Your side surrounds should be at 90° to 110° (slightly behind your ears). Your rear backs should be at 135° to 150°. If your rears are too close together behind the couch, they will collapse into a mono "blob" of sound. The Verdict A proper 7.1 test takes 5 minutes but saves you years of bad audio. Run the pink noise test monthly (dust and humidity change speaker impedance). Run the movie tests annually to make sure your receiver hasn't reset its settings.
| Channel | Speaker Location | The Sound | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Left of screen | Pink noise / Voice says "Left Front" | | Front Center (C) | Directly under/over screen | Pink noise / Voice says "Center" | | Front Right (R) | Right of screen | Pink noise / Voice says "Right Front" | | Side Right (SR) | Directly 90° to your right ear | Pink noise / Voice says "Side Right" | | Side Left (SL) | Directly 90° to your left ear | Pink noise / Voice says "Side Left" | | Rear Right (BR) | Behind you, to the right | Pink noise / Voice says "Back Right" | | Rear Left (BL) | Behind you, to the left | Pink noise / Voice says "Back Left" | | Subwoofer (LFE) | Anywhere (non-directional) | Deep rumble / Voice says "Subwoofer" | surround sound test 7.1
But how do you know if your expensive receiver, speakers, and painstakingly routed cables are actually working correctly? You don't just listen —you . Your side surrounds should be at 90° to
In the world of home theater audio, 7.1 surround sound represents a significant step up from the standard 5.1 setup. While 5.1 gives you left, center, right, right surround, left surround, and a subwoofer, the "7.1" configuration adds two rear surround channels (often labeled "Back Left" and "Back Right"). The Verdict A proper 7
7.1 is ear-level (or slightly above). If you have speakers in your ceiling, you are testing a Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 or 7.1.4 system, not standard 7.1.
When a helicopter flies from the to the back right and you instinctively duck — your 7.1 system has passed.