The arrangement of speakers in your Home theatre follows a fairly simple configuration
Main Speakers (Front Channel): TheSpeakersplaced in the forward arc of your hearing tend to carry most of the weight since a major portion of the dialogues/sounds recorded tend to be made for this channel. The front channel considers the Centre, Left and Right speakers (along with the sub-woofer). The centre speaker is usually placed below the screen, or behind the screen itself to give you the impression that the sound is coming straight from the screen (Fun Trivia: Did you know that in commercial theatres, the centre, front and right speakers are all placed behind the screen, which is why the audience in the front rows sometimes get a headache from the heavy sound).
The Left and Right speakers are usually the work horses of your home theatre, and it’s recommended to have full range floor standing speakers to provide a powerful auditory experience.
The sub-woofer is usually placed on the floor (as it’s a heavy unit) and handles Low frequency sounds (Bass). It is usually recommended to shift all the bass to the woofer, lending lesser load to the other speakers.
Home theatres also have the option to Centre focus instead of surround sound, which will have the effect of all sounds coming from the screen, you can opt this mode for older recordings or ‘music only’ content.
Surround Speakers: These speakers usually are towards the back of the viewer’s arc, adding another dimension to your hearing experience. Depending on whether you opt for 5.1, 7.1 or 9.1 (or further), the number of surrounding speakers will vary. Newer formats, such as Dolby Atmos which have upto 128 simultaneous audio tracks supported, also encourage more speakers on your ceiling (front and back) providing an even more immersive surround sound experience while watching a movie.
Sound Bars: While not typically recommended for Home theatres, Sound bars offer reasonably good sound quality from a small, thin, long (wide) enclosure, with multiple speakers arranged within the rectangular space. Sound bars are usually placed below the TV or mounted on the wall below the display.
To experience how these different speaker look in a typical room, do visit our experience centres in Bangalore for a free demo.
