On the receiver I'll be soon buying, there's the function to input how far away the speakers are. Here's my questions:

- does it really matter if I input 3 or 10 feet?

- which way does it work? i.e. do you input '10 feet' if your rear speakers are 10 feet away from YOU or your TV?

I'll stop asking questions soon, I promise...

Yup. The receiver determines the amount of delay it will give the signal reaching the speakers based on the number you input.

It probably says in your manual (then again, maybe not), but you input the distance the speakers are from your ears.

Correctly time aligned speakers can make or break a system. Set them up properly and you'll have better sounding surround.

Sorry to be so dumb, but how do I properly align speakers? For instance, the receiver I want only allows you to input the distance for 'front' and 'rear'...not 'front left', etc.

But regardless, this whole distance-timing thing really interests me, and I'd love for anyone to tell me how to do it, and how to do it well.

My receiver (Sony STB-930) allows me to adjust FL, FC, FR, RL, and RR speakers. Just make sure that the receiver that you wany can do it or you'll be sorry. (Each HT room is different with different acoustics).

Then pick up a copy of AVIA and a cheap Radio shack sound meter. Use AVIA and the sound meter to calibrate your system.

oh ya...when your done calibrating...de-calibrate the sub-woofer by turning it way way up! :)


-Taco

Some receivers may also give you a delay time (e.g., 15 ms, 30 ms, etc.) and you will have to calculate the necessary delay for the distances you have. Most if not all manuals will give you specific instructions on doing this. You can also find info at Dolby's website.

Make sure they are equidistance from the TV. i.e. if your FL speaker is 4 feet to the left of your TV, your FR shoudl be 4 feet to the right of your tv. Symmetry my friend, symmetry.