Surround Sound Speaker Placement 05/30/2009
I have a friend who prides himself on being on the cutting edge of technology. Several years ago, when the technology was new, he hired a specialist to go to his house and set up his surround sound speakers for him. He invited a group over to watch a movie that night and being new to surround sound, when the movie started, one member of our group was fooled. Each time she heard a footfall, she would turn and stare into the dark hallway behind us searching for the sounds that were part of the movie, but came from the speaker behind us. The purpose of surround sound is to make the movie watcher feel like part of the action. So the system did its job.
The technology is fairly simple – for movie sound, three or more tracks are recorded, each taken from a different direction, and then the tracks are combined in a mixing studio. Things become complex when you bring that technology home and try to set up your own surround sound speakers. There are no rules to proper surround sound speaker placement because there are so many variables. The type of speakers you have and the shape of your room can profoundly affect the performance of your system. That’s why it’s important to contact a professional who is familiar with the variables that can affect performance and who can place your speakers in a configuration that will work best for your needs whether you’re interested in using your system for watching movies, listening to music, or both.
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