New GE owner here, having just bought a SuperCinema 3D Array X after moving to a condo. For various reasons the room layout I'm forced into won't allow rear surrounds unless they're right behind my sofa. Plus, ceiling or in-wall speakers aren't an option.

I know it's an odd placement, and certainly not ideal for imaging, but can the Sat 3 or Sat 3c be effectively used horizontally and facing up towards the ceiling? That's likely the only way I can turn my 3.1 system into a 5.1 system. If I put them vertically on stands directly behind the sofa then they'll be inches away from the heads of the people sitting on the sofa so that can't be better than facing up, IMO.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. I don't want to waste my money on rear surrounds if it's going to sound terrible or be distracting.

Hey RolandOG,
Welcome here, new GE owners should talk with us here, we will try to help IF we can.
I cannot answer definitively, not an expert, but my experience with audio is that we just do the best we can with what we have. And it is always enjoyable. Could our system sound better? It always could. Does the family enjoy it anyway? Oh YEAH!!!!
Just do the best you can. I have a dedicated home theater room, that my builder made too narrow. My surround speakers are on the floor, and too close to the left and right listening positions (fine for me in the catbird's seat). Nobody ever complained.
Enjoy the process and challenge of building a good system. Enjoy the music and movies.
God Bless,
Wayne

Thanks for the reply, Wayne. I may give it a shot and see how it sounds. As long as it doesn’t detract from the sound then I think it’s better than not having surrounds at all.

RolandOG wrote: New GE owner here, having just bought a SuperCinema 3D Array X after moving to a condo. For various reasons the room layout I'm forced into won't allow rear surrounds unless they're right behind my sofa. Plus, ceiling or in-wall speakers aren't an option.

I know it's an odd placement, and certainly not ideal for imaging, but can the Sat 3 or Sat 3c be effectively used horizontally and facing up towards the ceiling? That's likely the only way I can turn my 3.1 system into a 5.1 system. If I put them vertically on stands directly behind the sofa then they'll be inches away from the heads of the people sitting on the sofa so that can't be better than facing up, IMO.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. I don't want to waste my money on rear surrounds if it's going to sound terrible or be distracting.

SuperSat 3C is for horizontal use. The surround speakers on stands on either side of the couch, facing towards the center of the room, is actually the preferred setup in the situation you describe. I would try no surrounds before floor mounted. The 3D Array does a decent job of creating surround effects just by setting the receiver to "No" for surround speakers.

Moderator wrote: The 3D Array does a decent job of creating surround effects just by setting the receiver to "No" for surround speakers.

Unfortunately, I'm not finding that to be the case. It's surprising considering that it sounded immersive with a wide front soundstage in the store. I have it paired with a 50" plasma and the soundstage doesn't sound any wider than what I get from the TV. I'm assuming that I need to play around with my receiver settings some more. I suspect that low volume is working against me as well.

I don't expect a soundbar to have the same spatial feel as discrete F/L/R speakers but I do expect the GE I have at home to be able to reproduce what I heard in the store. Given that it's the same speaker it has to be something else in my HT that's not right. I've been wondering if I should try a new Yamaha receiver to see if I can create a wider soundstage with one of their DSP modes. I owned one before and there were a couple modes that I didn't mind listening to. I'm currently using a Marantz SR7002, which I love, but it doesn't have a way to 'expand' the sound of the front array. Maybe one of the newer Marantz does?

Anyway, this is off-topic from my original question but part of what had me thinking of trying to go back to a 5.1 system. I think before I go any further with the rest of the system I need to get the front sounding the way I want it to.

No reason it shouldn't sound like it did at the store. Probably a setup issue, shouldn't need (or want) any DSP modes to get the correct results. Make sure all processing beyond bass management is turned off, make sure all the correct speakers are selected and levels are set correctly. Make sure the soundbar is at, or pointed at, ear level. Make sure you are not sitting too far away from the soundbar (over 15 feet and you will begin to lose the crosstalk cancellation effects. If no luck, ask your dealer for help.