Home Theater Speaker Placement

So you have purchased that brand new set of speakers and can't wait to set them to enjoy your new system.  Keep in mind that home theater speaker placement plays an important role in the quality of your sound.

When placing your speakers, the goal should be to have a consistent soundstage across the front and surround sound that pulls you into the center of the action.  The location of the speakers should not be obvious, but rather should be natural and consistent.

Home theater speaker placement tips

Center - Movie dialog is focused on the center channel.  The dialog should be anchored to the screen meaning that the dialog should naturally feel as if it is coming right out of the mouths of the actors on the screen.  In order to accomplish this, the center channel should be directly above or below the screen.  If you have a home theater projector and the speakers are behind the screen it is important to have an accoustically transparent screen to allow the sound to travel through the screen without being inhibited.  If the center channel is on top of the tv it is important for the speaker to be flush with the edge of the tv so that there are not any detrimental sound reflections.

Front Main Speakers - The front main speakers carry the music and the majority of the sound effects in a movie.  The main speakers should be at a 22 - 30 degree angle from the center of the screen on each side.  They should be at the same distance from the viewing position as the center channel.  The tweeters of the speakers are ideally located at ear level.

Surround speakers - The surround speakers in your system should be located directly to the left and right or slightly behind the listening position.  They are typically about two feet above ear level.  In a 6.1 system a rear mono surround channel is added.  It is important to note that it is generally recommended to use two speakers in this set up to avoid the rear surround being directly behind the listener in line with the center channel.  In a 7.1 system a rear left and a rear right channel are added behind the listening position.

Subwoofer - Deep bass is non directional so you can take some liberties with home theater speaker placement of the subwoofer.  If your significant other does not like the look of a big box in the front of the room you can feel free to try different locations throughout the room.  Generally bass will be enhanced by being next to the wall, and especially when placed in the corner.  However, keep in mind that sometimes the enhanced bass of a corner location comes at a price by producing a "boomy" bass sound.

So there you have a brief overview of home theater speaker placement.  Keep in mind that this is a guide and feel free to experiment a bit with speakers in your room in order to find the ideal location.  Ok, go ahead, get those speakers out and let the fun begin.