Surround Sound Speaker Placement

A standard surround sound system has 6 channels of audio information coming across the speakers. 4 directional speakers, a center speakers (used mostly for dialog) and a sub woofer speaker. This is known as a 5.1 setup. 5 stands for the 4 directional speakers and 1 for the center speaker. The .1 stands for the sub woofer, which is non directional. There are a few other types of speaker setup; Stereo 2.0 or 2.1 (if you have a sub woofer), the obsolete quadraphonic system 4.0, Enhanced surround 6.1 or 7.1. This article concerns itself with the setup of the 5.1 surround sound system.

The speakers in a 5.1 surround sound system are labeled as the following. Center speaker (also known as C) is where most dialog is panned to, it usually is placed directly in front of the listener. Front Left (also known as FL) is a surround speaker and sound effects are passed onto it, as its name describes sits in the front of the listener to the left. Front Right (also known as FR), is a surround speaker and sound effects are passed onto it, as its name describes sits in the front of the listener to the right. Surround Left (also known as SL), is a surround speaker and sound effects are passed onto it, as its name describes sits in the side or slight rear of the listener to the left. Surround Right (also known as SR), is a surround speaker and sound effects are passed onto it, as its name describes sits in the side or slight rear of the listener to the right. The sub woofer (also know a

LFE or low frequency emitter) is non directional and can sit anywhere.

The standard set forth by the ITU (international telecommunications union), calls for varying positions and angles from the reference listening position and angling of speakers to provide the optimum listening experience with a surround sound system. In plain English, where to place your speakers so it sounds the best.

All standards organizations will make a study and give details that are sometimes difficult to interpret. In this case, it would be positioning the speakers. The standard calls for a placement of your speakers at varying degrees from the center. Manufacturers of surround sound systems repeat the exact information that the ITU recommends most are printed like this.

Place your center speaker at 0 degrees from the reference listening position. Place your front left (FL) and front right (FR) at 22 to 30 degrees from the center. Place your surround left (SL) and surround right (SR) at 90 to 110 degrees from the center.

Sounds simple, just dig out your protractor.

First of all, the reference listening position is where you sit. Most people will place their couch or chair in front of the TV and thus in front of the center speaker., this is your reference listening position. If you are not in front of the TV then your "experience" will differ meaning the you will be out of the "sweet spot", a area where you hear all the speakers independently of each other.

Instead of using a protractor to find all the correct angles, use an analog clock to find the correct angles. Here's how to do it. Place the analog clock in your "sweet spot, directly in front of the TV in your chair or couch. Position the clock where noon 12 o'clock is pointing to the TV. On the front wall near your TV is where you are going to place your Front and Center speakers. The Center speaker is placed at 12o'clock . The front right speaker is placed at 11 o'clock on the front wall. The front left speaker is placed at 1 o'clock on the front wall. Your surround right speaker is then placed at 4 o'clock on the side wall right to the listener. Your surround left speaker is placed at 8 o'clock on the side wall left of the listener. That's it for your main speakers.

If you are one of those that own a 6.1 or a 7.1 surround sound system, the additional 1 or 2 speakers are back surround speakers (SB). These will mount directly behind the listener at 6'o'clock.

The placement of the sub woofer is not set because the sub woofer is non directional. Some manufacturers suggest placing this on the floor near to the center speaker, most just suggest to place where it sound the best.. I found the best position for myself and that is behind the listener on the floor (behind my couch). The reasoning for this is that the LFE is used for rumbles or deep thumps and if behind the user (out of sight and out of mind) will surprise the listener when it goes off. It will also provide a slight vibration to the floor behind you or to the couch or chair that you are sitting in which is a nice effect.

A note about speaker heights: many people will place their speakers near the ceiling or very close to the floor. With any surround sound system, many differing height all still sound great, but for optimum performance, it is strongly recommended to keep the speakers at the height of the listener or slightly above the listener ears while sitting down. So if the listener's ear sit a 4 feet from the ground, then mount the speakers 4 feet 6 inches to 5 feet from the ground.

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