5.1 Speaker Tips for Surround Sound
If you’re still gathering information on how to get the best surround sound quality you might want to make sure you can check off the following tips and tidbits as “known entities” during your quest for complete information.Front Speakers: It’s critical that you take the time to do your upfront planning with regard to front speaker placement (all speakers, actually). But in the case of the front two speakers, you should consider the position from which most people will be viewing the television and then place the front two speakers to form an equilateral triangle with the positioning of the center speaker. These two front speakers should be angled in (toed in) slightly toward the main viewing area.Rear Speakers: Just as the front speakers were designed to be placed in front of the viewing area most commonly occupied, the same is true with the rear speakers only behind the main viewing area but again angled slightly in (toed in) towards the center of that area.Subwoofer: Don’t be fooled by a common error made by many and place the subwoofer off in a corner of the room (which results in a very muddy/muffled sound quality). A better choice is to place it between the two front speakers; and even though frequencies below 300Hz travel omnidirectionally (in every direction) this is still considered the optimum placement. If this is not possible (for any number of reasons), a solid second choice is along a side wall at a distance of about one-third from the front speakers.As with most things you will get a lot of differing opinions and view points, but for an overall rule of thumb you can’t go wrong with the above placement. And keep in mind that sound quality is always better when speakers are taken off of shelves or bookcases and mounted on walls, so bite the bullet and buy some brackets!