Installing Your Speakers - Onkyo TX-SR501E Instruction Manual

Installing Your Speakers

You can use two sets of speakers with your TX-SR501/
TX-SR501E: speaker set A and speaker set B.
With speaker set A, which should be installed in your main
listening room, and can be used with Dolby Digital or DTS
surround material, you can connect front-left, front-right,
center, surround-left, surround-right, surround-back, and
subwoofer speakers.
With speaker set B, which can be installed in another room,
and used with stereo or mono material, you can connect a
pair of standard hi-fi speakers.
Positioning Your Speakers
Speaker-set B can be positioned in the standard position for
stereo speakers or where you like.
Speaker-set A, however, must be positioned at specific points
in your listening room to achieve the best results from sur-
round sound material. The following illustration shows the
best positions for your surround-sound speakers. Obviously,
the positions you choose will depend on the shape of your
room and the position of your TV or projector screen. Either
way, use this illustration as a guide and try to use the same
positions relative to your listening position.
Sub-
woofer
Surround-left
speaker
To get the most from surround sound, you should connect all
seven speakers. However, if you don't connect a center
speaker or surround speakers, you can still enjoy surround
sound material by specifying the number of speakers con-
nected, and the TX-SR501/TX-SR501E will produce the
best surround sound possible with the available speakers. See
page 34.
Similarly, if you don't have a subwoofer, you can turn off the
subwoofer so that bass sounds are produced by the other
speakers. See page 25.
Front Speakers
Front speakers consist of front-left, front-right, and center
speakers. The center speaker adds directionality and move-
ment.
• In general, the front-left, front-right, and center speakers
should be installed facing the listener at ear-level.
20
TV/screen
Center
speaker
Surround-right
speaker
Surround-back speaker
Surround Speakers
Surround speakers add a sense of movement and put you, the
listener, in the middle of the action.
• The surround-left and surround-right speakers should be
installed at the sides, or slightly behind the listener, 2–3 ft.
(60–100 cm) above ear level, and against the side walls.
The surround-back speaker should be installed behind the
listener also at 2–3 ft. (60–100 cm) above ear level. Make
sure that the listening position is within the range of the
speakers.
Subwoofer
You'll need a subwoofer with a built-in power amp, what's
known as an active subwoofer, to achieve the best bass per-
formance.
• The volume and quality of the bass output from your sub-
woofer will depend on its position, the shape of your listen-
ing room, and your listening position. In general, a good
bass sound can be obtained by installing the subwoofer in
a front corner, or at one-third the width of the wall, as
shown.
1/3
1/3 wall
length
See the instructions supplied with your speakers for more
information.
Attaching the Supplied Speaker Labels
Speaker cables are two-wire cables, with one wire for con-
necting to the positive (+) terminal, and one for connecting to
the negative (–) terminal.
The TX-SR501/TX-SR501E's positive (+) speaker terminals
are color-coded for ease of identification. (The negative (–)
speaker terminals are black.)
Speaker terminal
Front left
Front right
Center
Surround left
Surround right
Surround back
The supplied speaker labels are also color-coded and you
should attach them to the positive side of each speaker cable
as appropriate. For example, put the white labels on the pos-
itive sides of the front-left speaker cable, as shown below.
1/3
1/3
Corner
Color
White
Red
Green
Blue
Gray
Brown
Front-left
speaker