you thinking both 300’s behind the chair facing diagonally? 


For jamming them in the corner, are you thinking both 300’s behind the chair facing diagonally? 

One in each of the two corners at the top of your picture. 


For jamming them in the corner, are you thinking both 300’s behind the chair facing diagonally? 

One in each of the two corners at the top of your picture. 

Pointing at the Arc?


Try several spots for the Sub and go with the best sounding spot you can put up with.

Don’t forget to consider laying flat under a chair or couch.


Try several spots for the Sub and go with the best sounding spot you can put up with.

Don’t forget to consider laying flat under a chair or couch.

What are some things to listen for with good vs bad placement? 


Sub placement is always interesting as the low frequencies interact with the room’s shape and size as well as the Sub’s placement. Along a wall, away from a corner is likely to give you a more even sound level at all room locations. Near an open doorway can reduce the Sub’s sound levels over a solid wall.  In a corner will usually reinforce the Sub’s output but can lead to uneven sound levels in other room locations.

I’d try each likely location and play a selection that is heavy on the low frequencies, then try your various seating positions to see what sounds best. Once you have it down to a couple positions you like compare them while moving around the room and go with the one with the most even sound.

If you use an extension cord for the Sub you can do this a lot faster than plugging / unplugging it. Do use a reasonably heavy cord so the Sub isn’t compromised by any voltage lost to a too-small cord. I have one of my Subs on a 20 foot extension, #14 wire.

If you are going to do Trueplay, probably save doing that for the top few locations as it helps but isn’t a cure-all.

I went with corner locations for both my Subs, the media room gave me little choice as it is diamond shaped and behind the TV cabinet was the only spouse approved spot. In my office, I tried a corner to start with and it sounded so good I never bothered to try the other two possible locations.


Sub placement is always interesting as the low frequencies interact with the room’s shape and size as well as the Sub’s placement. Along a wall, away from a corner is likely to give you a more even sound level at all room locations. Near an open doorway can reduce the Sub’s sound levels over a solid wall.  In a corner will usually reinforce the Sub’s output but can lead to uneven sound levels in other room locations.

I’d try each likely location and play a selection that is heavy on the low frequencies, then try your various seating positions to see what sounds best. Once you have it down to a couple positions you like compare them while moving around the room and go with the one with the most even sound.

If you use an extension cord for the Sub you can do this a lot faster than plugging / unplugging it. Do use a reasonably heavy cord so the Sub isn’t compromised by any voltage lost to a too-small cord. I have one of my Subs on a 20 foot extension, #14 wire.

If you are going to do Trueplay, probably save doing that for the top few locations as it helps but isn’t a cure-all.

I went with corner locations for both my Subs, the media room gave me little choice as it is diamond shaped and behind the TV cabinet was the only spouse approved spot. In my office, I tried a corner to start with and it sounded so good I never bothered to try the other two possible locations.

 

Awesome advise - thanks! Challenging hobby to get into :D 


Tried the Era 300’s in the corners and they sounds just okay… unfortunately there are a couple seats in the living room where you don’t hear them at all so I think I’ll return them. Maybe I’ll try the 100’s at some point.