Home Theater Surround Speaker Location Advice?

[TAorama]

I'm putting together a 7.1 surround system, and I need some advice regarding the location of the rear speakers. The room is very long, and approximately 20' wide. The screen is going on the 20' wall at one end, with the front speakers obviously pointing into the long length of the room. The surrounds will hang on the side walls, but I'm trying to decide where to mount the rear speakers. I can either put them further back on the side walls, or I can mount them on the ceiling. The room has about a 12' ceiling. I can't mount them lower, like on a table or something behind the seating area, and I'm concerned that the ceiling mount might make too much of an angle. If I put them on the walls, I'm concerned that the angle for rear speakers to the center of the listening area would be too great for the desired effect.

Any thoughts from the audio/videophiles out there?

[Andy43]

I haven't really experimented much, but it's supposably best to mount them about 6' high, so mounting them on a 12' ceiling would be too high.

[jaxadam]

I've always heard better surround sound systems with the rear speakers at ear level when sitting down.

Any higher, and you're going to get reflection, and with the inherent delay in rear, it will have more interference.

I would just put them further back on the side walls.

[jemsite]

that room is too large to concern yourself with perfect speaker placement. if your processor allows delay to each speaker you can get a balanced mix no worries.

where is the couch/seating in relation?

also are the speakers direct radiating or dipoles that scatter the surround?

i like surround next to the listener and rears behind & above the listener if the room allows it... glen

[IbanezFreak777]

Yeah I second the ear level position for rear speakers.

[TAorama]

Seating position is about 15' from the screen (a 10' projector screen). Surrounds will be right beside the seating area, ear level. That was the easy part. I'm still gear shopping, so I can't tell you for sure what the speakers will be. I was thinking about mounting the rears on the wall, same level as the surrounds, but pointing back toward the listener. If I did that, I'd go with direct radiators. If I mounted dipoles flat to the wall, like you normally would, then half the signal would just disappear in the back of the room (it's about 40' deep), I would think.