|
How should I point my speakers- should they toe in, where should surrounds be
To answer this question, we first must know the speaker types that are available in a home theatre. They are the...
1- Centre Channel speaker
2- Front/Main speakers (L & R)
3- Side Surround speakers (L & R)
4- Dipole/Bipole/Tripole Surround speakers (L & R)
5- Monopole Rear Surround speakers (L & R)
6- Rear Centre speaker (single)
7- Rear Centre speakers (dual L & R)
8- Subwoofer(s)
I will only discuss the positioning of these speakers and not the function of each or which types can be used in your particular setup. Note that different people may have different views on positioning of the various speakers as it is partly subjective in nature.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Positioning each speaker
1- The Centre Channel speaker must be located as close to the central point of the video display as possible. In the case of most TV's, this speaker can be placed on top of the TV if space is not an issue, otherwise, it can be placed under the TV in a rack or in front of the TV also. With front projection setups, a common method is to place the speaker on a stand. In all cases though, the tweeters should be aimed at your ear level while seated in the main listening position.
2 - The Front speakers, or Main speakers, should be located to the left and right of the display, preferably so that each speaker is an equal distance from the display. As far as toeing in each of the speakers, this is a subjective topic, but due to certain factors like how far apart the speakers are from each other in relation to how far back the main listening position is from the display. Personally, I position each speaker so they are pointing straight forward and are not toed in. The speakers should be separated far enough from each other so that left-right separation can be heard, but not too far to leave a "sound gap" to the Centre speaker.
3- Side Surround speakers can either be mounted on the side walls, mounted on top of speaker stands if they are small enough, or stand on the floor in the case of larger floor standing tower speakers. They should be located to the left and right of the main listening position and must point directly toward the listening position.
4- Dipole Surround speakers (Bipole and Tripole follow the same principle) should be located on the left and right side walls adjacent to the main listening position at a height of 6-7 ft. As dipoles have two sets of drivers on each side of the cabinet, one set will point to the front of the room while the set on the other side points to the back of the room creating a "null" at the listening position. They need to be a minimum of 2 feet away from the back wall for optimum response.
5- Monopole Rear Surround speakers, traditional direct readiating speakers, should be located at the rear of the room behind the listening position in a manner similar to the Front/Main speakers and pointing straight forward. The location of these speakers is particularly subjective as well though. Side placement is an option used by some although it does not give as good a "rear imaging" as a rear-placed setup would.
---
The Rear Centre speaker is used in DD5.1EX and dts6.1ES to capture the rear Centre surround channel. Either a single speaker can be used (Rear Centre) or two speakers can be used (Rear Centre L & R speakers)....
6- The Rear Centre speaker is located at the back Centre of the room and can be mounted on a speaker stand, on a shelf, off the ceiling with a speaker mount, or on the back wall itself depending on the type and size of speaker used. Optimally, the tweeters should be aimed at ear level while seated in the main listening position.
7- The Rear Centre speakers (L & R) should also be located at the back of the room slightly to the left and right of the main listening position and aimed straight forward. They can be mounted in much the same way as the Rear Centre speaker depending on the type and size of speaker used.
8- The Subwoofer(s) can theorically be located anywhere around the room due to their omnidirectional nature but in most cases, you will want to locate the sub in a corner along the front soundstage, next to one of the front speakers. If two subs are present they can be placed side by side, or on top of each other. It is also possible to place the second sub at the rear of the room but a lot of experimentation must be done to ensure the subs do not "cancel" each other out or create undesireable sound peaks/nulls around the listening position. One possible way to locate a sub for optimum response for a particular room is to place the sub at the listening position, then walk around the room while listening to the sub. The optimum position for the sub is where the bass sounds the loudest/smoothest. Practically though, it is rarely possible to position the sub in this location for asthetics purposes.
|