Commonly, this setup is used for home theatre with the Dolby ceiling speaker which provides immersive audio quality. The only drawback is that it is costly.
Quick Answer:
- Place front left/right speakers on both sides of the TV.
- Place the center speaker below or above the screen.
- Install surround speakers on both sides of the seating areas.
- Install the rear speaker directly behind the seating area.
- Put the subwoofer near the front wall.
- 4 Ceiling speakers will be placed the front Left/right, and behind the left/right of the seating area.
Suppose you don’t want to install any ceiling speakers and have only height speakers. Those speakers are called height speakers.
- Front Height: Place them on top of the front left and right main speakers, Back Heigh: Place them on top of the rear left and right surround speakers.
Guide to Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 Speaker Placement
For me, I suggest you hire a professional to do it for you. A 7.1.4 sound system may cost you a couple of thousand dollars, without proper placements, it may not be worth buying. It will be best to hire someone, who has expertise or you can follow the guidance to do it yourself:
Finalize Seating Position:
For an immersive audio experience, seating position plays a crucial role.
Before placing all the speakers, measure your room size and try to put your preferred furniture (Sofa, customized seat) in the middle of your room or slide the back side.
Front Left and Right Speakers:
Place the front left and right speakers on both sides of your screen and angle towards the main seating position at ear level when seated. Place those speakers at least 6-12 inches away from the wall.
Center Channel Speaker:
The center channel speaker should be placed directly below or above the TV or any kind of screen. Place the speaker slightly tilted upwards if placed below the screen, and downwards if placed above the screen.
Surround Left and Right Speakers:
Place the surround speakers on both sides or slightly behind the main seating area. Mount the speakers 2 feet above ear level, aimed downwards towards the seating area.
Rear Left and Right Speakers:
Place them on the back side of your seating area. Speakers must focus on the seating area or sofa. Like surround left and right speakers mount the speakers 2 feet above ear level, aimed downwards towards the seating area.
Subwoofer:
The subwoofer will be placed on the front wall of the room, either to the left or right of the main seating area. Don’t worry subwoofer is more flexible in placement. Just avoid placing the subwoofer directly in the room corner, as this can cause overly boomy or uneven bass.
The subwoofer handles low-frequency effects (LFE) and deep bass. In a 7.1.4 Dolby atmos sound system, make sure you have a higher-quality subwoofer to handle every bass and LFE.
Front Left and Right Ceiling Speaker:
This overhead ceiling speaker will be placed on the front left and right sides of the seating position. It will be best to Place them 1-2 feet in front of the main listening position.
Rear Left and right Ceiling Speaker:
This overhead rear ceiling speaker will be placed on the back left and right sides of the seating position on the ceiling. This speaker plays a crucial role in creating three-dimensional sound effects.
Things Consider while setup 7.1.4 sound system
After or before setting up a Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 sound system, you have to consider a few things to make your whole sound system perfect. Here are those things:
1. Room Size and Acoustics: Larger rooms may require more powerful speakers, so think of it before buying sound systems. Consider using acoustic panels, bass traps, and diffusers to control sound reflections all over the room.
2. Wiring and Connectivity: Use high-quality speaker cables and ensure they are properly connected. Also, you can choose a wireless sound system. Try to hide those connected wires using many tricks. Openly connected wires can be damaged at any time.
3. Listening Position: The ideal listening position should be centered or slightly behind your room. We already provided images that can help you better understand.
4. Audio Source: Ensure you have access to content that supports Dolby Atmos or DTS to utilize the 7.1.4 setup. Netflix has movies that support Dolby Atmos and music streaming platforms like Amazon Music and Tidal are known for supporting Dolby Atmos.
After following this, your sound system will work its best. Many sound system sellers provide setups for free, you don’t need to do anything, they will handle all speaker placements and installations.
Conclusion:
For a non-technical person, it will be a struggle to set up a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos sound system. Setting up a 7.1.4 home theater is not an easy task. Read all the points I discussed earlier in this blog and try to follow them. Your single mistake can be the reason behind the worst audio quality. I suggest hiring professionals to do it for you, they have all the required tools and years of experience.
I’m sourav, a music lover and sound enthusiast. After experiencing multiple sound qualities, I thought many people searching regarding this topic, but there is not enough detailed information on it. That’s the main reason why I created this blog.
