Does anybody know of a good stable speaker stand for the PT800 to be used in a rear surround application? I need to get a stand that will put the bottom of the speaker about 20" off the floor.
Does anybody know of a good stable speaker stand for the PT800 to be used in a rear surround application? I need to get a stand that will put the bottom of the speaker about 20" off the floor.
20" off the floor isn't going to do much good, unless you're sitting on the floor. The bottom should be about 44" so you have a direct line of sight over chairs.Originally Posted by St. Anger
Any stand that can be filled with sand will work, there are many on Amazon.
Living in the Land of the Sun
True, ideally surround speakers should be well above ear level (but with tweeter axis aimed at ear height of primary listening area).
But, aesthetically, speakers positioned high are not for everyone.
Actually, ear-level is the best height for the surrounds, or the same height as the fronts. This assumes no obstructions. A 20" stand will nearly accomplish that. With the removable steel plate in the bottom, the PT800 can easily be secured to almost any stand although wall mounting is far more secure.
There seems to be varying opinions on this, and it may have to do with if you're trying to optimize your surround placement for movies or music.
For example, Dolby recommends the placement of the surrounds above ear level, while the mains follow convention with the tweeters at ear level:
http://www.dolby.com/consumer/home_e...oomlayout.html
Best,
- Mike
Granted there are many differing ideas about placement. I base mine on my own experience. Currently I use PS1400/PT800 stacks for surrounds and the height seems perfect for both music and movies. With the drivers at ear level, I notice a much better sound stage that flows smoother from back to front. Surround FX in movies also seem more realistic. It's an effect that I didn't expect to experience, but it's enough improved that I won't ever place surrounds up high again.
And that's likely the best answer anyone could give. Experiment with the placement of your particular speakers, in your particular listening area, with your particular gear, and your particular preferencesand then you'll have the "ideal" placement for you
For what it's worth (and I only have one surround sound set up in my home - I'm still a stereo guy at heart) I have all speakers placed at ear level in listening (seated) position as well.
Everything comes into play when considering speaker placement, the speaker size, the room size, ceiling height, various wall openings. And its subjective as to what is considered high.But, aesthetically, speakers positioned high are not for everyone.
For me I don't like speakers near the ceilings, and for speakers the size of PT800, L212 having the surrounds so the bottom of the speakers are at the elevation of top of seat backs seem best. That puts the tops around 5.5ft above the floor.
One thing I really don't like for surrounds is having them right next to the seating. I was in a HT shop room a couple of years ago, and the room was short and the back wall was shorter than the front, due to an equipment closet in one corner. Those little Orb speakers right next to the seating were just plain irratating.
In this room, I have a pair of PT800s mounted just above a wainscot, so sitting in this chair, the midrange is about ear level, which also good when in the hip high waterbed.
Living in the Land of the Sun
When I had two Performance Series sets up and running, the music only 5.1 system was PT800s all around and all at the same height. It sounded excellent on multichannel music, mixed as music. This included the sometimes denigrated DTS surround recordings, the Monster master recordings, AIX DVD-A discrete recordings, SACD, etc.
In the 7.1 HT, the fronts were PT800s and a PC600, all at (or near) ear level, but the PT800 surrounds were well above ear level as recommended. The different mixing techniques used on movies made this arrangement more satisfactory and replicated the cinema experience more faithfully. (I've never seen a commercial theater where the surrounds were at ear level.)
All of this is quite subjective to the desires (and prejudices) of the user, but, truly, experimentation is the key. Merely putting them where one "thinks" they'll sound the best is a weak and miserable compromise.
Don't forget to treat the room.
Out.
FWIW, I've never seen a commercial theater where much of anything was done with optimal sound imaging in mind.Certainly never heard anything I wanted to copy.
Movie audio varies a lot from one to the next. But I find that as often as not, the intent is to make surround sounds seem to come from behind, or to the side. (not above) I find the effect more convincing with the drivers at ear level, and don't see any real difference between music and movies in that regard. It's a difference I was not expecting to find, and discovered more or less by accident when swapping around different speakers. Now I'm a believer. Maybe it's more my room making the difference, but I'd highly recommend to anyone to try it.
Then you've never been to a good theater. I'm sure there must be one somewhere in ABQ. Maybe not. :dont-knowFWIW, I've never seen a commercial theater where much of anything was done with optimal sound imaging in mind.
If not, then you can go to Great Britain and have 4645 show you, or the next time you're in LA, you can go to one here.
Out.
Last I heard, that theater was still under construction.or the next time you're in LA, you can go to one here.
Ya, its all trial and error, to a certain extent. But I find that with a bit of prior thought to the intended use and room at hand, one can get damn close the first time out of the shoot.
Of coarse, using a system for both MC music and HT one needs to make a bit of a compromise, to somewhere between the two systems you have/had. As for the surround placement to have them not too high or too low so they work well for both.
Living in the Land of the Sun
Hello all,
I originally posted back in November when I was contemplating what to purchase for my system, and with the advice of the forum I went with a complete 7.1 Performance Series system. I have since been finishing the basement and finally openend the boxes and set the system last Saturday with the 5.1 portion.BTW, all of the speakers and amplifier sat in the their boxes since Dec 1st waiting for last Saturday.
My set up, like most, is not optimal. I have the PT800/PS1400 stacks (fullrange) for fronts, the PC 600 center wall mounted ~ 24" off the floor, two L8400P's in front. The PT800 side surrounds are mounted on half walls with the tops at ~ 40", these are mounted in front of a large "V" shaped couch. The rear suurounds in question need to be mounted on stands at some height "x" behind said couch. The top of the couch is ~ 39". My thought with 20" stands was that they would get the midrange above the couch.
I have a 5 year old and a 2 year old to keep in mind, the higher the speaker, the less stable.
Long story short, I need to get the rear channels mounted so I can calibrate the system, I was hoping that someone may have a reccommendation of a very stable stand that they had used for these precarious speakers.
Well at least they won't have dust caps to push in.
There really are no stands that are toddler-proof. No chance of a wall mount?
You can remove the bottom plate from the PT800 and bolt it to almost anything, then bolt the PT800 back to the plate. What about some kind of tables?
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