The way you arrange your speakers for your home theater setup will have a big impact on how everything sounds. Proper speaker placement can turn even an average system into an outstanding home theater experience.
With this in mind, here is some information about home theater installation in San Bernardino, CA from the experts at JDS Systems.
Front right and left speakers
Your front right and left speakers should point their sound field toward your main listening area. Angle the speakers slightly toward the seat located directly in front of your television. If your speakers are not wall-mounted, play around with how far you keep them away from the wall. The closer they get to the wall, the more you’re likely to reinforce the bass, but you might actually get a better experience if you pull them away from the wall.
Obviously, the experience is different with wall-mounted speakers. With these types of speakers, simply make sure the sound is pointed in the correct direction.
Center channel speaker
Place your center channel speaker either right below or right above your television, lining it up with the midpoint of the TV as much as possible. If you can, tilt the speaker to direct sound down toward your ear level. If the speaker is to go above your television, you can either mount it to the wall or install shelves specifically made for center channel speakers.
Surround sound speakers
There are a couple different types of surround sound systems, the most popular being 5.1 and 7.1.
In a 5.1 system, the surround speakers should ideally be placed to the left and right of your position, with the speakers aimed toward you. However, if side placement isn’t possible or practical, you can place them a few feet behind your position, facing forward. Ideally you’ll have the sound a couple feet above ear level.
In a 7.1 system, you should aim to place surround speakers next to and behind your seating area. Similar to a 5.1 setup, the side speakers would be on either side of your seating position and facing toward you. The rear speakers would be behind you, facing forward toward the television. Here again, it’s best to keep the speakers a couple feet above ear level for the best performance.
Subwoofer
Bass frequencies shoot out omni-directionally, which means you have much more flexibility when it comes to where you place your subwoofer. Putting it near a wall will result in the bass echoing out more strongly, especially if you put it in a corner. Most people put the subwoofer toward the front of the room, where it’s much easier to connect it to the receiver of your home theater system. You can also purchase wireless subwoofer kits, to remove some of the hassles of running cables to and from your subwoofer.
For more tips about improving the sound in your home theater system and setting up your speaker layout, contact JDS Systems about home theater installation in San Bernardino County, CA.