Surround Sound

Basically, surround sound consists of just speakers, strategically placed to create a theatrical theme in the designated space. The quality of sound should mimic that of a movie house where the various tones resound and reverberate in just the right circumference bouncing in and out of your head in perfect harmony.

You should be able to stand or sit anywhere in the room, not just in the exact center, as with previous stereo systems, and hear the complete sound just as though you were in a concert hall or a movie theater.

If you want acoustical accuracy there are two important rules to remember: You must buy quality speakers and you must place them around the room in distances proportionate to each other and the size of the room.

To satisfy the first rule, you will need to do a little shopping around. There are several really good speaker brands on the market but they are expensive. Compare not only price, but quality and company reputation as well.

Rule No. 2 involves a little geometry. The best room shape is the rectangle with one short wall designated as the front where the television and stereo/CD systems will be located. The sitting area should be floating in the room just front of center. The speakers should be in front and behind the seating area. The left and right speakers should be the same distance apart as the distance from the front wall to the seating area.

If your room is too small for floating furniture, the next best thing is to put the speakers on the side walls, as far back as possible.

If you are in the planning or building stage of your home, follow these guidelines for your media room:

• Build a rectangular room, not a square one.

• Make it large enough to float the furniture near the center of the space.

• Avoid curved glass or curved walls as they tend to trap, then resonate the sound in a detrimental way.

• Rough surfaces are good as they will diffuse the sound in a positive way.

• Keep windows and sliding glass doors to a minimum in this room. Here again, the sound will not be as crisp since it will ricochet off the glass causing slight sound distortion. This is imperative to those who love bass. Too much glass in the room will reduce the amount of bass heard.

(Rosemary Sadez Friedmann, a member of the American Society of Interior Designers, is president of Rosemary Sadez Friedmann Inc. in Naples, Fla.)