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 as
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.
