When you’re attempting to create a
great listening environment in your
home theater speaker
placement is
an essential aspect to consider. Most surround sound systems come with
five speakers plus a subwoofer.
The smaller speakers are set up in
front of and behind the listeners to create a true feeling of immersion
in the sound. The placement of speakers can be a very in-depth
exercise, complete with calculations involving the physics of sound
waves.
However, it doesn’t have to be
that complicated. If
you have the basic idea, you can play around with the placement until
you find out what works best in your situation.
Unless you have an acoustically
“perfect” room, it’s impossible to have a
“perfect” listening environment, so don’t
be too hard on yourself while you’re working on your setup.
Don’t expect perfection in an
imperfect setting. Read your
instruction manual from the manufacturer, but rely on your own ears for
the final say in home theater speaker placement.
Center channel speaker – Put the
center channel speaker centered directly below your screen. The center
channel speaker is responsible for on-screen sound, such as
conversation, so it’s important for the realism that
it’s placed with the television.
Front left and right speakers –
These should be placed at about ear level when the listener is
comfortably seated. If they must be placed higher, angle them downward,
but this is certainly not the best situation.
These speakers play movie
soundtracks and handle the split stereo sound of your music. The
speakers should be placed equidistant from the listener as the center
channel speaker, so the three front speakers form an arc when viewed
from above.
Surround speakers – Place the
surround speakers just behind the listener, to the left and right.
Place them at about ear level when standing, so they are a good bit
higher than the listener’s head when he is seated.
If they
are on adjustable brackets or stands, experiment with pointing them at
the outside or rear walls. You may be surprised with how realistic the
sound is when it’s allowed to bounce off the walls before
reaching the listeners.