Articles: How to place surround sound speakers

Things to consider when setting up your surround speakers:

• Use your intuition. Speaker placement can be aided by the use of diagrams, but only YOU know what sounds good.
• Remember that the goal of speaker placement is smooth, consistent and unbroken soundstage across the front, coupled with a sense of envelopment in the ambient surround effects.
• You need to experiment, but thinking back to a great movie experience might help you visualise what you want: you know, that cinema you went to where you found the best seat in the centre of the room and you weren’t aware exactly where the sound was coming from. A sense of involvement is the main thing.
• If you have a 5.1 rig, if you are on the middle of your couch facing the TV, the centre-channel speaker should also be at 0 degrees. Your left and right main front speakers should be within a 22 to 30-degree angle to each side.
• The main left and right surround speakers should be to the sides of the listening area, above ear level if possible at an angle of 90 to 110 degrees from the front centre.
• A home theatre system is unthinkable without a sub-woofer capable of earth-shaking bass, but this speaker can go just about anywhere, as deep bass below 80Hz is non-directional. Keep in mind, however, that corner placement can make it sound boomy. It’s easy to mistake ‘big bass’ for ‘boomy bass’, but you’ll soon know if it’s not quite right.
• Keep experimenting with positioning over a period of time until you’re absolutely convinced you’ve got it right.
• And most importantly, convince your significant other that the home theatre speakers (including positioning of the couch) is a life-or-death situation that’s way, way more important than any aesthetic concerns.