ALESIS M1 Active Mk2 - Manual (Page 31)

Surround Sound
M1 Active Mk2 Reference Manual
33
P
LACEMENT OF THE CENTER
M1 A
CTIVE
M
K
2
SPEAKER
IN THE STUDIO
The left, center and right speakers should all be placed in an arc so that the
distance of all drivers to the listener is identical (see page 29). The equilateral
listening triangle as described earlier for stereo (two-channel) playback
should be retained, with the center speaker placed vertically in the center,
exactly between the left and right (vertical) M1 Active Mk2s.
It does not matter what type of M1 Active Mk2 is used for the center speaker (tweeter
in or tweeter out). Since M1 Active Mk2s are sold as pairs, a 5-channel system
requires the purchase of a single speaker, breaking up a pair. Some dealers may
request that you purchase in pairs only; others may be able to arrange purchase of a
single unit. For the rear channels, we recommend a mirror-image pair, although this
is less critical than in the front.
As discussed above, for music-only recording the signal level to the center
channel will be attenuated over the levels of the left and right speakers. As a
starting point we would recommend that you set the center channel level
–6dB below the left and right channels. To get these levels fairly accurate a
white or pink noise source (such as from a test CD) is very helpful along with
an inexpensive sound level meter (such as the Radio Shack cat. no. 33-2050).
If you are recording audio-for-video, the center channel signal level should be
the same as left and right channels. The left, center, right speaker layout
configuration can remain the same as for an audio-only mix. With all front
speakers operating at equal levels, the “sweet spot” listening area will
become very large but the “wall-of-mono” effect mentioned above (in regards
to music) will be of little consequence since most of the dialogue will be
mixed specifically into the center channel.