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introduction :

Speaker Positioning

This can really help or hinder your progress so it's a good idea to maximise the best possible space around your DJing area. To DJ properly you must be able to clearly hear what is happening externally to the headphones to have a fighting chance of succeeding.

Number of Speakers

So how many speakers do you have to play with? This will largely depend on the kind of hifi amplifier you happen to use but most people will have two stereo speakers. On a general note, the more speakers you have the better. Even so using two speakers only is usually adequate wi ht any more being a bonus. Correct positioning can make things somewhat easier but be aware that incorrectly positioned speakers can make monitoring awkward and thus scupper any chance of you making a mix worth listening to.

For the past two years or so I have had my speakers wall mounted like this:

The fact that the speakers are pointing directly forward means most of the sound is passing me by so I found myself leaning so my ear was in line with the sound being produced. This worked on one deck but I use the headphones on my left ear and monitor the external sound with my right. Mixing on Channel 2 was great because I'd automatically move to the right when using the right deck. The became an audible black-spot when using Channel 1 as my headphone was covering my left ear yet I needed that to monitor.

Since moving I've now got them on proper speaker stands. Not only will this help the physical sound built means its customisable to my ears. In my previous set up there simply wasn't room to move the decks back or angle the speakers. Now I've adjusted it to look as follows:

So now we are getting somewhere. There is still more you can do if your amplifier has the option of two channels (meaning it can run two speakers on the main channel and two secondary usually lesser power speakers on the second channel.) You want to make yourself the dead centre of the sound area to maximise the monitoring potential. That way no matter where you stand or how you angle yourself, you should have a source of sound that will be feeding your ear.

Your setup would then look something like this:

How far away and how much you angle the rear speakers is up to you. A hifi magazine I was reading recommended that front speakers should be angled so that the sound crosses just in front of where you are sitting (or standing and mixing in this case). I have found this is ok but I prefer a little extra width as shown above as you will be moving slightly left or right depending on which deck you are mixing on. Widening the sound helps counter-act the distance difference of you moving from the centre to using the left or right decks.

Other sound implications

Your final arrangement will be factored on other criteria too. It depends on the size of the room, the acoustics and how echoey it is so trial and error is a good thing. Placing speakers directly on or within a few inches of a wall will create louder bass as any sound thrown back from the speaker is then rebounded into the room itself. This is good is your speakers aren't so hot on producing low end bass and can add a little depth to the sound.

When adjusting your speakers it saves time and effort having someone to help you adjust them. They can move or angle them on your command to get the best results. Super!

Using a 5.1 Surround Amplifier

Should you have an AV receiver you may find there is potential to have 5.1 sound. This means you have 5 speakers. The .1 in the title refers to the sub woofer/sub bass channel in addition to the 5 speakers so technically you could say it is 6 channel. However the Sub bass channel (.1) is produced in mono not stereo, so doesn't count as a whole channel by itself.

You would simply add your centre speaker at the front distanced enough so as not to overpower the front left and front right.

Amplifier settings

From experience one thing I would recommend is that if using a 5.1 system you do not have your amplifier set to Pro Logic Cinema or even Pro Logic Music setting. This will mean the amp splits the sound you are trying to mix and gives it atmospherics. You will find the main sound will come from the front centre with the front left and right adding some depth. The rear speakers you will notice are actually doing very little. This is ideal if you happen to be sitting in the same place (i.e. a chair that stays in the same place) to give you an enriched surround sound whilst watching tele, but not ideal when the point is to get as full a sound as possible from where you happen to stand whilst mixing.

Set it to 5 channels stereo to ensure all speakers are putting out the same volume to help you achieve this.

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