Why is it not always possible to place a speaker where I wish?
If you are using a two-channel controller, you cannot insert more than two speakers [at the front left and right positions]. When using a surround controller such as the G68 or G91, up to 8 speakers (of which a maximum of 3 may be subwoofers) may be added under the following conditions:
| Location | Loudspeaker? | Subwoofer? |
|---|---|---|
| Front left/right | Yes | No |
| Front centre | Yes | |
| Side left/right (G68 only) | Yes, if rear speakers present* | |
| Rear left/right | Yes | No |
| Rear centre (G68 only) | No | Yes, if two front centre speakers present |
* It is not possible to have both stereo subwoofers and side speakers.
By inserting speakers using drag and drop rather than double-clicking or using menu selection, you are sure to be presented with an explanation if the speaker of your choice cannot be placed as requested.
Which properties are inherited by the stereo partner speaker?
The following:
- Treatment (small/large) or, for subwoofers, width (wide/narrow)
- Type (model or generic type)
Other properties (distance, gain, size and phase) may be set independently for left and right speakers.
Why do I have to describe my speaker layout on the speaker distance page?
Besides ascertaining the speaker distances, which are used to calculate delays used in the various DSP presets, the speaker distance page gathers information about the orientation of your speakers relative to the listening position. This information is currently used for:
- calculating the rear speaker separation (used in the multichannel THX presets)
- calculating the aspect ratio (used in the Ambisonics preset)
In future more use may be made of the speaker orientation information, so be sure to set it to accurately reflect the position of your speakers.
How can I use the keyboard to move the speakers on the speaker distance page?
Select a speaker by clicking it. The arrow keys can then be used to move the selected speaker as follows:
- left and right arrow keys move the speaker left and right
- up and down arrow keys move the speaker forward and back (vertically up and down the screen)
- ctrl+left and ctrl+right arrow keys rotate the speaker about the listening position (preserving its distance)
- ctrl+up and ctrl+down arrow keys move the speaker further away and closer to the listening position (preserving its angle)
- ctrl+shift+up and ctrl+shift+down arrow keys move all speakers further away and closer to the listening position (preserving their angle)
What does the warning "The speakers cannot be used as requested" mean?
This message may be displayed on the status bar when the Products page is active, dependent on whether the front left/right and centre speaker (if any) are large or small. [Large speakers are those capable of full range reproduction, whereas bass for small speakers is expected to be played by subwoofers or large speakers.] The following table shows the possible adjustments that may be made:
| Subwoofers | Front speakers | Centre speaker | Adjustment |
|---|---|---|---|
| None | Small | Small | Front and centre speakers treated as large |
| Large | Front speakers treated as large | ||
| None | |||
| 1 | Small | Large | Centre speaker treated as small |
| Large | None | Front speakers treated as small in Logic layout | |
| Large | Centre speaker treated as small in Logic layout | ||
| 2(left and right) | Small | Large | Centre speaker treated as small |
| Large | Small | Front speakers treated as small | |
| Large | Front and centre speakers treated as small | ||
| None | Front speakers treated as small | ||
| 2(mono and surround) | Large | Large | Centre speaker treated as small |
| Small | |||
| 3 | None | Large | Centre speaker treated as small |
| Large | Small | Front speakers treated as small | |
| Large | None | ||
| Large | Front and centre speakers treated as small |
On the Bass Management page you can enable and disable subwoofers and the centre speaker on a per-layout basis. The effect of doing this is to change the effective number of subwoofers in the table above, in which case different warnings may be issued for each layout.
In order to prevent damage to your loudspeakers, the Configuration Program sets the size value of small speakers treated as large to 8.