What Are the Best Tips for Home Theater Speaker Placement?

When setting up a home theater system, the location of the speakers is of great importance for overall quality of sound. There are certain factors to consider in home theater speaker placement such as the surfaces that will reflect or distort sound, the distance from the listener and the distance from the walls. Other important factors include the height of the speakers and how far apart they are from each other. Optimal home theater speaker placement requires experimentation, as each house and room is different.

Home theater speaker placement needs to be correct in a space in order to create the highest-quality listening experience. The speakers should not be placed behind objects or walls that will distort the sound on the way to the listener. They should also be located equal distance from the listener on each side of the main seating area so that the sound arrives at the same time. If the speakers are placed too close to a wall in home theater speaker placement, the bass might echo too much and cause undesirable rumbling sounds. Placing a speaker directly in the middle of the home theater with speakers on the sides, as well as behind the listener, creates a positive home theater atmosphere.

The height of the speakers is also important in home theater speaker placement. If the speakers are too high above the listener's head, the sound will be distorted. Speakers for home theaters are usually made to be placed at a specific height so it might be necessary to read the manual to find out this information. Optimally, they should be placed at the average person's ear level if possible. The distance between the speakers themselves is often a matter of personal taste; some people like a louder home theater experience than others, but, generally, the speakers behind and beside the listener should be at least 5 feet (1.5 meters) apart.

Since each house and room contains walls, objects and furniture that can create distortion or reflection in sound, it is necessary to do some experimenting to find the best speaker locations. If there are objects that get in the way of one speaker, they might need to be placed at slightly different distances or heights from the listener. The speakers should be moved around until the listener finds the location for them that he or she enjoys the most for the best home theater speaker placement.