If they cannot be located exactly adjacent to the seating area,
it is better for them to be located slightly towards the back of
the room, or on the back/rear wall behind the listening
position, rather than in the front of the room. See FIGURE 5.
b. HEIGHT
The surround speakers should be located relatively close to
the ceiling. Placement above the listeners' heads is important,
preferably with the cabinet's bottom at least two feet above a
seated listener's head. In fact, it is even better if the speakers
are located above standing listeners' heads, about 6-7 feet
above the floor for times when listeners are standing or
walking around the room.
c. WALL LOCATION
The surround speaker can be mounted on either the side walls
or on the back wall, or even directly in a corner. They can be
flush on the wall, on shelves, on brackets, etc. The Tripole's
®
great flexibility makes it very forgiving of room placement that
is less than optimum.
The Tripole
®
will give you a combination of an enveloping
sound with directionality. You will hear directional effects, and
even imaging when the recording has these qualities. Yet at
the same time you will also hear a diffuse sound from the
Dipole drivers mounted on the left and right cabinet baffles.
If the sound lacks the directionality you desire, point the front baffles directly at the main listening position.
The M&K STBT5 wall bracket is very useful for this. If the sound is too directional, angle the speakers
towards the back wall or the side wall surface directly behind them. By reflecting sound behind the
listening position, you may increase the sense of envelopment in the sound.
d. USE OF MULTIPLE PAIRS OF SURROUNDS
Some listeners prefer multiple pairs of surround speakers. In
very large rooms, this may even be necessary. Also, some
surround processors and receivers have both side and rear
surround channel outputs.
Multiple speakers can make a
dramatic improvement and provide a broader and deeper
surround effect.
When using multiple pairs of surround
speakers, a symmetrical installation pattern works best. For
example, one pair could be mounted on the back wall of the
room, mounted equidistant from the back corners, with the
other pair mounted on the side walls of the room, equidistant
from the same back corners. See FIGURE 6.
When using two pairs of Tripoles
®
, make sure that the
speakers on the back wall have their arrows labeled "Point
Arrow At Screen" pointed towards the center of the back wall.
SATELLITE SPEAKER
7
30
°
-45
°
30
°
-45
°
Listener
Left
Center
Right
Left
Surround #1
Right
Surround #1
Left
Surround #2
Right
Surround #2
Left
Center
Right
Left
Surround
Right
Surround
Left
Center
Right
Left
Surround
Right
Surround
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 6
