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4. Positioning
1. Introduction
The location of speakers within a listening environment
is likely to have more influence over their subjective
performance than any other aspect of installation. It is
worth spending some time considering both the finer
points of speaker location, as well as the larger scale
issues of room and speaker layout.
If you are already familiar with the acoustic
characteristics of the listening environment, and the
way speakers perform in it, you may already have a
good feel for where to position the speakers. However,
installing any new audio component provides a good
opportunity to review an existing set-up and perhaps
make improvements.
Extreme Series speakers are not magnetically shielded
and should not be positioned in close proximity to
magnetically sensitive equipment and media.
Stereo and Home Theatre Positioning
If a pair of speakers is to be used in a conventional stereo audio system or for the
front channels in a home theatre system they should be positioned approximately
as follows:
•
At least 1.0 metre from side walls.
•
Between 2.5 and 3.5 metres apart.
•
Clear of corners.
•
Angled inward towards the listening position.
•
At, or slightly above, listening head-height.
If a speaker is to be used for the centre channel in a home theatre system it should
be positioned approximately as follows:
•
Directly above or below the display screen.
If two or more speakers are to be used for the surround channels in a home theatre
system they should be positioned approximately as follows:
•
Generally in-line with or behind the listening position.
•
At least 0.5m above listening head height.
Diagram One
illustrates general home-theatre speaker positioning.
Don’t worry if, thanks to the architecture or layout of your room, it is not practical
to follow each requirement exactly. The most important thing is to consider the
different options that are practical and identify the one that is likely to work best.
Utility Speaker Positioning
If Extreme Series speakers are to be used as multiple “utility” speakers in an
environment where the intention is to provide background music and/or public
address announcements they should be equally
distributed throughout the space and mounted
above head height. Mono audio is usually preferable
in utility applications but if only stereo is available
multiple speakers should be connected alternately to
the left and right channels.
In choosing locations for the speakers consider the
“coverage” required with respect to the likely listener
positions. Try and ensure that coverage is even and
that as listeners move around the environment their
distance to the nearest speaker remains relatively
constant.
Diagram One
Left
Front
Right
Front
Centre
Sub-woofer
Viewing/listening position
Left
Surround
Right
Surround
Alternative or
Extra Left
Surround
Alternative or
Extra Right
Surround
