Phase Technology V626, V-SURROUND-II Home Theater Speaker Placement, Subwoofer Application Note

HOME THEATER SPEAKER PLACEMENT

Today’s digital multi-channel home theater technology has elevated the art of “surround sound” to reproduce the movie theater experience in your own home. Speaker requirements and placement are important when reproducing these multi-media effects.

Two front speakers (left and right), two surround speakers (left and right), a center-channel speaker, and a subwoofer define the minimum arrangement for multi-channel systems such as Dolby® Pro Logic, DTS®, Dolby® Digital, Dolby® TrueHD and DTS® HD Master Audio. Your Phase Velocity speaker has been designed for optimal performance with these systems. You will get the best results if you use the same type of speakers throughout your home theater (for example, match a pair of Phase Velocity Bookshelf Speakers with the V626 Tower, V5520 Center Channel, and V-Surround-II units).

Placement of speakers in your room will impact the final listening experience. To position your speakers, there are some general guidelines that take room size, shape, and fixtures and furnishings into account. Use the following illustrations as a general guide for speaker placement in a typical home theater system.

LF C

LS

RF SUB

RS

LF	C	RF
SUB		SUB
LS		RS
LR		RR

5.1 HOME THEATER SYSTEM

In a 5.1 home theater system, the center channel (C) should be placed at 0º directly below or above the video screen, the left front (LF) and right front (RF) speakers should be placed at 30º from the listening area, and the left and right surrounds (LS and RS) should be placed at 110º. All five speakers should be placed at or near ear level.

7.2 HOME THEATER SYSTEM

In a 7.2 home theater system, the center channel (C) should be placed at 0º directly below or above the video screen, the left front (LF) and right front (RF) speakers should be placed at 30º from the listening area, and the left and right surrounds (LS and RS) should be placed at 90º. The left rear (LR) and right rear (RR) speakers (sold separately) should be placed at 150º. All seven speakers should be placed at or near ear level.

Front speakers should be placed 6-8 feet apart (or on the sides of your screen if your screen is wider) to fully separate the left and right channels. Whether placed on speaker stands, on shelves, or on the wall your speakers should be at or slightly above ear level.

Rear surround speakers also should be placed at or slightly above your listening position for the best reproduction of surround sound effects. Ideally, they should be facing into your favorite listening position from either side of the room.

Center speaker placement should be, if possible, directly on top of or under your TV monitor or projection TV screen, in a horizontal orientation, centered with your video screen. This correctly positions the critical sound track information (usually dialogue) that filmmakers direct to the center channel.

SUBWOOFER APPLICATION NOTE

Subwoofer placement is less critical, because the frequencies they reproduce are omni directional. This means the human ear doesn’t perceive these low frequencies as coming from a specific direction, enabling placement of a subwoofer virtually anywhere in the listening room. It’s best, however, to keep a subwoofer within the sound field of the other speakers. The closer the subwoofer is to a wall, the louder and more intense its bass output will be: this effect is even stronger when the sub

3