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| Speaker Placement |
 Your front left and right speakers
Your front speakers have double duty: they not only handle movie soundtracks, they're responsible for reproducing all of the sound when you listen to stereo music.
• Place your front left and right speakers in front, and at equidistant points to the left and right, of your sitting place. Front left and right speakers with your center channel speaker should form a slight arc, so that all three speakers are exactly the same distance from the place where you sit, with the tweeters from all three front speakers aimed at your ears. It is desirable to measure the distances exactly — just an inch or two can actually make a considerable difference in the way your system sounds.
• For the perfect sound, the tweeters should be at ear level when you're seated. Most floor-standing speakers are organized with this in mind; smaller speakers can be positioned on stands or mounted on the wall to get the proper height.
• Make sure there are no solid objects (like furniture) blocking the pathway of the sound traveling to your listening location.
Your surround speakers
Your home theater's surround speakers are there to help you to feel yourself in a cloud of atmospheric sound and special effects, so you feel like you're actually in the middle of the action. It's important to say that surround speaker placement is one area where positioning may range widely. An approach that works well for a friend or neighbor may not even be possible for you, given the shape and layout of your home theater room. Try to experiment — what matters most is how it sounds to you.
 • Ideally, your primary pair of surround speakers should be placed to the left and right of your listening position — either in line with it, or just behind it. If you have a 6.1-channel or 7.1-channel system with more than two surround speakers, or if side placement isn't available, think over placement behind your listening position, facing the front of the room.
• Surround speakers should be placed high enough so that the drivers do not fire directly at your ears when you're sitting down — one rule of thumb is to locate them at ear level while standing.
• Experiment with aiming your surrounds, if they mounted on the side walls on adjustable brackets. You may get excellent results from pointing them at the ceiling or toward the rear corners of the room.
• You can also locate a pair of traditional bookshelf speakers on speaker stands, slightly behind and to the sides of your listening position.
• If you mount the rear speakers on the wall, try to mount them to wall studs to prevent them from falling and damaging your speakers, drywall, and possibly furniture.
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