MK Sound CENTER-850 - Manual (Page 7)

Try to follow the formula as close as you can. You can fine tune the placement by listening to a source with an
image (such as a vocalist) centered between the speakers. When listening in stereo (no Center Channel
speaker), move the speakers closer together or farther apart in small increments until you hear the sharpest and
most cohesive image, especially in the phantom center. You may also want to angle (or "toe-in") the speakers
slightly. This often improves the sharpness of the stereo image, reduces room colorations, and provides a wider
seating area. The angled front baffles of your speakers also provide this benefit.
7. HOME THEATRE USAGE
LEVEL-MATCHING
The factor most critical to achieving excellent Home Theatre performance is level-matching the three front and
two surround channels. This is even more important than timbre-matching. We strongly recommend that you
purchase a Radio Shack Sound Level Meter (get the analog meter, not the digital version) and use it to measure
the output of the speakers when playing the test tones generated by your processor or receiver.
Set the meter to the "C" weighting scale and the “SLOW” setting. Using your amplifier or receiver's internal
noise calibration test, set the levels so that all channels measure the same level. WHENEVER POSSIBLE, DO
NOT CALIBRATE LEVELS BY EAR! Using a meter is an inexpensive way to be certain that your system is
calibrated properly.
TIMBRE-MATCHING
One of the most important factors in achieving excellent Home Theatre performance is timbre-matching. On
film soundtracks, specific sounds are often moved from left to right or from front to back in the room. When the
speakers reproducing these sounds have dissimilar characteristics, there will be an audible discontinuity when the
sound shifts from one speaker to another.
Timbre-matched speakers have very similar tonal characteristics and sound, which come from three critical
elements: similar or identical drivers; similar or identical crossovers; and similar or identical frequency response.
In full M&K systems, these elements have been addressed. You can be assured that the system can achieve the
full potential of Home Theatre sound.
When you have a Home Theatre system, speaker placement becomes extremely important, as you will be
balancing four or five (or more) speakers rather than two. The following guidelines are for a five-channel Pro-Logic
or 5.1 channel Dolby Digital AC-3 system, but if you do not have a Center channel, the instructions for the other
four channels still apply.
X
Y
A
B
Aim the speakers
at the primary listener.
Line X - Y should equal
line A - B.
(Line A - B appears longer
in this diagram due to an
optical illusion).
SATELLITE SPEAKER
FIGURE 2
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