5.1 Speaker Placement

by David
(United States)

Right now my surrounds are about 1-2ft above my seated listening position. Does turning the bookshelf speaker upside down so the tweeter is on the bottom effect the performance of the speaker?

Do you even recommend it?

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Hi

Firstly, I would get the manual for your speakers and check the manufacturers recommendations for their placement. Most speakers should be fine upside-down, but the design of some may require they be used one way only.

However, once you are confident the speakers will be ok, then there is no reason not to try it. Placing the speakers on their side may affect the sound image they create, but turning them completely over should be fine.

With the placement of any speaker, the ideal position should have the tweeters pointing towards your ears (or as close as is possible). This is because the high frequency sounds they provide are more directional than lower frequencies.

Therefore, if turning them over gets the tweeters in a better position, then why not give it a go?

You could also consider a tilting speaker bracket and angling them down towards your seating position.

As with all these things, trust your ears and decide which speaker position sounds best to you.

Hope that helps a bit.

Paul (Site Editor)

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