Positioning Your Home Theatre Speakers

Watch a movie in a cinema, and you will notice that there is something pleasantly different in your experience. The pictures are larger and clearer, the sound is louder and crisper. How you must wish you could cherish the same movie-going experience right in the comfort of your own home. Well, with a properly installed home theatre system, you can make that wish come true!

Plan your set-up first. It is best to have measurements of the room and to draw down your placement scheme. Next, check the location of your electrical outlets. Your room should have an ample number of electrical outlets. Plugging all your equipment to a single outlet can cause an overload or, worse, a fire. In addition, provide a separate circuit breaker for all the equipment in that room.

Let us assume you bought top-quality audio-visual equipment. For a typical and effective surround-sound set-up, place the TV where it can be viewed straight on with the centre aligned with the eyes of a person who is sitting.

Place the central channel speaker directly above or below the TV. Next, the main speakers should be placed at equal distances on both sides of the TV, with their height matching that of the central speaker. Surround speakers should be placed at equal distances to the left and right of your couch. Point the speakers at the ceiling or the back of the room, not directly toward your viewing position. Finally, your system's subwoofer should be on one side of your room. Ideally, it should be halfway between your TV and your couch. Connect all the speakers to the theatre system following your manual's instructions. You may need to adjust your speakers a few times to match the acoustic characteristics of your room and then you will be all set to enjoy a great film experience.