17
Center Speaker
Most movie dialogue is a discrete multi-channel format that will come from the center speaker, so careful
positioning is an important part of a good home theater system. Your eyes and ears should focus your
attention towards the center of the screen.
The center speaker can sit on top or directly underneath the TV, as long as it is located on the center line
and not off to one side. Ideally, you would try to maintain a deviation from the center line of the speakers
of less than 12”. This means the center speaker will not be lower or higher than 12” to the center
measurement of the LEFT and RIGHT MAIN speaker center measurements.
Position the front face of the speaker close to the front edge of the TV cabinet. (The sound waves may
otherwise reflect off the top of the TV cabinet and distort the center imaging). Some systems use two
center speakers, one on either side of the TV. As they are in mono, the result is a sound image that is
positioned exactly at the screen center. This is an acceptable approach where the room is wider and the
LEFT/RIGHT speakers are further out.
Tweeter position:
To get the most out of your system, Emotiva recommends that you position your center
channel speaker with the tweeter facing down (towards the floor) when the speaker is mounted above
your TV, and facing up (towards the ceiling) when the speaker is placed beneath the TV.
Note:
Speakers are not magnetically shielded and many subwoofers are also not magnetically shielded
and thus may distort a CRT television if placed too close. If you want to check if this will be a problem,
select an unused video input on the television to bring up a single color screen. If you see any color
distortion anywhere on the screen, an unshielded speaker is too close to the screen and should be moved
away from the television until the color distortion disappears. Please note that all modern LCD, DLP and
Plasma televisions are not affected.
Side-Axis Speakers
Some preamplifier processors feature side-axis channels which are matrixed and derived from the left and
right front channels, so they are available in stereo as well as surround modes. If available as a feature,
the processor should have a set-up menu to turn the SIDE-AXIS channels ON or OFF. Many Emotiva
processors have this feature.
Typical placement of side-axis speakers is depicted by the speakers that appear to be "suspended" where
walls are in the room. Wherever you position them, place these speakers along the side walls, close to the
fronts. You can also angle them in towards your listening position for better results. Using a specific
surround speaker (such as the ERD-1) for side axis speakers is especially beneficial because you can
configure the speaker to be a dipole or bi-pole configuration depending on its location. Try a dipole
configuration initially to see how you like it.
