Hints and tips prior to installation
Reflection in the room
Carpets, curtains and soft furniture absorb midrange and high frequency sound, which is desirable. Large empty spaces reflect it and produce a hard, badly defined sound often causing unclear dialogue. Other than colouring the sound, the sound stage will become deteriorated. Reflections in the room can be compared to the reflexes causing ghost images on a tv set.
Amplification of bass frequencies in the room
A speaker placed near a wall, ceiling of floor experiences an amplification of the lower frequencies thatīs not always desirable as it can cause poor definition. This "boost" becomes even more obvious if the speaker is placed near a corner. For the best possible reproduction the speakers should be placed some distance from the wall (at least 30 cm).
There are exceptions though, in some rooms with certain types of walls, the speakers may very well be placed closer to the wall. There are even constructions that are adapted to be mounted on a wall or in a corner.
Bass amplification in a room is generally referred to as room gain. Read more >
Furniture
Remember that furniture might vibrate and cause noise when loud bass notes are played.
The room dimensions
Square shaped rooms or rooms where the length is close to twice the width should be avoided as they may cause severe resonances. Larger rooms are generally better suited for sound reproduction than small rooms, that often mean bigger problems with standing waves. Read more about the room influences. Read more >
Placement of the front speakers
For stereo listening the front speakers should be placed symmetrically in front of the listener. The distance between the speakers should be about 80% of the distance between the listener and one speaker. Or put another way, The angle between the speakers should be approx 45 degrees. An example is if the distance between the speakers is 2m, the listener should sit about 2,5 m from the speakers.
Angle of speakers
You can either angle the speakers towards the listener, or straight forward. Some speakers sound better angled slightly, but it could also be down to the fact that some of the reflexes form the side walls are reduces, which would improve the soundstage.
Correct height
If the speakers are small, they should be placed on stands or be angled so they are in level with the ears. Small speakers placed directly on a floor will not sound good.
Center speaker
The center speaker should be placed above or beneath the tv set, approx at the same height as the tweeters of the front speakers. The distance should be about the same as for the front speakers which means the center speaker has to be placed closer to the back wall than the front speakers.
Surround speakers
Surround speakers should also be placed at roughly the same height as the rest of the speakers and the distance to the listener should be (if possible) the same as from the front speakers. Placing surround speakers is generally not critical, so compromising at this point will most likely work well.
Placing a subwoofer
Since the human ear is not very good at determining direction at lower frequencies, placing a subwoofer is not that critical compared to the front speakers eventhough different placements can have a huge impact on the sound. A rule of thumb is to place the subwoofer near the front system (especially important if the front speakers also reproduce bass frequencies). This reduce the risk of phase errors.
Placing a subwoofer near a wall can in some cases be an advantage, but in many other cases this can cause reflexes. How close to the wall it can be placed is a compromise.
Cables
Try keeping all cables as short as possible. A long conductor will have a bigger influence on the sound. Longer cables and lower quality cables can cause grounding problems that may show up as a constant hum in a subwoofer. This means, the longer the cable the more important will its quality be. Make sure all connections are clean and not oxidized. All connectors should be robust, including power, signal and speaker cables. Signal interconnect cables should be separated from other cables.