Home Theater Setup (Surround Sound Speaker Setup)
I will make the assumption that you have a surround sound or home theater receiver and start from there. There are 3 main home theater Speaker setups which you will see termed 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1 channel surround sound. You will also see the terms Mentioned, Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby Pro Logic. Let's dispense with the latter first: if your receiver is only Pro Logic (only older receivers at this point) you do not need to worry about 6.1 or 7.1 surround sound. There are some other formats such as Dolby Digital EX, Dolby Pro logic IIx, Dolby TrueHD, DTS neo: 6.1, DTS-ES, True-Surround XT, and undoubtedly more.
Home Theater Setup (Surround Sound Speaker Setup)
Home Theater Setup (Surround Sound Speaker Setup)
Home Theater Setup (Surround Sound Speaker Setup)
Home Theater Setup (Surround Sound Speaker Setup)
The two factors to consider are:
1. how many channels does your system permit, and
2. Do you want to buy that many Speakers?
Allthe receivers that support more than 5.1 channels will also work fine with a 5.1 channel setup. Obviously, 7.1 surround sound will provide better than 5.1, but at the expense of two extra speakers. If you have a limited budget you will have to decide whether to buy higher quality speakers, 5.1 or go for cheaper speakers to allow for 7.1 channels. By the way, the 1 channel is the home theater sub-woofer. The sub-woofer is, in my opinion, really needed for home theater. A system will work without it, but I don't recomMend going without for home theater. The center channel is also very important for home theater, serving to anchor the sound to the video screen. If you go to our site by the link at the bottom of this articleyou can see the following images for descriptions. These are the recomMended placeMents according to Dolby Labs.
5.1 surround system:
A). Center speaker centered on video source
B). sub-woofer (s) in arc with the main L & R speakers between speakers and video source
(C)) .l & R front on a 30 degree angle 22-from the sitting, on an equidistant arc connecting the center channel and subs
D & R) surround the equidistant and on a 90-degree angle from the 110 sitting position
6.1 surround system:
A). Center speaker centered on video source
B). sub-woofer (s) in arc with the main L & R speakers between speakers and video source
(C)) .l & R front on a 30 degree angle 22-from the sitting, on an equidistant arcconnecting the center channel and subs
D & R) surround the equidistant and on a 90-degree angle from the 110 sitting position
Rear center) and 180 degrees (directly behind) the sitting position
7.1 surround system:
A). Center speaker centered on video source
B). sub-woofer (s) in arc with the main L & R speakers between speakers and video source
(C)) .l & R front on a 30 degree angle 22-from the sitting, on an equidistant arc connecting the center channel and subs
D & R) surround the equidistant and on a 90-degree angle from the 110 sitting position
And L & R) rear equidistant and on a 135-150 degree angle from the listening position.
Sub-woofer Setup
Your sub-woofer may have a switch for DolbyDigital/Pro Logic. If you have a Dolby Digital capable receiver set it to that even if you are using Pro Logic. The same goes if you have multiple inputs on your sub. If your input is labeled LFE it is the equivalent of a Dolby Digital input. You want to use the input to the RCA style Plug (or Plugs) if you are using the sub-woofer in a surround system.
If you have speaker level binding post inputs, these are almost always for using the sub-woofer in a non surround sound speaker setup. Preset the sub-woofer level control to about halfway before running the white noise test tone to calibrate your receiver's speaker levels. You absolutely must run the test and balance your levels to have the speaker surround system perform properly.
Don't worry about the crossover frequencycontrol on the sub for Dolby Digital or better systems. For Pro Logic set it to the point where bass in your main speakers drops off, which will require looking at the documentation for your speakers.
If you are not using your sub in a surround system, you may, with advanTAGe, use the speaker level inputs on the back of your sub. The advanTAGe to this is if you have small speakers. The receiver left and right channels are connected directly to the sub-woofer, and the left and right speakers connect to the speaker out connectors on the sub-woofer. What this does is allow the sub to produce the low bass that the main speakers can not, which of course the other types of connections would do also. The advanTAGe here is the fact that with the sub-woofer connected this way, it Filters thebass out of the signal, so your main speakers never try to produce the bass that they can't handle. This results in clearer, cleaner sound and more volume capability from your main speakers.
Sub-woofer placement is generally as below for other speakers. It is true that bass is omnidirectional and so you should be able to place a sub-woofer anywhere, but as usual this depends on your situation. I play music loud, and can detect where the sub-woofer is located by the feel of the vibrations. I find it very distracting to have the bass seem to come from the front of the room, but the vibrations of the bass coming from another direction. I therefore always prefer a sub-woofer to the front of the room.
How to get the most out of your speakers (How to improve your sound qualityfor no extra money)
The first consideration with a new speaker system is placement, and the second is wiring, both of which deserve consideration. We will cover wiring first with some generalities that apply to all kinds of speakers. The placement part will cover home speakers only.
Wiring your speakers
First and foremost, wire selection can be very important. If your speakers are to be installed in-wall speaker cable you will need cl3 rated or equivalent. If outdoor speakers, you should try to use what is termed direct burial cable or equivalent. Next, if you care about the sound quality at all, 22 gauge cable is not recommended. It can be used for very short runs, and is smaller for hiding, but due to resistance you will sacrifice some soundquality. I would recommend 16 gauge wire for most runs, unless you really want to get the best out of your speakers, in which case use 12 gauge or larger. For a long run I would recommend larger than 16 gauge. (We have a cable article and distance chart on our site at the link at the bottom.) I personally use a good audio quality 12 gauge cable myself, but you will pay more for cable this large. The advantages are better dynamics, and the amplifier can control your speakers better due to low resistance wire. As always, let the price point of your speakers determine the cable. Don't put expensive cables on cheap speakers, and vice versa. BTW, don't try to use romex (house wiring) instead of decent quality audio cable. Really, just say no. For so many reasons.
One common question isif fancy cable makes any difference. I must state here that many persons consider the very subject to be so much snake-oil. I personally believe that I can hear some differences, depending on the quality of the associated system. In other words, any hearable differences in cable will be more noticeable in a system with more resolution. Also consider that many listeners not selling cable claim to hear a difference. Consider any double blind tests carefully. I usually can pick holes in the logic behind most of these tests, and point out factors not considered. One perfect example was an amplifier test (by a major audio magazine) that level matched the amps, did a double blind test, and asserted the amps sounded identical, so they recommended that everyone buy the cheaper amp.
Here'sthe rub: Under their exact conditions, which are not normal listening conditions, the amps sounded the same. Consider this unmentioned idea: The cheaper amp had less power output than the other, and under normal listening conditions, say with loud rock music, and inefficient or difficult to drive speakers would have pooped out before reaching satisfying listening levels, not to mention clipping and distorting from over-driving the amp. One problem with the double blind tests is, in order to be accurate, they have to control every factor in the universe that could affect the results, even unknown factors. The other is, in order to compare everything on an even playing field, they diminish or nullify the you differences, then sanctuary perdón y Reconciliación, they are all the same. The perfectexample from above is level matching at a volume level that does not stress the more easily stressed amp.
Polarity or Phasing of your speakers is very important. This means finding the wire with a stripe or writing on one side, and connecting that wire to either the + (red) or-(black) on the amplifier and the speaker. It does not matter whether the stripe on the wire connects to plus or minus, as long as it is the same at both ends, and on all speakers. I always connect the plus to the stripe, just to be consistent. If you get this wrong you will lose almost all your bass response, and voices will float around instead of being centered when they should be.
Home Speaker Placement
Home Theater Setup (Surround Sound Speaker Setup)
