Surround Sound Speaker Placement
In order to get the most out of the surround sound experience it is crucial to have the proper surround sound speaker placement for your specific room. It is very common to find layouts that are generic and not specific to the individual room. While this is adequate, the best experience will be achieved when a specific layout and placement has been developed for the individual room in particular.
Frequently people spend large amounts of time and money in buying high quality equipment, especially the television set. However, little time is spent on organizing the surround sound speaker setup and placement. Typically people pay very little attention to the sound dimension of the overall viewing experience, even though the sounds they hear are a large part of the overall experience.
While there is no doubt that a high quality piece of equipment will improve the experience, taking additional time to prepare an ideal listening situation will also be valued over time as the listening experience is enhanced as well. The additional volume and clarity will be significantly superior to the typical speakers that are factory standard in the television, even if it is a very expensive item.
Probably the most important decision in achieving the best surround sound speaker placement is selecting the proper speaker configuration for the room. Below are some common speaker layouts and setups that are available to you.
2.0 Configuration: This is commonly known as the standard stereo placement. The 2.0 configuration is the most basic layout for surround sound speaker placement. Basically you will have two speakers, one on each side of your television.
2.1 Layout: The 2.1 layout is similar to the 2.0 plan, but with the addition of a subwoofer speaker. The subwoofer speaker is dedicated to producing low frequency sounds (bass sounds), which will make a dramatic difference to the sound quality and range of frequencies heard.
5.1 Configuration: The 5.1 layout means that the speakers have been placed around the room in such a way as the listener feels as though they are directly in the center. This has six speakers and is the most common setup for most home surround sound placement systems.
It is comprised of three speakers in the front – left, right, and center. Two of the remaining speakers are placed one on each side, one on the left, and one on the right. The final speaker is the subwoofer which can be placed just about anywhere since the bass sounds are not directional.
7.1 Layout: The 7.1 configuration is similar to the 5.1 layout except it adds two speakers behind the seating position. These add a significant dimension and feeling.
7.2 Configuration: This configuration is the rarest of all of the layouts, but is becoming more and more common and many of the audio visual receivers (AV receivers) are able to support this type of specialized layout. The primary difference in this setup is in that it has two subwoofers in the room and helps to spread the bass frequencies throughout the room more evenly.
These are the typical surround sound stereo placement plans. Knowing these will help you to be able to choose the one that is right for your equipment and your room, based on your space and budget available.