Easy Surround Sound Speaker Placement

Surround Sound Speaker Placement seems to be a very complex and difficult subject. A quick search online will return a maze of different results from the extremely technical to the downright useless. What's needed is a sensible, balanced approach with a little common sense thrown in for good measure.

I will assume you have already bought your home cinema or home theatre system. If you have any sense you will have checked out my hub on how to buy a wireless surround sound system. Now we are concerned with the set-up and placement of your speakers.

There are a number of different types of system but the basic principles will remain the same. One of the most common surround sound system configurations is 5.1 surround sound. This system has a six speaker set-up aimed at giving a very good quality theatre type sound. If you have a 7.1 system – good for you! These principles are still the same just add some common sense. If you have chosen a wireless surround system, top marks to you! Again the principles are the same but without a few extra wires to get in the way.

This will have six speakers : front right, front left, front centre then back right, back left and finally a subwoofer. The subwoofer is a special speaker that delivers the low frequency sound effects and the bass, it really adds to the overall theatre sound in a big way.

Most product manuals and guides will tell you you must do this that and the other. Distance X must equal Y etc. These are the guidelines for the perfect installation however, we rarely have perfect rooms to work with. We do not live inside diagrams, we live in working usable family spaces. Unless you are using a totally dedicated room for your home cinema system, you will need to adapt the ideal configuration. What does a perfect set-up look like anyway? Have a look at the diagram below, it shows the basics of a 5.1 system placement.

Surround sound speaker placement is always targeted to a sweet spot. One position in the room where the sound will be the best. This does not mean you can only sit here to watch your show, it just means the system is aimed at this one point. Good speaker placement should allow you to enjoy good audio wherever you sit.

The front left and right, and the back left and right surround sound speakers should ideally be sited at close to ear height. At least aim to have them off the ground. Wall mounted or on speaker stands are probably the best solutions.

The front left and right speakers should be evenly spaced from the screen and from the sweet spot. You can adjust this to suit your room layout. You will not always be able to have your sitting position directly in front of the screen or your screen exactly in the middle front of the room. But be aware of the principle of even spacing to achieve the best results.

Front centre speaker should be right in front of the television or screen. The sound for the dialogue comes mainly from the centre speaker, if it is not at the picture source you can get a strange effect with voices coming from strange places. You want the voices to come from the people speaking on screen.

The rear speakers should be slightly behind you to the far left and right. Spacing should be as for the front speakers. These speakers deliver the surround effect, the idea is the the viewer is surrounded by a full rich sound.

The Subwoofer is not as critical in it's placement as the sound effect it produces is not directional. It can basically be positioned wherever you like.

The manuals and guides give us the basics for the ideal speaker placement but your individual room will determine the actual position of your speakers. Often our rooms are odd shapes or have doors or tables where the ideal speaker should be. Be sensible, adapt the theory as best you can for your space. Remember a room with poor surround sound speaker placement will still be much better than a room without surround sound. It really is that easy in the end.