Should I ...

1. set the speakers as far forward as possible?
2. set the speakers all the way back to the wall?
3. get smaller speakers (one pi) and put a big subwoofer cabinet under the TV?
4. build bigger speakers (2pi towers, 10 pi) that fill the whole space?
5. put lots of damping material, (bolsters, carpet, wave traps) behind the speakers.
6. build speaker enclosures inside two of the cabinets in the entertainment center?
7. put speakers on top of the entertainment center?
8. not worry about it?
9. ask somewhere else?

many thanks,

Walter Owens

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The speaker locations are indicated by the "S". The entertainment
center is the two rows of "=". The room is about 20' x 30'. At one end of the room, where the speakers are, there is a 13' wide area where the wall is 3.5' further back. It's just right for a big entertainment center to hold a big tv and the clutter of components and media. But if the speakers are right next to the entertainment center, then they will be surrounded fairly closely on three sides. It looks like there could be all sorts of resonances and reflections and stuff that might not sound good.

I hope the picture is a little clearer now.

thanks again,

Walter Owens

You're right that isn't ideal. But we do have to live in these spaces, not just setup our listening studios within them. So sometimes compromises have to be made.

Yours is a tough one. I'm not entirely comfortable with the nook area. If the speakers are bought out flush with the wall it might be OK, but they will be in freespace. That's good in that it gets you out away from the recessed area but bad in that speakers in freespace are usually pretty anemic.

One could possibly look around the room for an altogether different arrangement. You might find that the entertainment center could be placed on another wall and that the speakers could then be put in a better location. But it does look like the arrangement you have makes a neat layout, overall. You might be better served putting the speakers where you've shown, and pulling the system and speakers out so that they are flush with the wall that the nook is recessed into.

You might go with some tower two π speakers because I think they will work well for you sitting where you have shown. Do bring everything forward so your speakers are flush with the wall though. It will probably look really nice if the entertainment system and speakers are all flush, creating a wall of sight and sound.