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4 Keys to Perfect Speaker Placement
For installers to consistently achieve quality audio installations, room placement, room dimensions, seating distances and usage preferences are all important factors.
Listener Position
Listener position plays a role in how listeners hear music, Wawrzyniak contends.
“The seating location will also affect where and how speakers are positioned,” he says. “The ‘sweet spot’ should be at ear level and centered with the center channel. It should also be located 25- to 30-degrees off axis of the left and right speakers and centered between the surround sound speakers.”
Room Acoustics
Unlike the early days of custom installation when freestanding speakers clearly outperformed architectural products, in-wall and in-ceiling manufacturers have greatly narrowed the performance gap.
Wawrzyniak says it really doesn’t make a difference what type of speaker is used in a home environment; the rules of acoustics apply to all types of speakers.
He does add that installers have a number of ways to deal with room acoustics, providing some flexibility for CE pros to accommodate their clients’ budget and equipment requirements.
“There are many ways to increase low frequency in a sound system,” Wawrzyniak explains. “Depending on the room size and shape, multiple subwoofers can sometime help balance low frequencies.
"Sometimes, something as simple as how close the subwoofer sits to the wall or corner can significantly increase or decrease the amount of bass in the room, and if the budget allows, there are several companies that specialize in acoustical treatments. Room treatments can help enhance and/or absorb low frequencies, but you must be careful because acoustic treatments can also affect high frequencies.”
Fine-tuning
Wawrzyniak notes that installers have other tools at their disposal to fine-tune their installations. “TruAudio highly recommends using enclosures and backboxes in every installation possible,” he advises.
Backboxes offers several benefits:
- Eliminating variable wall volume. When an enclosure or backbox is used, you get the same amount of air space
- Maintaining vapor barriers for building codes
- Controlling sound bleeding from the room where the speaker is located to other rooms
- Preventing insulation and other debris from getting to the back of the speaker.
“Specialized tools like SPL and RTA meters as well as software have become so much more affordable in the past few years. We highly recommend installers invest in this kind of equipment to not only fine-tune and maximize speaker system but it’s a great way to add a profit center and set you apart from other CI [custom installation] guys.”
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Article Topics
News · Audio · Speakers · Acoustics · Home Theater · Spotlight · Truaudio · Home Theater Spotlight ·About the Author
5 Comments (displayed in order by date/time)
Thanks for reading Bryce. I think that old-school audiophiles do tend to ignore the room factor as part of the audio equation and part of that involves speaker placement.
Cables are also a part of the equation and good cables can provide reliable performance that includes RF/EMI shielding, but with that said, the room is a huge component of a good sound system and that’s the point I wanted to make with the story.
I also wanted to throw a collective kudos out to the engineering staffs at these companies producing architectural loudspeakers. Today’s in-wall and in-ceiling speakers perform to a very high level and they should be recognized for that feat.
Thanks for reading,
Bob Archer
Hi Robert,
Thanks for the important and timely article. Many installers today, particularly those from non-AV consumer electronics, lack the training or experience to spec and locate speakers for good sound. Every speaker has a location where it is designed to give its best. Incorrect location can turn a great speaker into a garbled mess. It is very important that the system designer spec speakers designed to work where they will be installed and for installers to install speakers where they were designed to work. The best CI speaker companies make similar in wall, in ceiling, & in room models, all voiced to sound the same when installed in their correct locations.
Thanks,
Wouldn’t it be a good idea to let people know the importance of eliminating the first reflections in a room in order to enhance the spacial effect and broaden the sound stage? If you can’t do anything with the first reflections which are usually high and mid frequencies, how about the reverb that must be present in an untreated room. Properly placed absorption and or difussion makes magic happen. Low frequecies are often the least of the rooms problems. If I were working in a room similar to the one pictured, I would be concerned with all of the reflective surfaces. While speaker placement and seating position are very important, let’s not forget the desireable results that can be made by taming the space. Even a through rug would be very helpful when trying to dial in a room with a tile floor.
I’m somewhat surprised to see an article like this on a website named CE Pro. Wouldn’t any “Pro” know about these things already? Go to any popular audio/HT forum and you’ll find this information and much more.
Nice article Robert. It’s good to see a self proclaimed “dedicated audiophile” hit all these practical points that can make a huge difference in the sound in a room without mentioning the “importance” of hyper-expensive speaker wire.