Surround Sound Speaker Placement for a 5.1 System

Set everything up around your main seat

A surround layout starts from one seat, not from the walls or the furniture. We'd place every speaker around the spot where you normally sit and run a channel test before judging anything from a movie, because not everything you watch is in 5.1, and a test lets you hear each speaker on its own.

Put the center speaker directly above or below the screen, as close to it as you can. On a shelf or stand, bring its front edge even with the edge (opens in a new tab), because edges in front of the speaker get in the way of its sound. If it sits below ear level, tilt it up toward your seat to keep dialogue clear.

Place the front left and right speakers the same distance from your seat, and the same distance from the TV. Seen from your seat, each one should sit about 22 to 30 degrees off the line to the middle of the screen. That's Denon's range (opens in a new tab), and SVS gives 25 to 30. Aim both at you, with the tweeters close to ear height when you're sitting.

The surround speakers go to your left and right, the same distance from your seat. Denon's 5.1 layout moves them slightly behind you, to 120 degrees from that center line, while SVS puts them at 90 to 110 degrees (opens in a new tab), which runs from directly beside you to a little behind. Those angles describe where the speaker sits, not how far you turn it.

For height, Dolby's 5.1 setup (opens in a new tab) keeps the speakers at your ear height when you're seated, while SVS raises surround tweeters about 2 feet above ear level for a more spacious sound. We'd start at ear height, since that's Dolby's default for the whole layout, and try the surrounds higher if you want the extra spaciousness.

If your sofa backs onto a wall and the surrounds have to go there, Klipsch suggests mounting them about 6 feet up, on either side of the seating, at least 6 feet apart if you can, and pointed toward the front of the room. Before you drill, hold each one where it'll go and listen from your seat.

The subwoofer has the most freedom. Start near the front speakers or in a front corner and compare spots from your seat, and get a hand if it's a big, heavy one. SVS's subwoofer crawl (opens in a new tab) is a handy way to narrow it down, and our subwoofer placement guide has more on finding the spot.

Keep a clear view from your seat to every speaker, because if you can't see a speaker, something is blocking its sound. The distances don't have to be perfect. Receivers with automatic calibration, like Yamaha's YPAO (opens in a new tab) or Denon's Audyssey, measure the actual layout and adjust for it.

Test each channel, then calibrate

Run your receiver's test tone if it has one, or your speaker system's own channel test, before you judge the layout by ear. On the Z906 below, the test plays one speaker at a time, so a speaker on the wrong channel, or one that stays silent, stands out right away.

Then check that each wire goes to the right channel, with red (+) to red and black (-) to black, and run the test again. Make sure no loose strands touch the other terminal or the receiver's back panel, which can trip its protection circuit.

Once every channel plays from the right spot, run the receiver's automatic calibration from your main seat. With Denon's Audyssey, for example, the microphone goes at the main seat at seated ear height, pointing at the ceiling. Denon suggests measuring six or more positions (opens in a new tab), keeping the others within 2 feet (60 cm) of the first.

Denon also wants the room as quiet as you can make it, with nobody standing between the speakers and the microphone. Don't worry if the results list the sub as farther away than it really is, since subwoofers can add electrical delay. If you turn on another speaker in the Denon's setup menu later, run the calibration again.

Setting up a Logitech Z906

On a Logitech Z906, put the front satellites (opens in a new tab) on either side of your TV or monitor, about as far apart as each one is from your seat, and angle them toward you. The rears go behind you, about as far apart as the fronts, and the center goes on your desk or in front of the screen.

The Z906 sub can go anywhere, and near a wall or corner, or under a desk, gives the strongest bass. Put the control console within reach, with its IR window where the remote can see it.

Turn off the speakers, the control console and your audio source before wiring. Connect each satellite to its labeled red or black plug on the back of the sub (REAR LEFT, REAR RIGHT, FRONT LEFT, FRONT RIGHT or CENTER) by pushing the spring-clip tab, inserting the wire and letting go of the tab.

Then connect your source. A computer sound card uses 6-channel input 1 with the included cable, analog sources use stereo RCA input 2 or the auxiliary input on the side of the console, and digital sources use the optical and coaxial inputs 3, 4 and 5. The RCA, auxiliary and digital cables aren't included. To test the layout:

1. Power on the speakers and set the volume knob to the nine o'clock position.
2. Hold INPUT on the remote or control console for 5 seconds to start test mode.
3. From your seat, listen as the test plays one speaker at a time, 5 seconds each: front left, center, front right, rear right, rear left, then the subwoofer. The matching LED on the console lights for each one.
4. Let it finish. It runs once and stops, and holding INPUT for 5 seconds again repeats it.

If a channel plays from the wrong speaker or stays silent, switch the speakers, console and source off before you fix the wire, then run the test again.

Z906 rear speakers quiet? Check the effect

If all six channels pass the test but the rears are quiet during a show, check the input and effect before you move anything. Press INPUT to select the source you connected. The input number on the console matches the number on the back of the sub.

Not everything you play reaches the Z906 in surround, and with stereo sound the effect decides which speakers play (opens in a new tab). Press EFFECT on the remote or console to change it.

RCA and auxiliary inputs offer 3D, 4.1 and 2.1, and the 6-channel input adds No effect. Each input brings back the last effect you picked for it, so check the effect again whenever you switch sources.

For Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS, use a digital input and a source that supports that format, and turn on the source's digital audio output. The Z906 detects the stream when you select that input.

Once everything plays where it should, set the levels from your seat. Press LEVEL on the remote or console to step through the adjustments, then turn the Volume / Level knob or use the remote's Volume / Level buttons. What you can adjust depends on the effect (opens in a new tab):

• Stereo 3D and No effect: the whole system (all five satellites and the subwoofer), the subwoofer, the rear satellites or the center satellite.
• Stereo 4.1: the four satellites and the subwoofer together, the subwoofer, or the rear satellites.
• Stereo 2.1: the two front satellites and the subwoofer together, or the subwoofer alone.

The rear setting moves both rear speakers together.