Surround speaker distances

Hello all. I was calibrating my system after adding a single rear surround last night.

My surrounds are on the walls of my room, 8' from the couch. My rear surround is behind the couch against the wall, 4' away. The 950 only has a single crossover and distance setting for all 4 of the surrounds.

Should I set the distance for the greater, the lesser, or the average of the two? Will it make much of a difference?

Thanks,

-Joe

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Remember the Intellivision?
http://www.gotmaille.com/nostalgia/

I think most folks tend to settle on an average value. I'd probably use 6' or so in your case. How noticeable delay adjustments are for speaker distances depends somewhat on the individual -- some people really notice it, while others hardly notice at all.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Thanks, gonk, that's what I did last night. I'm not sure I'd notice the difference...and if I'm listening hard enough to attempt to notice the difference, I'm probably not enjoying the system anyway

I do really like the PLII parameters to move the stage rearward, that was fun, and makes a noticeable difference in a lot of music.

-Joe

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Remember the Intellivision?
http://www.gotmaille.com/nostalgia/

Joe,

I'd set the distance based on the nearest surround speaker (4 feet, in your case). This way, a longer delay will be applied to the surrounds than if you had entered 6 feet or 8 feet. Too short a delay for the surrounds means that there is a chance you'll hear the sound from them before you hear the sound from your main speakers (i.e., the Haas effect). This is more likely to happen if your main speakers are further away than your nearest surrounds. Delaying for 4 feet probably won't make a big difference but, since you can only enter one speaker distance, no harm in compromising on the side of caution.

Best,
Sanjay

I agree with you. Use the shorter distance speakers as a guide, because you do not wnat the surround sounds to appear ahead of the main sounds in timing. The farther speakers will only appear to be farther away i the timing of their sounds.

[This message has been edited by Time_Stands_Still (edited August 21, 2003).]