Home Theater Speaker
Placement
So you have purchased that brand new set of
speakers and can't wait to set them to enjoy
your new system. Keep in mind that home
theater speaker placement plays an important
role in the quality of your sound.
When placing your speakers, the goal should
be to have a consistent soundstage across the
front and surround sound that pulls you into
the center of the action. The location of
the speakers should not be obvious, but
rather should be natural and
consistent.
Home theater speaker placement tips
Center - Movie
dialog is focused on the center
channel. The dialog should be
anchored to the screen meaning that the dialog
should naturally feel as if it is coming right
out of the mouths of the actors on the
screen. In order to accomplish this, the
center channel should be directly above or
below the screen. If you have a home
theater projector and the speakers are behind
the screen it is important to have an
accoustically transparent screen to allow the
sound to travel through the screen without
being inhibited. If the center
channel is on top of the tv it is
important for the speaker to be flush with
the edge of the tv so that there are not any
detrimental sound reflections.
Front Main
Speakers - The front main
speakers carry the music and the majority of
the sound effects in a movie. The main
speakers should be at a 22 - 30 degree angle
from the center of the screen on each
side. They should be at the same distance
from the viewing position as the center
channel. The tweeters of the speakers are
ideally located at ear level.
Surround speakers -
The surround speakers in your system should be
located directly to the left and right or
slightly behind the listening
position. They are typically about two
feet above ear level. In a 6.1 system a
rear mono surround channel is added.
It is important to note that it is
generally recommended to use two speakers in
this set up to avoid the rear surround
being directly behind the listener in line with
the center channel. In a 7.1 system a
rear left and a rear right channel are added
behind the listening
position.
Subwoofer - Deep
bass is non directional so you can take some
liberties with home theater speaker placement
of the subwoofer. If your significant
other does not like the look of a big box in
the front of the room you can feel free to try
different locations throughout the room.
Generally bass will be enhanced by being next
to the wall, and especially when placed in the
corner. However, keep in mind that
sometimes the enhanced bass of a corner
location comes at a price by producing a
"boomy" bass sound.
So there you have a brief overview of home
theater speaker placement. Keep in mind
that this is a guide and feel free to
experiment a bit with speakers in your room in
order to find the ideal location. Ok, go
ahead, get those speakers out and let the fun
begin.
|
