I think I placed the speakers incorrectly in my living room. I placed the C speaker ontop of my TV (the only thing I think I did right). The FR and FL I mounted on my wall about 7 1/2 feet off the ground and 8ft apart. The same for my surround sound speakers (BR and BL). That's what I think I did wrong. Did I mount them too high and too far apart? I feel like I'm hearing most of the sound from the Center channel and little from the other 4 speakers. Even though I positioned the wall mounted speakers facing down towards the audiance, I think the speakers should have been placed at ear level instead. I can't seem to hear a lot of the surround sound (BR and BL)? Do most systems allow you to adjust output so you can rais the volume of the surround speakers (BR and BL) without touching the volume of other speakers? Is my goof a major goof or can it be fixed or made better without moving the speakers?
Will do Chris. But let me ask you, does it sound like there is anything wrong with the way I set up my speakers in terms of how I positioned them in the room and on the walls?
I'm no expert, and it basically depends on the acoustics of the room. (Size, Shape, Openings, Wall material, etc) From what I've read here and elsewhere the rule of thumb is fronts should be ear level, surrounds should be 6'. However, that is in a perfect world, and sometimes the room won't let you place them where you'd like. Depending on the room size, 8' apart does not sound excessive to me.
I have not installed all my speakers yet, but I'm looking forward to using my Yamaha's automatic setup. Because each room IS different, it uses a microphone at the listener's location to determine the acoustics of the room and automatically set the speaker settings for you. This is what you need to do manually.