User Guide

System 20 LCR and SR InWall Speakers
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Home Theater Speaker Locations
Today’s home theater systems require you to place six or more speakers in your room; front left, front center,
front right, two surrounds, and a subwoofer. Some other systems include additional rear surround channels to
further the illusion of total involvement. And placement for all these speakers is potentially more critical than
with pure music reproduction alone.
That’s because the goal of setting up a good home theater isn’t to put you
in the movie theater; it’s to put you in the movie!
That’s right, we want you to believe you’re in the jungle, the
restaurant, the office, or wherever the video scene is taking place, and the sound system has the responsibility
of creating that part of the illusion.
Left/Center/Right Locations
The front three speakers ideally should have the tweeter at ear height when seated, just as with stereo speak-
ers. Unfortunately, the presence of the television can make this difficult, if not impossible to accomplish. (Unless
you’re using a front projector and a perforated screen with the center channel speaker directly behind it). The
closer you can get to this ideal the better, however. Try to keep the left and right speakers within 3 feet of either
side of the TV screen. If possible, place the left and right speakers no more than 2 feet above or below the
height of the center channel speaker. The center speaker itself should be centered on, and directly above or
below the TV screen.
Ceiling Locations
Ceiling mounting of the System 20 LCR is not recommended due to its dispersion characteristics, weight, and
size. The System 20 SR may be ceiling mounted, but as outlined below its optimum performance will be
realized as a Dipole, placed directly to the sides of the prime listening position. It’s especially important, if you
mount any speaker in a ceiling, that you cover the back with a piece of fiberglass window screening to keep
insulation and other foreign matter out of the assembly. Should you be installing any speaker in a ceiling be sure
to install safety wires from the speaker to the structure above, to ensure security under all conditions. Please
see below for further information regarding mounting the System 20 SR in a ceiling.
The All Important Surround Speakers
For the record, we are strong proponents of Dipole surround speakers and recommend that you use
the System 20 SR as a Dipole, to the sides of the listening position, if at all possible.
In order to achieve THX Ultra performance use THX Ultra certified Dipole surround speakers like the System 20
SR. The following placement recommendations apply to all Dipole surround speakers (whether the System 20
SR or another model) Please try to follow them.
Dipole surrounds produce a diffuse, relatively non-localizable sound field that
projects to each side of the speaker. Directly in front of the speaker’s apex
there’s a sound “null” or dead zone (see Fig. 2)
When properly placed in the room, with the apex null aimed at the listeners,
this creates the illusion that the surround sound is coming from a large area
to both sides of the speaker! The result is that you’re immersed in the sur-
round field and become one with the action taking place up on the screen.
Surround Speaker Locations
The absolute best place for a Dipole surround is directly to the sides of the
prime listening position (+/- 15 degrees). They should be located no less than
18 inches above ear height when seated and at least 24 inches below ceiling
level. If the surround speakers must be located closer than 24 inches to the ceiling they should be turned upside
down to keep the tweeters as far as possible from the ceiling. Please see the important note below.
System 20 SR surrounds are designed to mount horizontally, on the side walls. If they must be placed on the
back wall or the ceiling please follow these guidelines. On the rear wall, install the speakers horizontally at least
24 inches away from the corner, and between 18 inches above ear level when seated and 24 inches down from
the ceiling. If placed in the ceiling, position them with the drivers facing the front and back of the room with the
FIg.2
Dipole speaker sound radiation
Null