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Front Left and Right speakers
For stereo and multi-channel sound.
Centre speaker
For dialogue and centre sounds. Ideally position at a similar height to the front
left and right speakers (above or below the TV/monitor). Using a centre
speaker from the same manufacturer/range as used for the front left and
right speakers is advisable. This “timbre matching” allows surround effects to
flow more naturally from left to right without obvious transitions between the
speakers.
Surround Left and Right speakers
For ambient and multi-channel sound. Floorstanding speakers should be
angled towards the listening position. Bookshelf/standmount speakers should
be wall mounted or used with dedicated speaker stands, positioned at or above
ear height.
Subwoofer
For improving the bass in your system, as well as reproducing dedicated LFE
(Low Frequency Effects) cinema effects when playing Dolby Digital or DTS
encoded discs. Your subwoofer can often be placed almost anywhere in the
room as bass is less directional, but experimentation with positioning is
recommended.
Surround Back Left and Right speakers
Individual back speakers in place of a single surround back. Used with the
7.1 processing types. Remember to experiment with the positions until you
are happy with the sound.
In each case the 5.1/7.1 in fact relates to the maximum number of speakers
that can be used, as the Centre, Sub and Surround speakers can all be
deleted if required (although of course performance is reduced). For
example, if you choose not to use a Centre Channel speaker you can set this
to 'None' in the settings as shown later and the 551R will automatically
redirect the centre channel audio information into the Left and Right Front
channels, creating what is known as a 'Phantom Centre'.
Similarly, you might decide not to use a subwoofer if your main Left and Right
speakers are capable of reproducing enough bass for a satisfying
music/movie experience. The 551R will then automatically re-direct the bass
from the Subwoofer/Low Frequency Effect channel to the Left and Right
Front Speakers.
Note: This setup is very important as the 551R will also automatically use
this information to select appropriate Dolby and DTS decoding modes
dependant not only on the source material but also the speaker package it
knows you have.
To tell the unit the type of package you have, turn on the On-Screen Display
via the remote button as shown. Highlight the ‘Speaker Configuration’ menu
by using volume up and down on the remote then go to it by pressing Enter:
551R setup
The setup of the 551R is a reasonably simple 4 stage process. The speaker
setup process (stage 2.) can either be performed manually or via the
CAMCAS (Cambridge Audio Microphone Controlled Auto Setup) procedure.
The procedure is as follows:
1. Speaker configuration.
2. Speaker setup (Speaker delay and Level calibration)
3. Assigning HDMI and Analogue video inputs
4. Source setup
1. Speaker configuration
First tell the unit what kind of speaker package you have. The options are 5.1
or 7.1 as shown below. The 551R can support up to a 7.1 speaker setup
which means 7 speakers (Front Left, Front Right, Centre, Surround Left,
Surround Right, Surround Back Left, Back Right) plus a mains powered
Subwoofer (the .1).
Refer to the diagrams below for typical examples of 5.1 and 7.1 loudspeaker
setups. Always adjust the speaker and listening positions until you are happy
with the sound. Please refer to your loudspeaker and subwoofer manuals for
more detailed positioning information.
