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How Many Speakers Do You Need?

For Stereo

If you’re purchasing a pair of speakers for use in a conventional, two-channel music system, your options are easy. First of all, you need just two speakers. (That was obvious, right?)

We suggest that you chose full-range speakers (ones that have decent bass response as well as good midrange and high frequency capabilities).

On the other hand, you might opt for a “2.1” system with two satellites and a subwoofer. There are pros and cons to each approach but it’s essentially a personal decision and may well depend as much on décor as on acoustics.

For Home Theater

Here’s where things get interesting. Do you want a “5.1” system with three front speakers (Left, Center, and Right), two Surround speakers (one for Left Surround, one for Right) and a subwoofer? Maybe you’d like to take it to the next level with a 6.1 system that adds a “center surround” channel (but requires two additional speakers!) or go all the way to a 7.1 system that uses the 6.1 speaker array to reproduce a more highly processed signal.

Note: The only limiting factor here is your receiver or processor/amplifier combination. If there’s no 6.1 or 7.1 decoding capability there and not enough channels of amplification, merely adding speakers won’t bring you a 6.1 or 7.1 experience. Make sure you’ve got the “hardware platform” you need before thinking of what speakers to add to it.

Here are some diagrams that will help you choose:

5.1 home theater

Caption: Here’s what a 5.1 system might look like in your room.
Notice that there are three speakers across the front of the system,
two surround speakers, and a dedicated speaker (the subwoofer)
for bass tones.

A 6.1 system includes a center surround channel that appears to be coming from behind you for more exact surround effect positioning. However, that one channel of additional information is usually reproduced by two speakers located on or close to the rear wall

6.1, 7.1 surround sound home theater

Caption. Even though a “6.1” source (a Dolby Digital EX-encoded DVD, for
example) produces only one more channel of information than a conventional
5.1 DVD, we usually use two additional speakers to reproduce it. So, even
though the information of the 6th channel is mono, two properly placed
speakers help in making that information more spatially convincing.
For 7.1 signals, the “center surround” speakers are still used but rather
than both speakers reproducing the same information, the 7.1 processor feeds
a “differential” or stereo signal so that each speaker reproduces
slightly different information.

So let’s summarize.

Here’s what you need for a 5.1 home theater system

Three front speakers – Left, Center, and Right
Two surround speakers – Left surround and Right surround
One subwoofer

And here’s what you need for a 6.1 or 7.1 system (assuming, of course, that you have the appropriate electronics)

Three front speakers – Left, Center, and Right
Two surround speakers – Left surround and Right surround
Two “Center surround” speakers (sometimes called “center back” or “Left back” and “Right back”)
One subwoofer