Where to Place your Speakers Congratulations, you’ve bought a stereo system. Finally you are ready to join the echelon of people who have immersive sound experiences during their television watching. But wait, before you can do that, you need to figure out where you’re going to put them. Contrary to what you may have previously thought or been told, placing your speakers is a big part of the speaker system setup process, allowing your system to reach its greatest potential. So pay attention as we go over a couple of tips to ensure that your speakers are nestled right where they belong.
Front and Center If your speaker system consists of more than a single speaker, then you will probably have to set up center speakers and front speakers (which are meant to go on the left and right). So, let’s start with the easiest one: the center speaker. This wonderful sound machine is meant to go either above or below your television, lined up right in the middle, facing you. If the speaker is significantly higher or lower than your face, tilt the speaker so that it is pointing directly at you. The front speakers will go to the left and right of the television, and these should also be point towards the ideal listening position in the middle of the room. If you want to get technical, front speakers should be between a 22 and 30 degree turn from the center speaker to your right or left.
5.1 Surround If you have decided that you need surround sound (and let’s face it, everyone does), then you‘ll also need to set up a subwoofer and surround speakers. The subwoofer is the easiest. Since it’s used to produce lower bass noise, you can pretty much put it anywhere. Your surround speakers are a little more particular. You should place them alongside you (directly to your left or your right while sitting on your couch, or a little farther behind you if that sounds better), but they should be higher than your head while you’re sitting. A good rule of thumb is that they should be eye level while you are standing. They should still face you, however.
7.1 Surround If you have been blessed with a 7.1 surround sound system, then you will have two more speakers to set up. These are to be placed anywhere from 135 to 150 degrees to your right or left if you are looking at the television. They should be facing towards you, but also higher like your other surround speakers. This arrangement should give you an excellent sound experience. Sound systems are a great addition to any home theatre room, and
while setting up your speakers may be a hassle, an application of hard work and some flat speaker wire will go a long way to making this dream a reality. Good luck! Photo Credit: farm9.staticflickr.com/, farm6.staticflickr.com/