Placing Your Home Cinema Systems and Speakers

The following guidelines give you our suggestions for creating the audio atmosphere of a home cinema. We recommend that you experiment with the placement and orientation of the cubes to experience the sound most pleasing to you. For a more detailed explanation of how to set up your BOSE® product, please refer to your owner's guide. To view it online, please click here.

BOSE® cube speakers
Follow these guidelines to select locations for the speakers in your BOSE® system. We recommend that you try alternate arrangements of the speakers to take advantage of the unique sound characteristics of your space.

Left and right front speakers
The sound from the left and right front speakers should seem to come from the edge of the picture, so that the acoustic image is close to the size of the visual image.

1. Place the cubes so that they line up with the vertical centre of the TV screen.
2. Place them up to 1m from the edge of the TV screen. We recommend a maximum distance of 1m so that the sound does not become separated from the picture. We also suggest that the cubes should be at least 2m apart from each other. You may wish to vary this distance based on room conditions and personal preference. The front cables allow the cube speakers to be placed up to 6.1m from the ACOUSTIMASS® module.
3. If your system features cube arrays, direct one cube of each array forward. Direct the other cube toward the wall or in a different direction to create reflected sound. For a system featuring single cube speakers, direct each cube toward the wall or in a different direction to create reflected sound.               

Note: The cube speakers are magnetically shielded so you can place them close to the TV without affecting picture quality.

Centre channel
The sound from the centre channel should appear to come directly from the centre of the picture. The centre cable allows up to 6.1m distance from the ACOUSTIMASS® module.

1. Place the centre speaker or cube array directly above or below the centre of the TV screen, or at the closest convenient location.
2. Align the speaker or array with the front of the TV screen (not pushed to the back of the TV).
3. For a single speaker, direct the cube facing forward. For a cube array, direct each of the cubes slightly away from centre, to create a wider area of direct sound.               

Note: If you put the speakers in a bookcase, be sure to place each one at the front edge of the shelf. Placing speakers in an enclosed space can change the tonal quality of the sound. This effect is minimised if the shelves are filled with books.

Surround speakers
The surround (rear) speakers create an area of sound around the listener. Place them in the back half of your room. The speakers should be placed at the listeners' seated ear height or higher. Direct the cubes slightly away from the listeners so that you cannot pinpoint the exact location of the sound source. The surround cables allow up to 15.2m distance from the ACOUSTIMASS® module.

Custom-designed wall brackets and floorstands for your BOSE® bookshelf speakers are available for purchase at your local BOSE® dealer. Click here to find the closest BOSE® dealer.

ACOUSTIMASS® module
Follow these guidelines to select a location for the ACOUSTIMASS® module.

Note: To avoid interference with the TV picture, place the ACOUSTIMASS® module at least 60cm from the TV. (If you have a plasma or LCD television, this restriction does not apply)

1. Place the ACOUSTIMASS® module along the same wall or close to the same end of the room as the TV monitor.
2. Select a convenient location - under a table or behind a sofa, for example. Do not allow furniture or drapes to block the ventilation openings of the module. Be sure there is a gap of at least 5cm between any surface and the front opening or the grille on the bottom.
3. Place the ACOUSTIMASS® module within reach of the audio input cable, speaker cables and an AC power (mains) outlet.
4. Select a position for the ACOUSTIMASS® module. For proper ventilation, place it on the long edge, with the connectors facing the floor. An alternate position is on its largest side, with the bass and treble controls facing up. Do not place the module on either end.
5. Once you have selected a position for the module, place the four self-adhesive rubber feet near the corners of the bottom surface. The rubber feet provide increased stability and protection from scratches.
6. Aim the port (the round or rectangular opening) into the room or along the wall to avoid blocking the air flow or creating too much low-frequency sound.
7. For best low-frequency performance, do not place the ACOUSTIMASS® module at equal distances from any two walls or from a wall and the ceiling.           

LIFESTYLE® system media centre or CD changer
Select a convenient location for the CD changer or media centre.   

1. Place the CD changer or media centre on a level surface. Allow enough room to lift the door and for the disc tray to eject fully.          
2. For the LIFESTYLE® 50 system, place the CD changer close enough to the multi-room interface to allow for a cable length of 2m.    

Multi-room interface (LIFESTYLE® 50 system)
Select a location for the multi-room interface. It may be placed out of sight, if you like.  

1. Place the multi-room interface within 9.1m of the ACOUSTIMASS® module (the length of the audio input cable).
2. Place the multi-room interface close enough to the sound sources (TV, VCR, DVD, etc.) to allow for cable length. If you need additional audio and/or video cables to connect all of your components, see your dealer or call BOSE® Customer Service. Please click here for our contact details.