Practice of sound / Installing and placing tips
This chapter contains common information on
loudspeaker placement and installation.
In which room do you
achieve the best sound?
No matter how good the equipment is, in the wrong
listening environment it will inevitably sound bad.
There are some basic rules concerning a proper
loudspeaker installation.
Reflections
Carpets, curtains and soft furniture absorb
midrange and high frequency sound, and this is
preferable. A large empty area, on the contrary,
reflects it and produces a hard sound that may lead
to a blurry dialogue. Apart from colouring the
sound, also the perspective of the sound will
deteriorate.
Amplification of bass
frequencies
A loudspeaker that is placed near a wall, ceiling or
floor will be amplified in the lower frequencies in a
sometimes not desirable way (since it may lead to
an indistinct sound recreation). This amplification
becomes even more obvious if the loudspeaker is
placed near a corner. Thus, for a sound as clear as
possible, the loudspeaker should be placed about
30 cm (about 12 inches) away from the wall.
However, there are exceptions from this rule. For
some type of walls / rooms it may be advantageous
to place the loudspeaker closer to the wall.
Furniture
Be aware that furniture may vibrate and thus create
bad low frequency sound.
Room dimensions
Quadratic rooms or rooms where the length is
exactly twice as long as the width should be
avoided, since they may create unwanted
resonance.
Placing the loudspeakers
How the loudspeakers are placed towards the
listener is of great importance
The front speakers
For stereo listening the loudspeakers should be
placed symmetrically in front of the listener. The
distance between the loudspeakers should be about
80% of the distance between the listener and one
loudspeaker, or put in another way: the angle
between the loudspeakers, as seen from the listener,
should be about 45 degrees. This means for example
that if the distance between the loudspeakers is 2
meters, the listener should be placed 2.5 meters
from the loudspeakers.
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