What You Need To Know About Surround Sound Speaker Systems

The experience of watching movies and TV programs, listening to music and playing games is drastically enhanced when you use a surround sound system. However, these systems can be a bit challenging to set up so let’s learn the basics of surround sound systems.

A large number of movie releases today come with surround sound support, so believe us when we say you are missing a lot if you haven’t such system installed. With a surround sound system you will feel like you are in the middle of the action and the experience is more or less like you are watching the film in the cinema.

In the next few paragraphs we are going to explain how they work and how to install them.

The surround sound systems and number of speakers

The most basic setup we use today is the so called 5.1 system. It means there are 5 speakers and 1 subwoofer. If you add two extra speakers you get a so called 7.1 system.

Do you need additional equipment?

With the surround system, no matter whether it is 5.1 or 7.1 you need something to play your movies on like a DVD or a Blu-Ray player as well as an AV receiver. The latter is required to decode the audio signal and tell which speaker should play which sound. If this seems too complicated for you, you can always buy an all-in-one home theater system for a good price.

What is the best way to position the speakers?

If you have purchased a 5.1 system then you will see that there are two front and two back speakers, a center speaker and a subwoofer. The speakers should be arranged in a circular position around the listener and according their position there are different ways to improve the sound of your audio system.

The front left and front right channel will handle most of the sounds coming from the movie. Ideally these should be placed at the front on the left and the right of the screen.

The center speaker is there to handle dialogues. Therefore it should be positioned in the center, under the TV or screen. You should feel like the speech is coming directly from the screen.

If you own a 5.1 system, you will notice there is a pair of rear speakers. These should be positioned on the side, behind the listener. It would be the best if the two front speakers and the two rear speakers could form a square with the listener in the center.

Also, in case you have a 7.1 system, you will have two additional surround back speakers. These speakers should be positioned behind the listener and they provide a better listening experience.

And finally - the subwoofer. It takes care of the bass. You can position the subwoofer wherever you like but ideally it should be positioned near the center and the two front speakers. Avoid placing the subwoofer near the wall or in the corner. It will make it sound unnatural. Just change its positions from time to time and see which one is the best for you.

Is the size of the speakers important?

The type of the speakers you are going to choose generally depends on your budget and the room you want to install them in.

In case you haven’t got too much space it would be good to check any compact speaker system.

If your room is bigger, then you can check some “bookshelf” speakers. These speakers should be placed on a shelf or mounted on a stand. As a result you will experience better volume.

“Floorstanders” are the largest type of speakers. They will take much more space than the previous types but in return you will get the best audio quality. If you want you can even make a combination of different types of speakers but it generally depends on the available space and the size of the room.

These speakers come in different price ranges and you will definitely find the best ones to fit your budget. However, there is a well-known rule here – the price dictates the quality so basically the more you pay the better sound quality you will get.