If you’ve ever set up a home theater system, you’ve probably run into the problem of speaker placement. It’s an issue that’s impossible to avoid, as each room and the individual listener is different. How far apart should your home theater speakers be so you’ll get the best possible sound?
That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?
You could spend hours googling and reading forum posts, or you could reduce your efforts by reading this article.
And it would be the smart move, too. After all, you wouldn’t believe how many people search for “where to place home theater speakers” before they buy.
If you’ve been there, too, then read on. You’ll learn everything you ever wanted to know about speaker placement.
Related Article: Do I Need a Subwoofer With Floor Standing Speakers?
What is Speaker Placement & Why Does it Matter?
Speaker placement is one of the most important parts of your home theater system. Why? Because it can lead to a better sound experience for you, as well as anyone else who will be in the room with you.
Speaker placement isn’t limited to one set solution, but there are some guidelines that you should follow when deciding where to put them.
Your primary consideration should be acoustic properties. The speakers should generally be placed on either side of the TV or video projector and they should face forward towards an imaginary line between you and your audience.
The speakers should also be at ear level when seated and shouldn’t block any windows behind them.
Try sitting in the sweet spot for your particular setup
There’s not a set distance that you should place your speakers at. Instead, what you need to do is think about the best listening spot in your home theater and then try to replicate that spot in the room.
If you have a 5.1 surround system, then it’s important to position your listening area so that there are five seats and all of them are equidistant from the screen.
Then you want to identify the best seat for most people in the room and sit there when setting up your sound system. This will put you in what’s called the sweet spot for your particular setup.
The sweet spot is where there’s enough space around you so that dialogue sounds natural and stereo effects don’t get lost in one speaker or another. It’s worth noting that if this doesn’t work out, then some systems offer an adjustment feature on the rear speakers so they can be moved slightly left or right per person’s preference.
Different speaker layouts for different rooms
The best place to start would be to consider your room.
You have different speaker layouts for different rooms. If you have a living room with a TV, you’ll need to place speakers around the room in order to get the best sound. You should also place them near the seating area so that viewers can enjoy an immersive sound experience.
If you’re looking for the most natural sound, you should use two large front speakers (preferably on-wall). This will give you a wider range of the audio spectrum and create better reflections for a more realistic sound.
For those who want more directionality in their sound, look into a 7.1 channel home theater system that uses four additional rear speakers and two subwoofers.
Check your subwoofer’s distance as well
When deciding how far apart your speakers should be, it’s important to consider the size of your system and how many speakers you have.
For example, if you have a 7.1 system, then you’ll need to make sure that your speakers are far enough away from each other so that they can deliver stereo effects without sounding too blurry or hollow.
If you don’t want to spend hours reading manuals and figuring out where your subwoofer should be placed (it’s usually best to place the subwoofer near a corner of the room), then we recommend trying an auto-calibration home theater speaker package.
These packages come with devices that will automatically calibrate the distance between your speakers for you. So, whether you have only one speaker or multiple ones, there is an auto-calibration speaker package for every type of sound setup.
Don’t place your speakers too close to the walls
The first thing you’ll want to do is position your speakers in the room.
Many people make the mistake of placing their speakers too close to the walls, which can greatly reduce the sound quality.
Instead, try to place your speakers as far from the wall as possible and experiment with different positions until you find one that feels right for you.
It may take some time, but this will give you more flexibility for future placement.
Make sure your tweeters are on axis with your main speakers
If you’re using a two-channel stereo system, then you should place your tweeters opposite each other. This will ensure that your ears hear the high frequencies coming from both speakers at the same time.
If you’re using a home theater system, then you should place the tweeters on axis with the main speakers.
AV height should be between 2-6 feet
As a general rule, you want your speakers to be as high off the ground as possible. You can put them on speaker stands or use bookcases to elevate them. In fact, it’s best if AV height is between 2-6 feet. This will make dialogue clearer and stereo effects stronger.
Don’t place your speakers too high/low
It may seem obvious, but it’s a mistake that a lot of people make.
If you place your speakers too high or low and they’re not angled at the listener, the sound will reverberate off the walls instead of coming directly to you.
The more surface area the sound has to bounce off of, the more muffled it will become.
Speakers should be positioned at ear level and angled towards the listener for best results.
This ensures that sound from your speakers travels as far as possible without bouncing off surfaces.
Where to place your surround speakers
The first thing you’ll want to address is your surround speakers, or speakers that provide ambient sound. You’ll want these placed in the rear corners of the room, behind your head.
Make sure your speakers play at the same height
When it comes to the positioning of your speakers, the most important thing to remember is that they should all be at the same height. If your speakers are at different levels, then you’ll end up with an uneven sound quality and stereo effect.
The same rules apply for speaker placement as well. Using a layout like the one in this article will ensure that all of your speakers are playing at the same height, which will make it easier to create a balanced sound.
Where to place your front speakers
There are three main considerations for speaker placement. The first is where to place your front speakers in relation to the TV.
Ideally, your front speakers should be placed on either side of the television, just outside of arm’s reach. They should be at least two feet away from the TV and no more than a foot behind it.
This will create the best stereo sound without any interference and produce the most natural soundfield.
The second consideration is where to place your rear speakers in relation to the listeners.
As long as you have an open space north or south of the couch, you can put them there.
These days, however, many home theater setups include a surround sound system that requires you to set up rear speakers behind your seating area.
If this is the case, you might want to consider speaker placement behind your listening area and not as close as possible to it (within two feet). This will provide a more immersive experience without emphasizing every noise.
So, what’s the best speaker placement?
If you’ve been searching for a definitive answer, it doesn’t exist.
The best speaker placement is different for each listener and room. So, the first step to find the best speaker placement is to experiment.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to start by placing your speakers at opposite ends of the room on either side of your TV. You should then listen with a friend to find what sounds better to you.
You can then tweak your positioning as needed, but try not to move more than a few feet away from where you started. Otherwise, you may lose track of the relationship between your speakers and the sound quality might go downhill fast!
FAQS
The distance that your speakers will be from each other depends on the size of your space and the type of system you’ll be installing. For example, if you’re installing a 5.1 home theater system in a large room, then you should place your left, right and center speakers about two feet away from the wall behind them and at ear level. This will give you a surround sound experience without having to mess around with your EQ settings.
This speaker goes directly in front of you and should usually be mounted at eye level so that it’s coming from between your knees. If this isn’t possible (e.g., if you have a high ceiling), then try to mount it at about five to seven feet tall and angled downward so that it points toward your chest.
The best height for these speakers is typically in line with your ears when sitting down. That means if you are sitting on a couch, then your right speaker should be about three feet off the ground and at a 45-degree angle. Your left speaker should be about six feet off the ground and tilted 45 degrees as well.
Conclusion
Choosing the right speaker placement is essential to achieving the desired sound quality of your home theater system. By following our guide, you can avoid common mistakes and ensure the best sound quality for your room.
You should also get into a habit of moving your speaker until you find a position that sounds good to you. That way, if anything changes in your room down the line, like say, a new couch blocks out sound or something else is moved around, you know where it needs to go!
