How to Determine the Distance from the Rear Speakers to the Listening Area in a Home Theater

When setting up a surround-sound system, positioning your home theater rear speakers (also known as surround speakers) is very important to achieving the best sound quality. To the untrained ear, it doesn't matter where surround speakers are placed. To the audio conoisseur, though, proper speaker placement is critical. Here are some helpful steps:

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Rear surround speakers
• Home theater system

1. Evaluate the room where your home theater is located and decide where the seats should be.

2. Rear speakers, which are also known as surround speakers, should be mounted behind the viewing area about one foot above head level, or in the back corners of the room near the ceiling.

3. The distance between the rear speakers and the viewing area should be no more than 8 to 10 feet. You can turn up the volume on these speakers to compensate for the distance. These speakers only transmit the surround-sound track, so they will not constantly emit sound.

4. Point the speakers downward toward the viewing area as you mount them. Try to aim the speakers at head level. This will allow for optimum listening enjoyment.

5. Know that mounting the surround speakers in the rear allows viewers the freedom to move closer or farther away from the screen without losing the surround-sound effect.

6. Start a movie and adjust your placement until you find what best suits your needs and taste.

Tips & Warnings

• Some people decide to place surround speakers to the side of their viewing area. If you do this, the speakers should be mounted in line with the viewer, about one foot above head level, and then pointed down toward the viewer. If the viewer moves closer or farther from the television, the surround-sound effect will be lost.
• Movie theaters have both side and rear surround speakers, but if an installer needed to choose between the two, most would choose the rear speakers. This is because a viewer can move closer or father from the screen and still hear quality surround sound.