DIY Network

Installing the Speakers Learn how to create uniform sound in your new home theater room. From "Home Theater" episode DHTW-104

(Continued from page 1)

• Ideally the front left and right speakers would have been placed in the best location, which is the third dimension (figure D) of the room, but this isn't possible because the screen is too big. The next choice would have been the fifth dimension (figure E), but alas, the screen covered that area as well. The next "best" location outside the screen was on the seventh dimension (figure F), and that's where the front left and right speakers are placed.

  The speakers are specially made to be mounted into the wall, which avoids reflection problems because the sound projects directly from the wall into the listening area. But most front left and right speakers are free-standing so their sound will be affected by reflections off of the wall behind them. If you have free-standing speakers, consider putting absorption-acoustic panels behind them for the clearest, cleanest sound!

Figure D

Figure E

Figure F

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	Figure G
	Figure H

• Now it's time for the surround-sound speakers. A common misperception is that the surround speakers go in the back of the room behind the listener, but dipole speakers actually go on the side walls right perpendicular to the listener.

  Note: Dipole surround speakers play music to the front of the room and the back of the room, so that the listener is seated in what is called the "null position" (figure G), which is the midpoint of the speaker. What this does is create a very diffuse sound field and envelops the listener in the surround action of the movie. Since Mark and Corey know where the seating positions are in this home theater, they ran the wires to the appropriate location on the side walls, and all they have to do is hang the speakers.

• Peter listens to a lot of music so he actually put a second set of surround speakers in the back of the room (figure H) that are direct radiators--basically smaller versions of the main speakers. A lot of people will get "small budget" mini-speakers and put them on the back wall--but be sure to use the same brand of speaker because it's extremely important to have the same timbre (tonal characteristics) for all of the speakers.

In the final segment of this episode, take a tour of the home theater of major-league pitcher Danny Graves, who spared no expense in creating a high-tech room with some of the coolest "gear" around.

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RESOURCES :

Don Fillers & Assoc.
Website: www.dfasolutions.com

McDougall Bros. Construction, Inc.
Website: www.mcdougallbros.com

Middle Atlantic Products, Inc.
Website: www.middleatlantic.com

Terratex Fabrics
Website: www.terratex.com

Absolute Sound, Inc.
Website: www.absolutesound.com

GUESTS :

Mark Midyett
Engineer/Designer
Don Fillers & Assoc.
1003 North Broadway St.
Knoxville, TN 37917
Phone: 865-523-4470
Website: www.dfasolutions.com

Ted Hollander
Home Theater Designer
Phone: 407-629-0230
Website: www.absolutesound.com