Onkyo Comprehensive Speaker Installation Guide for TX-SR501E

Installing Your Speakers

You can use two sets of speakers with your TX-SR501/ TX-SR501E: speaker set A and speaker set B.

With speaker set A, which should be installed in your main listening room, and can be used with Dolby Digital or DTS surround material, you can connect front-left, front-right, center, surround-left, surround-right, surround-back, and subwoofer speakers.

With speaker set B, which can be installed in another room, and used with stereo or mono material, you can connect a pair of standard hi-fi speakers.

Positioning Your Speakers

Speaker-set B can be positioned in the standard position for stereo speakers or where you like.

Speaker-set A, however, must be positioned at specific points in your listening room to achieve the best results from sur- round sound material. The following illustration shows the best positions for your surround-sound speakers. Obviously, the positions you choose will depend on the shape of your room and the position of your TV or projector screen. Either way, use this illustration as a guide and try to use the same positions relative to your listening position.

		TV/screen
-	Sub-	Center	Front-
Front
left	woofer	speaker	right
speaker			speaker
Surround-left			Surround-right
speaker			speaker
		Surround-back speaker

To get the most from surround sound, you should connect all seven speakers. However, if you don’t connect a center speaker or surround speakers, you can still enjoy surround sound material by specifying the number of speakers con- nected, and the TX-SR501/TX-SR501E will produce the best surround sound possible with the available speakers. See page 34.

Similarly, if you don’t have a subwoofer, you can turn off the subwoofer so that bass sounds are produced by the other speakers. See page 25.

■Front Speakers

Front speakers consist of front-left, front-right, and center speakers. The center speaker adds directionality and move- ment.

•In general, the front-left, front-right, and center speakers should be installed facing the listener at ear-level.

■Surround Speakers

Surround speakers add a sense of movement and put you, the listener, in the middle of the action.

•The surround-left and surround-right speakers should be installed at the sides, or slightly behind the listener, 2–3 ft. (60–100 cm) above ear level, and against the side walls. The surround-back speaker should be installed behind the listener also at 2–3 ft. (60–100 cm) above ear level. Make sure that the listening position is within the range of the speakers.

■Subwoofer

You’ll need a subwoofer with a built-in power amp, what’s known as an active subwoofer, to achieve the best bass per- formance.

•The volume and quality of the bass output from your sub- woofer will depend on its position, the shape of your listen- ing room, and your listening position. In general, a good bass sound can be obtained by installing the subwoofer in a front corner, or at one-third the width of the wall, as shown.

1/3 1/3 1/3

Corner

1/3 wall length

See the instructions supplied with your speakers for more information.

Attaching the Supplied Speaker Labels

Speaker cables are two-wire cables, with one wire for con- necting to the positive (+) terminal, and one for connecting to the negative (–) terminal.

The TX-SR501/TX-SR501E’s positive (+) speaker terminals are color-coded for ease of identification. (The negative (–) speaker terminals are black.)

Speaker terminal	Color
Front left	White
Front right	Red
Center	Green
Surround left	Blue
Surround right	Gray
Surround back	Brown

The supplied speaker labels are also color-coded and you should attach them to the positive side of each speaker cable as appropriate. For example, put the white labels on the pos- itive sides of the front-left speaker cable, as shown below.

Front-left

speaker

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