I'm interested in surround sound but I'm not quite sure how I would set it up with my arrangement.?

[christie42]

I have my desk and tv stand right next to each other. My laptop is currently straight in front of me, of course. About five inches directly to the right of my laptop is my Xbox 360. A few inches directly to the right of it is my tv. My tv is turned so that when I'm done working on my laptop all I have to do is rotate my chair about 45 degrees to the right and I'll be looking at my tv head on. So, if I were to get a 5.1 surround sound system that has a center speaker, a front left+right, a rear left+right and a sub-woofer, what would be the best setup? I know that surround sound is all about positioning of the person and the speakers (sound localization) and so on but never having set one up I’m not sure on what’s best for my situation.

My tv stand is my dresser and mounting the tv is out of the question so I can't place my sub in the proper position according to THX. http://www.thx.com/consumer/home-entertainment/home-theater/surround-sound-speaker-set-up/ As for the surround speakers, I don't know where to put those since I don't have anywhere to put those to my right that is equidistant from me as my available positions to my left. My laptop and Xbox are on a cheap, walmart, L desk, (it’s not sturdy or big enough for my tv). There’s plenty of places to place stuff to my left, from floor to ceiling (facing my laptop) and in front of me, both on the ground and level to me (again, facing my laptop) but there’s nothing to my right no matter what I'm facing unless I put something behind the tv or against the far wall. So, corner L desk, then dresser with tv then about two feet of space to the right of the dresser until the next wall. (based on the pictures on the site I would guess that the Rear left/right speaker, as most sellers call it, is surround left/right speaker, correct?)

Or am I making mountains out of mole hills with all of this?

As a side question: can the sound vibrations of a speaker or sub-woofer being blasted be damaging to a tv if the speakers or sub were placed on the same surface as the tv and/or directly behind the tv?

[calin]

the surround sound speakers can be placed at four corners of the room. you don't necessarily have to put them at the roof. you could put them in the center of each of the four wall surrounding you and that would work to. as for the sub you need to keep it away from the tv because the magnet will interfere with it. put the sub to wherever it sounds best from where you usually sit. the center channel can be placed in from of the tv on a stand or above it because it should be magneticly protected. hope this helped