Speaker placement basics

A $400 pair of speakers in the right spot will beat a $1,000 pair in the wrong one. Before you buy anything or run a calibration mic, spend half an hour moving things around.

Front left and right

Make a triangle. The two speakers and your head should be roughly the same distance from each other, and each speaker should point at your ears. Between 6 and 10 feet apart is typical. Aim them slightly inward.

Keep them out of corners and a foot or two from the front wall if you can. Pushing them against the wall makes bass boomy.

Center channel

Put it directly above or below the screen, as close to the middle as you can get. Tilt it toward the seating position if it sits below ear level. Most dialogue comes from here, so it matters more than people expect.

Subwoofer

The usual trick is to put the sub in your seat and play bass-heavy music, then crawl around the room. Where it sounds best is where the sub should go. Corners are loud but often muddy, so try along a wall first.

Surrounds

Place them to the sides of the seating position, a little above ear height. If they have to go behind you, point them at the listener and keep them from being too close.

Then calibrate

Once the speakers are placed, run your receiver's room correction. It does a much better job when the starting position is already sensible.