for positioning..
i would suggest learning how high or low the speaker need to be to sound their best.
but in all honesty, you might come to realize that the speaker sounds good at such and such height.. but then if you move then further away, the sound changes and a new height might be optimal.
that usually means getting some kind of speaker stands.
doesnt matter if you purchase some or make your own out of a bunch of stacked things.
height adjustment is key.. because then you can place the stand anywhere.
putting the speaker at ear level is always on the list of heights to try.
putting the speaker on the floor so the woofer can bounce a soundwave off of the floor is also on the list of heights to try.
again.. flip the speaker around so that the woofer is close to the ceiling and give that a go.
perhaps it might be better to have the tweeter close to the floor or ceiling.
speakers will have a different response if you change the angle they are pointed at.
the same speaker can have a very different sound depending on if you are standing in front of it or move 5-6ft to the left or right.
i would say determine how far away the speaker is going to be from the listening position.
then experiment with the rear speakers and front speakers seperately because they might not be the exact same speaker.
again.. same thing with the front speaker and center channel speaker, they might not be the exact same thing.
also remember.. what sounds good in front of you at whatever angle, wont necessarily sound just as good using the same angle with the speaker behind you.
so if you are going to experiment with the rear speakers, make sure the speaker is behind you (or to the side of you) when listening.
you also need to consider that there are quite a few different places you can put a rear speaker.
directly behind you or directly to your side.
its easier if you have somebody help you.
you just take the speaker and start from whatever position you'd like.
then you raise or lower the speaker as well as twist the speaker from left to right.
i'd say 5 or 6ft increments when moving the speaker would be the fastest way to determine if you want the speaker directly behind you or directly to the side (or anywhere inbetween)
you might end up with some speakers on the wall that are not pointed directly at you.
and people new to what is really going on will see it as weird.
but its all about what it sounds like at the listening position.
shouldnt matter what it looks like to your eyeballs (unless the speaker is specifically in the way of a high traffic area.. and then you should consider getting new speakers if the current ones sound the best in an appropriate place).
its not really an easy thing to do because it takes some time and care.
but you only have to do it once unless you buy new speakers (or amplifier/soundcard)
if all of this seems to be more care than what you are willing to dish out.. ask yourself a simple question:
do you want to try and fill the room with soundwaves or listen to the speaker pointed directly at your ear?
does your soundcard have time alignment to compensate for different speaker distances?
because speakers that are exactly the same (even roughly the same) will need to be the same distance from the listening position.
using time alignment can eliminate the problem of different distances.
and hey..
just because your audio equipment has time alignment, that doesnt mean the speaker is going to sound better if you use it.
you should do a quick check of the speaker behind you and listen with or without the alignment calibrated to see which one sounds best.
because time alignment software can make the speaker sound different at every location and every height and every twist of the speaker.
you could show somebody your room and they could tell you what is best for the soundwaves.. but the speaker might have other needs.
quick optimization will either fill the room with sound or try to keep the room as empty as possible.
but again, the speaker might not agree with the location and would sound better at a different position.
its not easy when there are hundreds of different possibilities.
but a trained person could probably tell you thousands of different places where you absolutely shouldnt put the speaker.
and then yet again, there are speaker builders who design a speaker to go where people say not to put the speaker (probably simple training).
i think its best to realize that there is software that exists to help make any position worthwhile.
its usually just a game of placement and speaker output capabilities.
but the accuracy of the time alignment is also a concern.
when you look at a speaker placement diagram.. they are usually referring to a design CHOICE because there is something that will be applied for that specific placement.
dolby suggests a standard and time alignment software may or may not be designed for those specific locations.
besides, you would be dealing with mathematical corrections that are specific for soundwaves bouncing off of a wall.
its possible to use time alignment for your specific speaker locations, and then allow something like dolby to lay itself on top of those corrections to get the same result.
the vast complexity usually starts with the design choice:
are you going to use reflections or not?
you can generically beat that design question by simply listening to the speakers and putting them where they sound their best.
chances are high that you will make the right choice with experimentation.
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