Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems 5.1 Surround Speaker Height Compromise

Have you noticed how in commercial theatres the surround speakers are always quite a bit above your listening level? There are obvious reasons of seating layout that require this and I do not know whether cinema Dolby etc allows for this in their cinema codecs, but it seems to work well. Have you considered having the speakers higher but tilted down a bit - easy to do if they are wall mounted. In my cinema I have my sides and surrounds higher up and tried tilting down but preferred the less focussed sound of having them just firing over the top, so to speak. After all, the purpose of surrounds is to provide ambience so, unlike fronts, I don't think it matters for imaging that they are exactly at ear level, as my experience of commercial cinema reinforces.