array in a commercial theater. Here, it is
not uncommon to see twenty or thirty
speakers around the audience. This huge
array of speakers assures that you will feel
completely surrounded by the ambient
soundtrack of the movie. Film makers try
to use the “surround” soundtrack to enve-
lope you in the environment on screen.
They will place background music, rain
sounds, traffic noise, etc. on the “surround”
soundtrack. In a home with a single pair of
speakers it is easy for the jungle sounds to
sound like they are “in the middle of your
head” just like headphones!
A single pair of CM5AT, CM6AT or
CM8AT Loudspeakers, properly placed,
can create a very convincing simulation of
an array of speakers. If you place them
near a hard reflecting surface you can
make one pair of speakers sound like sev-
eral. Create as many reflections as possible
by placing the speakers near a corner so
that the adjoining walls will act as a pow-
erful reflector. Direct the tweeters so that
sound is pointed away form the listener
creating still more reflections and thus
more “surround sound” effect. However,
as you move the speaker farther away from
the listener, both the reflected and the
direct sound will dissipate, requiring more
power from your surround sound amplifier
channels. If the surround sound system you
are using has a small five or ten watt
amplifier for the rear speakers, stay within
five to eight feet of the listening location. If
you are using a 25 to 50 watt amplifier you
can mount the speakers 10 to 15 feet away
from the listening location and still achieve
reasonably high volume levels.
In large or unusually shaped rooms, using
multiple speakers might be the only way to
achieve a good effect. In large or unusual-
ly shaped rooms this might be the only
way to achieve a good effect. If you like to
listen to music surround modes which
emulate concert hall acoustics, more than
two surround speakers will prove extraor-
dinarily effective
(See Figure 6)
. With
Niles CM5AT, CM6AT and CM8AT loud-
speakers it is easy to add another pair
without affecting the decor of the room.
However, you will need to use a much
more powerful amplifier than that which
is built into a typical surround sound
8
Speak
er Placemen
t
Figure 5
Varying Listening Position
Figure 6
Surround Sound
