How do i appropriately set up surround sound speakers (see details)?

Question

When setting up surround sound speakers, should the front and right speakers ideally be angled towards the user or perpendicular to the wall? Note that the room is small, and that in this example their would only be one listener.

Answer 1

The amount of "toe-in" for the L/R speakers depends on a lot of things: distance, throw-pattern of the receiver, etc.

The best thing to do is to try 3 different amounts of toe-in and pick what sounds best to you:

- Get a laser pointer or a cheap laser level. Hold this along side the L or R speakers to see where they are pointing.

Fire up an effects-heavy chapter on A:B repeat, turn OFF the TV and listen to these 3 different amounts of toe-in:

A: Where the L/R speaker sound intersects 2 ft in front of the primary listening position. This is the classic music speaker alignment.

B: Where the L/R speaker sound intersects exactly at the listener.

C: Where the L/R speaker sound intersects 2 ft behind the listener.

NOTE: You should use a Radio Shack SPL meter after each adjustment.  Turning the speakers away from you will lower the volume a bit - and this few db sound reduction can cause you to not use a superior toe-in simply because it's quieter.

Answer 2

Here is a quick article on I wrote on this subject with a diagram.  These are the recommended posistions but you should work with how your room is setup and get as close as you can.  Good luck.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2284840_set-up-s...