Surround sound speaker placement is one subject riddled with controvesy as just about every sound system enthusiast has an opinion about speaker placement to achieve quality surround sound in your home entertainment room. But, How High Should Height Speakers Be for the best surround sound?
About 8 feet high is the recommended Height Speakers placement for the best surround sound with your speaker setup.
Surround sound speaker placement of your height speaker regardless of their channels should be placed at the far upper left/right corners of the front stage facing the designated seating area of your entertainment room. Depending on your room size and total speakers installed in your room, a typical height of 8 feet at an angle of 40-45 degrees off-axis is an ideal height for your surround speaker set.
If you have a speaker set with a slight downward tilt, the 8 feet height placement will undoubtedly improve the clarity and balance of the mid/high-frequency response of your surround sound as this placement reduces and the notion of ceiling bounce reflections.
Listen, if you have an on-going project for surround sound system setup in your hom, now is the time to finding out how high your height speakers should be for maximum sound quality and clarity. It is absolutely vital because you do not want them to be too high or too low which certainly affects your surround sound listening experience.
So, by all means, the height speakers for your surround sound should be placed at about 8 feet high in your room. My goal is to share with you everything you need to know about the height of speakers, the advantages as well as disadvantages.
Over the years the need for surround sound system setup has grown from strengh to strenght. Needless to mention how much we have seen of varying different types of speakers being made.
However, the widely used speakers when setting up surround sound is the dynamic portable bookshelf speaker, in-wall speakers and in-ceiling speakers for maximum downwan firing.
The common sound source mostly used to amplify is by connecting these surround sound speakers to a credible Audio Video reciever with passthrough technology to power and amplify sound signal to the speakers.
Height Speaker, Do You Really Need Height Speakers?
You need height speaker for better surround sound as height speakers often deliver an impeccable sound quality that is balanced and measured as they are mounted on the ceiling, on the wall depending on what you as the owner chooses. Though one or two can get the job done, many of popular height speakers come in pairs or they can come in as many as seven depending on the manufacturer.
How To Place Your Height Speakers For The Best Sound
When the home theaters were new in the market place the 5.1 speaker was considered the state of the art but nowadays with technology changing every year even the 7.1 system is considered standard and also the 9 channel and the 11 channel surround sound processors are increasingly common.
The emerging audio formats such as Dolby atmos dtx and aura 3d are also bringing amazing height effects into the homes, with this creating more and more channels that can extend up to 5.1.2, 7.1.4, 11.2.6 and above.
Regardless of the number of speakers in our home audio system, the final goal is the same which is to get the precise localization of special effects, a big sound stage, seamless panning across all the channels as well as three dimensional imaging. This can only happen if each and every one of these speaker channel is placed properly in the room.
How To Place 2 Channel Stereo Systems
When you are setting up for a 2 channel speaker system, the two speakers as well as the listeners head should form the three points like an equilateral triangle. While most schools of thought may suggest otherwise, as long as your height speaker placement is positioned ate the most-optimized listening position possible where its determination is by the center to center distance of the speakers from each other and the distance from the listener’s head, you will achieve the best surround sound possible.
Needless to say that my recommendation herefor your height speaker placement has nothing to do with your room dimensions in any form or shape. The key here is that you achieve a symmetrical speaker placement which is vita for near field listening, especially in small to medium sized rooms. I can’t stress enough how hugely important it is for you to get it right for an optimized stereo sound quality.
After the speakers and the main listening position are set up as close to a perfect equilateral triangle as possible, the speakers have got to be angled slightly toward the listening position which is also called the toeing in.
This can be done by the ear and also a ½ up to ¼ inch toe in is sufficient. When this whole process is done correctly you will be able to clearly enjoy a significantly improved surround sound with a center focused balanced quality.
Speaker Placement For 5.1 And 7.1 Surround Sound Systems
The speakers should be placed 25-30 degrees off –axis relative to the sitting position, you will get the best imaging when the tweeters of the speakers are close to ear height when you are seated. Most of the tower speakers out there can accomplish this naturally however a bookshelf monitor will require some stands.
In order to reduce the the boundary reflections as well as improve the the imaging you have to pull the main speakers away from the corners, to the extent that is allowed by the room traffic.
The Center Channel Speaker
The center channel speaker should be placed directly on the axis , that are relative to the primary seating position. Just like the main front speakers, most surround speakers come with tweeters. Therefore placing these tweeter speakers at their nearest head level possible to your seating area is optimal, but again that depends on the placement of your entire home enttertainment system( video display or projection screen), this is definitely not always possible to hapzardly just suggest.
If the channel that is the center must be located below the head level then the upward tilt of the speaker is recommended to improve, mid high frequency response as well as dialogue intelligibility.
Side Surround Speakers
When you are using a 5.1 channel system, the side surround speakers have got to be located at 90-110 degrees of the axis. To get the best sense of spaciousness the tweeter height should at least at about two feet above the ear level.
Rear Surround Speakers
If you are using a 7.1 speaker system then the dedicated surround speakers should be placed behind the primary seating position in order to get some enhanced rear panning effects.
Put the rear surround speakers at at least 135 to 150 degrees off the axis, relative to the primary seating position. Just like the surround speakers place the rear surround tweeters at about two feet above the head level when you are seated.
How To Place The 9.1 And 11.1 Systems
The wide speaker channels are meant to be placed between the main front speakers as well as the side surround speakers. The goal of the wide speakers is to minimize the gaps in panning and the imaging in between the front main speakers as well as the side surround speakers and provide an additional sense of envelopment.
Height Speakers Pros And Cons
Pros
• There are affordable equipment options, not all height speakers are very expensive so that means most of us can actually afford them.
• Height speakers support a lot of technology some can be connected directly to a mobile phone via Bluetooth
• Height speakers offer the best sorround sound out there which might explain why most of them are so expensive. They offer some really crisp clear quality sound that will turn your home into a cinema. These speakers can make your gaming experience so real.
• Height speakers give you an enveloping sound experience as they can be placed all around the house.
• Height speakers are very easy to setup as well as to install them unlike other speakers that often require professionals to install them.
• Height speakers often come with a very powerful bass, and you do not necessarily need a lot of them in order to get the best surround sound, you can have just two of them and still experience the best surround sound in your home that is how powerful they really are.
• With height speakers you can actually choose how high they should be unlike other speakers that are meant to be on the ceiling or the floor.
• They give your sound a bit of height when they are placed on the right height, they offer surround sound that has got depth as well as the right height.
• Height speakers are also very good for people who live in small places as they can be mounted on the wall that means you can save a lot of space on the ground.
• The height speakers have got the ability to mimic surround sound.
Cons
• Unlike some speakers, most of the height speakers are very expensive so not everyone can afford them.
• Height speakers can take up a lot of room in the house if they are not positioned properly.
• Height speakers will not always go along with your style in your home as they are very much visible on the wall unlike the ceiling speakers.
• They can be very complicated to setup sometimes
• With height speakers you will get a lot of wiring and if the wires are not positioned properly you can get a lot of untidiness visible on the wall as well as a lot of clutter.
Why Choose Height Speakers For Home Entertainment Upgrade
• The height speakers give the user some more placement options, meanwhile the ceiling speakers are not that flexible and can only be mounted on the ceiling.
• The height speakers offer a much better sound, though very expensive you still get value for your money if you of course do not mind spending a little bit more for your home entertainment sound system.
• The height speakers have got a classier look compared to the ceiling speakers, they come in a matte black that will give your room that modern look.
- Height speaker comes as a set of two to seven speakers and they also support a lot of technology, they come with a Bluetooth device with them and they can also be upgraded in time when the user feels they can afford a more advanced speaker system.
- Height speakers have got such a great loud sound that the user can use them for much more than just home entertainment system; they can be used for bigger functions such as churches, weddings as well as parties. They offer an enveloping sound that can cover a room that is as large as a hall.
