Emotiva RPA-1 manual Front Speakers, Subwoofer Location for 2.1 Systems

The Front Speakers

You should closely follow the placement recommendations of your speaker manufacturer, with the addition of the following points:

•The left and right front speakers should be positioned so that your TV is exactly centered between them. This will help create a stable phantom center image

•For the best overall imaging, the left speaker should be

set exactly the same distance and angle away from your listening position as the right speaker. It is recommended that you use a tape measure to set them up to be the same distance away, within about half an inch tolerance.

If you have a smaller TV, the speakers should be no more than two feet away from the sides of the TV. If possible, have the center, left and right speakers at the same height (within two feet). This will

Place LEFT and RIGHT main speakers at equal

distances from the listening position as if to create an imaginary triangle between the listening position and the speakers.

help give a smooth transition when sound effects move from speaker to speaker.

Subwoofer Location (for 2.1 Systems)

A subwoofer typically sounds best in a corner with at least 5 feet of wall to either side. Due to the short wavelengths of high- frequency sounds, they don’t interact strongly with the size and shape of a room. Lower frequencies long wavelengths that can cause “Standing wave” problems. Placing the subwoofer in a corner usually creates the best possible situation for the sound to interact with the room, allowing even distribution of the bass frequencies. Often the corner that offers nearby placement to the front speakers may yield the best results, but you should try several locations before settling on just one.

The best location for a single subwoofer can be found by playing a couple of different low frequency test tones (or some music with heavy sustained bass passages) and proceeding with the following easy 1-2-3 process:

Standing waves depicted in a room. “Peaks” are good,

“Dips” are bad.

1.Place the subwoofer right on the seat of your couch or listening chair.

2.You can then either run the calibration (noise) signal through it, or simply plug the analog outputs of a CD player directly into your subwoofer’s low-level inputs. Turn down the subwoofer’s volume level before turning on the CD, then play the test tones or some music with heavy sustained bass passages.

3.Walk around the room, standing in all the positions where you might be able to place the subwoofer. Again, this is usually near the corners of the room. Try locations fairly close to the front speakers.

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