Surround sound speaker setup guides

Set up your speakers for surround sound

Enjoy the best sound from your home theater when you optimize your speakers' positions. Our setup guide will get you started, with basic placement information, room considerations, and other tips.

Speaker configurations

Quality sound is hugely important for the cinema experience, and a surround sound system in your home theater can help you connect more deeply with the characters of your favorite shows and the best movies.

A good 5.1-channel system will give you a full surround sound experience. Most DVD and Blu-ray™ media, some Super Audio CDs (SACDs), broadcast TV, and many streaming sources are in 5.1-channel format.

Going to 7.1 channels improves the directionality of sound effects and helps you feel more of your entertainment. Some Blu-ray Disc™ and premium streaming sources feature 7.1. (They will sound fine on a 5.1 system, too.)

A 9.1-channel system adds front height speakers to take advantage of Dolby Pro Logic® IIz, which gets height information from the signal.

The configurations noted in this guide are illustrative. We recommend any overhead speaker installation be performed by professional installers with experience installing overhead speakers.