| Audio Visions - Surrounded by Speakers |
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WHAT YOU'LL HEAR If your display screen is the visual center of your home theater system, your favorite chair or sofa is the focus for what you'll hear. That's very important because it dictates how you need to place your loudspeakers so can hear movie soundtracks as the directors and sound engineers intended you to. Fortunately, the same principles also apply to music so you can enjoy both films and an audio recording through the same speakers. Home theater system usually begin with a "5.1" speaker array. This simply means five full range speakers (Left, Center; and Right in front with Left Surround and Right Surround in back) and one limited-range subwoofer for bass reproduction only. Notice that we said "... begin with a '5.1' speaker array." That's important. Some new surround sound formats like Dolby Digital EX sound best with two more full range speakers in the rear of your theater space. We'll get to them shortly. For now, let's stick with 5.1. WHAT YOU'LL NEED Your dealer can show you a number of options from large floor-standing speakers through smaller stand or shelf-mounted models to in-wall speakers. Although most larger freestanding speakers have sonic advantages when compared with small or in wall designs, they are more intrusive aesthetically. Regardless of which type you choose, however, listen carefully to several models before you decide. Speakers are very democratic and treat all audio signals the same way, be they Sibelius quartets or Spielberg sci-fi flicks. You want a speaker that is as neutral and faithful to the original sound as possible simply because you want to hear the source, not the speaker. Your home speakers should all come from the same manufacturer if at all possible. That's your best assurance that each one will have approximately the same tonal balance (sometimes called timbre - but pronounced tam'-bor) as the others. The benefit here is that you'll hear the same quality of sound regardless which speaker is generating it. WHERE TO PUT THEM Although placing six speakers in one room may seem difficult at first, it is surprisingly easy if you follow a few simple guidelines. First, your main Left and Right speakers (we'll call them L and R from now on) should flank whatever TV screen you've chosen. If you plan to use your system primarily to watch movies, place them along the same wall as the display so that they'll form a 450 angle when viewed from your viewing/listening position. (Angles up to 60o may be necessary depending on room size, screen size and distance from the screen to listening/viewing position. In fact, we recommend a 60o spread if you're going to be listening to a a lot of music through your system.) Ideally, both speakers will be equal distances from each side of the screen to assure good integration of image and sound (Diagrams 4-1 and 4-2). The Center Channel speaker (C from now on) should be as close to your TV screen as possible, either directly under or directly over it, and placed at the same distance from your favorite chair as the main speakers (Diagram 4-3). Placing Surround speakers (LS and RS for Left Surround and Right Surround respectively) is often surprisingly easy. Surround speakers come in two general types: DIPOLES which create a very dif- fused and non-directional surround effect, and DIRECT RADIATING speakers (sometimes called monopoles) that produce a far more specific sense of where surround information comes from. Some movie aficionados still prefer dipoles but most experts now recommend direct radiating speakers. To be fair, dipoles were preferred in home theater's early days when Dolby Surround's single surround channel was all that was avail- able. Now that Dolby Digital, DTS, and other surround sound formats have at least two surround channels, dipoles no longer present the advantage they once did. There's no argument that direct radiators are far preferred by knowledgeable audiophiles for multi-channel music reproduction in the home. A final consideration is that placement requirements - often a point of concern for decor-conscious people - are not as restrictive for direct radiators as they are for dipoles. The best place for direct radiating surround speakers is really dependent on the shape of your room, the location of the prime seating area, and the type of enjoyment - movies or music - you consider most important. For movie watching, side wall placement works well in some rooms, rear wall placement in others. Ideally, your surround speakers will be mounted above ear level (Diagram 4-4). If you're going to listen to a lot of multi-channel music, you might consider placing the surround speakers on the rear wall closer to the room's corners. In general, surround-for-music speakers can be mounted lower on the wall than is best for movie-only use (Diagram 4-S). Dipoles work best when placed well above ear level against the side walls of your home theater room. As you can see, (Diagram 4-6) they produce more sound to the front and rear of the room but not much to their sides. That's why you can't easily locate the origin of the sounds they produce. THE SUBWOOFER The subwoofer (usually called a "sub") is a loudspeaker specifically designed to reproduce only low bass sounds. One of the characteristics of bass information is that it is difficult to identify just where it comes from. That's why some people describe bass as "non-directional". Although this isn't true in the strict sense, it's close enough to give us some choice when we're trying to place a sub in a home theater room.
Getting the most out of a sub demands a
decent working knowledge of room acoustic (how rooms influence the sound you hear).
If you're like most of us, you have neither the time nor the inclination to master
this rather arcane topic. The good news is that you don't have to! Your dealer already
has ... and will be delighted to impress you with a few "magic tricks" - one
of which is finding exactly the right spot for your sub can just settle back and enjoy
the results.
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