IV. SPEAKER PLACEMENT — MAXIMIZING YOUR ENJOYMENT
Proper loudspeaker placement is an essential ingredient to getting the best
sound from your high performance stereo, multi-channel audio or home theater
system. The goal is to reproduce faithfully the audio soundtrack the movie
director or music producer created without calling any attention to the speakers
themselves.
A. Listening Locations
Consider the desired, intended, and probable locations of listeners when
considering speaker locations. Ideally, listeners should have a clear line-of-
sight/hearing to all speakers in their listening area—not too far off axis and not
obstructed by structure or furnishings—for most balanced frequency response.
Where will listeners be—primary and secondary? Where will listeners’ ears
be—sitting, standing, walking? No installation is absolutely ideal, but considering
listener locations with speaker location can greatly improve the final result—and
simplify the effort and expense to achieve it.
B. Speaker Locations
Here are three simple ideals, which are never fully satisfied:
1. Locate speakers equidistant to listeners, preferably at ear level.
2. Locate speakers closer to each other than their distance from
listeners.
3. Locate speakers symmetrically to each other and to their physical
surroundings.
Ideally, listeners will be equidistant from front right and left and center channel
speakers and from rear (or side) left and right surround channels for most
accurate spatial imaging. If listeners are too close to front or to rear channel
speakers the image cannot come together and flow seamlessly across. While
ear-level mounting is ideal, the swivel tweeters can be aimed towards the
listeners, increasing the accuracy of frequency response when speakers are
located further off axis from listeners’ ears. Most importantly, a center channel
speaker should be located centered on the TV screen—to keep center channel
sound coming from the center of the screen.
30°
30°
30°
30°
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