System 10 InWall Speakers
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Home Theater Locations of Choice
Left/Center/Right Locations
The front three speakers should be at ear height when seated, just as with as stereo speakers. Unfortunately, the
presence of the television tends to make this difficult, if not impossible to achieve. (Unless you’re using a front
projector and a perforated screen with the center channel speaker directly behind it). The closer you can get to this
ideal the better, however. Try to keep the left and right speakers within 3 feet to either side of the TV screen. If
possible, place the left and right speakers no more than 2 feet above or below the height of the center channel
speaker. The center speaker itself should be centered on, and directly above or below the TV screen.
IMPORTANT: The System 10 LCR speaker was designed to be used in a vertical (portrait) orientation, if at
all possible. The dispersion characteristics of the speaker are optimized in this position.
The All Important Surround Speakers
In order to achieve optimum performance we strongly recommend Dipole surround speakers like the System 10
SR. The following placement recommendations apply to all Dipole surround speakers (whether the System 10 SR
or another model) Please try to follow them.
Dipole surrounds produce a wide, diffuse, relatively non-localizable sound field that projects to the sides of the
speaker. Directly in front of the speaker there’s a sound “null” or dead zone. When properly placed in the room,
with the apex null aimed at the listeners, this creates the illusion that the sound is coming from a large area to
both sides of the speaker! The result is that you’re immersed in the surround field and become one with the action
taking place up on the screen.
Surround Speaker Locations
The absolute best place for a Dipole surround is directly to the sides of the prime listening position (+/- 15 degrees).
They should be located no less than 18 inches above ear height when seated and at least 24 inches below ceiling
level. If the surround speakers must be located closer than 24 inches to the ceiling they should be turned upside down
to keep the tweeters as far as possible from the ceiling. Please see the important note below.
System 10 SR surrounds are designed to mount horizontally, on the side walls. If they must be placed on the back
wall or the ceiling, please follow these guidelines. On the rear wall, install the speakers horizontally at least 24 inches
away from the corner, and between 18 inches above ear level when seated and 24 inches down from the ceiling.
If installed in the ceiling, position them with the drivers facing the front and back of the room, with the Left speaker
on the left side of the room and the Right on the right side. As much as possible keep the null centered on the
prime listening position.
IMPORTANT: Please note that there are dedicated left and right Dipole surround speakers and they are labeled
as such. This is done to ensure that the drivers facing the front of the room are in phase with the system’s
front speakers. Left and right refer to the left and right wall when you are seated facing the screen. If the
speakers must be mounted upside down on the side walls, as outlined above, be sure to swap them from
side to side in order to maintain proper phasing with the fronts.
In any case, please note that for the greater part of any movie you should not be directly aware of the surround
speaker’s presence. They’re there to create those environmental sounds of the location up on the screen. So in a rain
filled scene you should be thinking, “Is it raining outside my house?”, not “Hey, I hear the rain in the surround
speakers!”
Non-Dipole surrounds
If you decide to use a Monopole for the surrounds (like the System 10 LCR) keep the following in mind. With non-
Dipole surrounds, the more directly they are aligned with your ears, the more localizable their sound. And since the
vast majority of surround information consists of sonic cues that aren’t supposed to be localized, this is particularly
undesirable. Generally then, non-Dipole surrounds should be placed well above ear level on the side or rear walls. As
opposed to Dipoles, Monopoles and Bipoles work best when placed on the side or rear wall, well above and not aimed
directly at the listening position.