FAQ 4
Last updated 02/29/08
Where do I place my speakers to get the best sound?
- In a perfect room the LEFT and RIGHT speaker should be:
- Separated by half the distance as to the seated position,
i.e. chair = 10ft away - speakers = 5ft apart.
- Along the same plane as the video screen.
- The tweeter of the speaker should be at, or just above,
ear level of the seated position.
- In a perfect room the CENTER speaker should be:
- Directly in front of the seated position
- Along the same plane as the video screen.
- At ear level of the seated position.
- In a perfect room the LEFT REAR and RIGHT REAR speakers
should be:
- Directly to the side of each ear in the seated position.
- Significantly above ear level of the seated position, as
much as 3 ft. higher.
- In a perfect room the LEFT BACK and RIGHT BACK (7.1
systems) speakers should be:
- Directly in line with the front left and right speakers.
- As far behind the seated position as the front speakers
are in front.
- Significantly above ear level of the seated position, as
much as 3 ft. higher.
- In a perfect room the TWO subwoofers should be:
- Directly below the left and right speakers.
- Problems with the above:
- I DON'T HAVE THE PERFECT ROOM!
- Very few do, so we make compromises and
adjustments.
- THE PERFECT SETUP SOUNDS TERRIBLE TO ME!
- This is likely because everyone's hearing and tastes
are different.
- I ONLY HAVE ONE SUBWOOFER!
- This is most common and usually, in anything but a very large room, very easy to account for (hence
the popularity).
- Most subwoofers are hidden in and around the furniture and
can be adjusted with the volume and crossover points to compensate.
- It is best to start with all of the speakers as close to
the
perfect location as possible and then start tweaking. This
can be
either a great thrill or the most tedious chore ever, depending on your
passion for such things, but very small changes in location and angle
of
the speakers can make big differences in the sound. For
example,
if the front left is somewhat further away from the seated position
than the right, then turning the speaker towards the listening
position may improve the sound. Then again, using the balance
knob of the
amplifier might be a better way to go.
- The subwoofer's placement in the room, as stated, is not quite so critical. If you have placement leeway one
theory holds that if you put the subwoofer in the location of the seated
position, (temporarily move the chair and put the subwoofer in it's
place) play some bass laden media then crawl to the possible final
placement areas to see what sounds best. This method is not an exact
science by any means but should indicate several things, including the
best and, more importantly, the worst place to put your subwoofer.
It is very natural that people expect a straight answer to questions
like the one addressed here but because everyone is so unique the
answers are not so simple. If you think of everyone as a tuning fork,
all differing in various ways, we then all ring
at our own note. The author of this FAQ, in a previous
life, spent days tuning the audio system of an automobile with all
kinds of expensive measuring devices perfecting the tones and
flattening the curves only to have the long list of evaluators indicate
that it sounded terrible and each had a different reason why.
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