Speaker anglesPositioning the speakers at a 60-degree angle gives you the best 'stereo image' of these sounds. Dust off your old protractor and position the speakers 60 degrees apart. It can help to place a small marker at your listening position and work it out from there.
It's something of an oversimplification, but big speakers usually only sound best in large rooms, and small speakers in tiny rooms. So if you're lucky enough to have a large house or apartment, don't skimp on speakers: look for large towers, with 8-inch (203mm) or larger woofers.
The only time a dedicated speaker is used for the left or the right, is if they are mirror imaged. If the speaker is not mirror imaged, there is no correct right or left. Sounds from the right will come from the right no matter which speaker's employed.
There are many reasons why speakers designed to be used in the conventional upright position, as above, should not be positioned on their sides. Turning the speaker on its side will result in sounds from the two drivers arriving at different times.
Subwoofer placement in the front of the room is the most common and usually results in the best blending with the main speakers and center channel and minimizes localization effects. Bass is omni-directional.
Just like in a 5.1 setup, the side speakers are placed to the left and right of your seating position and face directly towards you. The rear speakers are positioned behind you, facing forward. Position both pairs of speakers one to two feet above ear level for best performance.
Placing a subwoofer in the corner of a room can increase its output, making it sound louder. The great thing about a subwoofer (especially a wireless subwoofer) is they can be situated almost anywhere on your floor space. There is no formula for locating the best spot. And, it's truly your personal preference.
The most common aural indication of a blown speaker is an unpleasant buzzing or scratching sound, by itself or roughly at the pitch of the note the speaker is attempting to reproduce. Or there could be no sound at all.
A speaker with good bass response conveys much of the power, weight and impact of real, live music. Even though bass should be strong and powerful, it should always sound clean and articulate, never “thuddy,” “boomy,” or like it's simply one indistinct bass note repeating itself (known as “one-note” syndrome).
Placing speakers horizontally is physically possible but is considered an acoustic blunder. The innards of studio monitors are not designed for horizontal positioning. Their bass drivers and tweeters are aligned vertically.
A center channel speaker is the most important speaker in a surround sound setup because it does most of the work. Most of the action, and conversation, in a film happen front and center on your screen, meaning that the center channel is the one reproducing it.
While much of this comes down to what type of speakers you have, some are interchangeable. You can use surround speakers as front speakers by swapping out the speakers' connections in the back of the AV receiver. If you swap out your speakers, the quality of the sound depends on what kind of surround speakers you have.
As a general rule, you should place two or three speakers on the front panel. If you have got a dynamic one, you should put them in cards in the front doors. Maintaining the whole music system is another way to ensure maximum output.
The rear speakers should equate to the same volume as the other speakers when heard from your regular listening position. When using a test tone, all the speakers should sound equal.
Rear Surround SpeakersAbout the same size as the front speakers or smaller. Like the front speakers, they correspond to the right, and left-hand side of the audience and are set just behind the audience. They can produce a full range of frequency and are tunes to a higher amplitude than center speakers.
The short answer is no, your rear speakers don't need to match. The reason it's important to match these speakers in timbre and output is because they output voices, and so mismatched speakers will result in patchy sound that may have “holes” in it. When it comes to rear speakers, timbre isn't as important.
When running two pairs of speakers via the A+B main speaker outputs, impedance and power ratings should be as close as possible to the power of the amp. A speaker rated at 4 ohms will draw twice the current as a similar one rated at 8 ohms.
- Best Performance: JL Audio C2-650X Evolution Series. You have likely heard of JL Audio if you have ever done any research on car audio.
- Best on a Budget: Pyle Speakers.
- Best Mid-Range: JBL GTO Series.
- BOSS Audio Chaos Exxtreme.
- Rockford Fosgate Prime.
- Polk Audio db651.
- Alpine SPS-610.
- Kenwood KFC-1695PS.
Read on through our seven best door speakers for bass.
- Focal EC 165K Car Speakers. Focal EC 165K Car Speakers.
- Alpine SPR-60 Type R Speakers.
- Rockford Fosgate R165X3 Speakers.
- Polk Audio DB6501 Speakers.
- Pioneer TS-A6990F Speakers – Best Built Door Speaker.
- Kicker DSC650 Speakers.
- JBL GT7-6C Speakers – Best budget.
As a general rule, we do not recommend mixing and matching different brands of speakers in a surround sound system. Even mixing different lines within a particular brand can present problems. Still, we recommend trying to stay within the same brand and series for all of your speakers.
