array in a commercial theater. Here, it is not uncommon to see twenty or thirty speakers around the audience. This huge array of speakers assures that you will feel completely surrounded by the ambient soundtrack of the movie. Film makers try to use the “surround” soundtrack to enve- lope you in the environment on screen. They will place background music, rain sounds, traffic noise, etc. on the “surround” soundtrack. In a home with a single pair of speakers it is easy for the jungle sounds to sound like they are “in the middle of your head” just like headphones!
A single pair of CM5AT, CM6AT or CM8AT Loudspeakers, properly placed, can create a very convincing simulation of an array of speakers. If you place them near a hard reflecting surface you can make one pair of speakers sound like sev- eral. Create as many reflections as possible by placing the speakers near a corner so that the adjoining walls will act as a pow- erful reflector. Direct the tweeters so that sound is pointed away form the listener creating still more reflections and thus more “surround sound” effect. However,
as you move the speaker farther away from the listener, both the reflected and the direct sound will dissipate, requiring more power from your surround sound amplifier channels. If the surround sound system you are using has a small five or ten watt amplifier for the rear speakers, stay within five to eight feet of the listening location. If you are using a 25 to 50 watt amplifier you can mount the speakers 10 to 15 feet away from the listening location and still achieve reasonably high volume levels.
In large or unusually shaped rooms, using multiple speakers might be the only way to achieve a good effect. In large or unusual- ly shaped rooms this might be the only way to achieve a good effect. If you like to listen to music surround modes which emulate concert hall acoustics, more than two surround speakers will prove extraor- dinarily effective (See Figure 6). With Niles CM5AT, CM6AT and CM8AT loud- speakers it is easy to add another pair without affecting the decor of the room. However, you will need to use a much more powerful amplifier than that which is built into a typical surround sound
Speaker Placement
Figure 5 | Figure 6 |
Varying Listening Position | Surround Sound |
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