I have an Arc, Two Era 300’s, and a sub mini in a small to medium sized room. The Arc is underneath the wall-mounted TV around 10 feet in front of the seating position, with the sub mini below it to the side. The question I have is about the 300’s: Due to the fact I have a corner shaped sofa, I’m only able to put one of the 300’s to the left of me (slightly behind but sufficiently away from the wall with the requisite 8 inch side clearance) but the right hand one isn’t able to go symmetrical to the left, so it’s forward, positioned around halfway from the sofa to the TV. Will this suffice still, in getting good enough surround sound for HT and also when paired for music? Thanks in advance for your input.
Userlevel 7
+15
Hi
Either to the side or rear of your listening position will be fine, however I’d recommend temporarily placing the Era 300s and testing TV, movies, and music to see if you like how they sound.
Most sound experience related answers differ from user to user, and only you know what will sound good to you. Try moving them around and testing with the various sources until you get a position you’d like.
We also have a section in our User Guide for the Era 300 on placement of these speakers, under “Select a Location”.
I hope this information helps!
Hi.
Thanks Jamie.
Obviously, ideally I’d like them at each end of the sofa, but it’s a corner unit and a power point issue. I just really wanted opinions on whether the current set-up as it is is good enough for the soundstage, given that the right 300 is around 4 feet in front of the listening position, as opposed to the left one that’s correctly positioned slightly to the rear of the left side of the sofa. We currently have the 300’s on the opposite corners at the side of the TV and Arc and Sub and it still sounds terrific in stereo mode or surround mode, except that I’m having to increase the ‘music’ level in surround mode to +5 in order to get enough from the front tweeter.
Jamie,
I should have stated that the 300’s are where they are at the front at the moment due to me waiting for the imminent arrival of floor stands. I’ll then place them in the position I stated previously.
Thanks for your help.
One more thing Jamie, it states in that link for set-up that optimal position for surround speakers is 10 feet from the listening position towards the viewing area. This contradicts all that I’ve read; that being that they should be placed slightly behind the seating, placed symmetrically either side? So, given that that’s correct, that’s where they are currently.
Userlevel 7
+15
Hi
Everyone has a different listening environment, so what works well for others might not for you or may need adjustments in the app such as the Music Level setting you’ve changed.
I recommend following what is in the user guide, and having them facing towards the listing area or even facing towards the Soundbar. While being placed behind can give a better surround experience, if you don’t have space to do that, being placed to the side will give you a great surround experience as well.
What I wouldn’t recommend is having the speakers placed differently, as in one to the side and one to the rear. This setup can cause the surround audio to sound unbalanced and will effect your listening experience.
Perhaps with my reply, other users who had a similar question can give their experience and opinion to how their setup sounds or how the set up their speakers.
Yes, I understand what you mean. Maybe I’ll just keep them where they are then when I get my stands.
Thanks for your time.
I just figured that having them alongside the sound bar isn’t spread out enough, especially given that the front tweeters are weak in surround mode.
Hey Daren, I have pretty much the same listening situation that you described and I would love to know if that worked out for you?
Hi.
IMHO, due to the sound being all-encompassing I really doubt that them being in the ‘optimal’ position could improve the sound..having had them for around 15 months now. That said, our room is only small/medium so maybe that needs to be factored in. Even though in Atmos the sound is incredible, with the benefit of hindsight I probably would have kept the One’s, or maybe upgraded to 100’s. The reason I say that, is most things we watch are in DD 5.1 and hardly any in Atmos, of which I think isn’t much different to 5.1 anyway…the difference is negligible…especially when you consider good Atmos is inconsistent in films and music. Maybe if I had a Blueray I’d appreciate it more, I don’t know. All in all, for the cost of the 300’s, I don’t think they represent it.
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