WHERE SHOULD I PUT MY REAR SURROUND SPEAKERS?
In this article I’m going to describe exactly where to place surround sound speakers for perfect, immersive home theatre sound.
This guide is based on the Dolby recommendations — because they are the ones who encode the surround sound tracks into your movies. It’s best to get the advice “from the horse’s mouth” so you know it’s right!
Feel free to use the contents section to skip to the part you need.
Contents
- Does It Matter Where I Put Surround Speakers?
a. What if my surround speakers are at different distances?
- Where Do Surround Speakers Go For 5.1?
a. 5.1 speaker placement for in-ceiling speakers
b. 5.1 speaker placement (couch against wall)
- Where Do Surround Speakers Go For 7.1?
a. 7.1 speaker placement for in-ceiling speakers
Does It Matter Where I Put Surround Speakers?
Before you know WHERE to put speakers, let’s think about WHY it matters to put them in the right spot.
When the back side of your ears receives sound it sends a different signal to your brain than the front side does. Those sounds create a strong sense of presence. Sudden sounds behind you are received with less detail, but they grab your attention more dramatically.
This is why surround sound is so powerful. Doors closing, cars pulling up, explosions… these things grab your attention from behind as if you were one of the characters in the scene.
Read on to learn WHERE they need to go to achieve this.
If you want to learn how to choose which surround sound setup is right for you, read 5.1 vs 7.1 vs 9.1: Which is best for you?
What if my surround speakers are at different distances?
If for any reason you have to put the speakers at different distances from your seating position… that’s perfectly alright.
You can use your AV receiver’s settings to adjust the relative “level” of each speaker.
One way is to use the microphone calibration system that all AV receivers come with. It will prompt you when you first set up the receiver. You’ll stand a microphone up roughly where you’ll be sitting, keep the room quiet, and let the receiver run the test. It automatically adjusts the levels.
Another way to do this is to manually increase the ‘relative level’ of the further speaker. (It’ll be in the audio settings.) You’ll adjust it until it sounds equal to the closer speaker when you’re seated.
Where Do Surround Speakers Go For 5.1?
5.1 is the most common surround sound setup.
If you want to have a second music zone in your home (like an alfresco) you can use a single “7.1 channel receiver” for one 5.1 lounge and one extra zone.
Or if your room is small to medium sized, the 5.1 will be more than enough.
Here’s what a 5.1 system looks like using in-wall speakers:
(Note that this shows the ELITE-303 speakers up front, which do not require a third centre speaker thanks to the “Perfect Centre” technology.)
The idea behind using two surrounds for 5.1 is to have them:
- Behind your listening position,
- Left and right off to each side,
- With tweeters pointed at ear level, and
- Both tweeters pointed inward towards the middle of your seat.
How high should i place my surround speakers? Ear level is the “go-to” but you can put them at any height as long as the tweeters are pointed to ear level.
In relative to the middle of your seat, Dolby gives a recommended angle range of 110 degrees to 120 degrees (from a horizontal line through the lounge). You get the same result if you go with roughly 45 degrees back and to the side, if you want to make it easier.
If you are using the recommended ELITE-203 in-wall speakers for your surrounds, use a height that looks good visually. Again — just make sure the adjustable tweeters are pointed inward towards the middle of your seat at roughly ear level.
5.1 speaker placement for in-ceiling speakers
If you want to use in-ceiling speakers for your surrounds, you can.
NOTE!! This is NOT the same thing as ATMOS. ATMOS “height” speakers are meant to be directly above your head and play ‘sky’ sounds. Surround speakers on the other hand are meant to sound like they are playing at ear level. You can still use ceiling speakers but they need to be a little further away than ATMOS speakers.
The surround effects will work better for in-ceiling speakers if they are directional (all Jensen models are like this).
To make sure the sound hits the back of your ears and creates the correct experience, having the speakers 500 to 1000 mm is ideal. Again, you want them to be behind the seat and off to both left and right sides… then point the speakers inward towards the centre of your listening seat.
5.1 speaker placement (couch against wall)
If you’ve got a small room, or for whatever reason you simply have to back your lounge seat against the wall — you can still have surround sound. You can still use the diagram above for in-wall surrounds.
Here I’ll show you a 5.1 with in-ceiling surrounds.
You’ll still get good surround effects as long as the surround sound speakers are not forward of your listening position.
The following diagram shows the most extreme forward position for surround sound speakers that will still give you a good result:
Where Do Surround Speakers Go For 7.1?
Note: It makes for a better experience if you choose a 5.1.2 ATMOS system instead of a 7.1 with no ATMOS. That said, ATMOS speakers must go in the ceiling. Read Where should I place my ATMOS speakers? to learn more.
If you have a medium to large sized room, and you want to really hammer the surround sound experience home…
…7.1 will take things up a notch.
7.1 adds another pair of speakers to the back of the room. This allows panning effects across the back that give a more immersive, 3-dimensional sense of place behind you.
The ultimate set-up is to have in-wall speakers in all locations like below:
When using four surrounds for 7.1 is to have:
- One pair behind your listening position off to each side,
- Another pair directly to the side of your seat,
- With all tweeters pointed at ear level, and
- All tweeters pointed inward towards the middle of your seat.
For the rear surrounds, Dolby gives a recommended angle range of 135 degrees to 150 degrees (from a horizontal line through the lounge). You get the same result if you go with roughly 45 degrees back and to the side.
The side surrounds should be directly left and right of your seat — you can move them back a tiny bit if needed.
7.1 speaker placement for in-ceiling speakers
NOTE!! This is NOT the same thing as ATMOS. ATMOS “height” speakers are meant to be directly above your head and play ‘sky’ sounds. Surround speakers on the other hand are meant to sound like they are playing at ear level. You can still use ceiling speakers but they need to be a little further away than ATMOS speakers.
The surround effects will work better for in-ceiling speakers if they are directional (all Jensen models are like this).
To use four in-ceiling speakers in the rear, use the following diagram:
To make sure the sound hits at roughly ear level, having the speakers 500 to 1000 mm is ideal. Try to use those directional speakers and point them inward towards the centre of your listening seat.
Note: If you only want in-wall speakers in the front — and in-ceiling speakers everywhere else… I strongly recommend going with a 5.1.2 ATMOS setup instead of this 7.1 ceiling setup. Click here to read more about placing ATMOS height speakers.