Side-positioned surround loudspeakers are preferred over rear placement, known since 1971
Evidence
The important message in these data is that the placement of loudspeakers is as important as the number, and placement to the side is more advantageous than placement to the rear. Ironically, a 1971 publication titled “Subjective Assessment of Multichannel Reproduction”, Nakayama et al. (1971) showed that listeners preferred surround loudspeakers positioned to the sides, compared to ones placed behind, awarding subjective rating scores that were two to
- four times higher. It seems that nobody with any influence in the quadraphonic era read it when considering how the additional surround sound loudspeakers should be positioned.
— Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 727
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to later chapters on multichannel speaker placement and dipoles/direct radiators in home theater setups; also relevant to the reader’s work on psychoacoustic models of ASW/envelopment.