It’s important when
you’re doing your
home theater set up to
make sure
you’re getting everything put in the right place.
Most people
have the wiring down, but almost no one calibrates the system or pays
too much attention to where their speakers are placed, beyond copying
the setup outlined in their home theater system manual. So, here are
some basic tips to make the most of your home theater.
Use the proper cables. This seems like a
no-brainer, but keep it in mind. Use cables that are intended for the
purpose for which you’re using them. And be sure to maintain
the polarity correctly.
The red connectors are positive polarity,
and
the black are negative. Be consistent from speaker to receiver, and
make sure that you’re connecting each speaker to the correct
input. When running your cables, always run some extra line.
If you
ever decide to expand or change your setup, you’ll have the
cabling available. Additionally, you’ll have extra in case
you’ve miscalculated your needs.
An important component to home theater set
up is the location and calibration of your speakers. The goal of
speaker placement is to create a seamless listening environment and a
sense of immersion in all of the sounds of the movie being played.
Home
theaters “in a box” come with a basic diagram for
speaker placement, but definitely play around with them. There are
hundreds of websites that walk you through figuring out the best kind
of speaker placement for your room.
Keep in mind that your ultimate
goal is to achieve the same sense of being immersed in the environment
that you do when you’re sitting in the middle of your
favorite movie theater, engrossed in a great film. Calibrating your
subwoofer goes a long way in creating realistic sound. If
you’re not happy with the overall sound, look into some of
the online tutorials in calibrating your bass sound.
Your front speakers should be at about ear
level. If they need to be higher, be sure to angle them downward.
Cube speakers are never a good choice, no
matter what kind of rrom your home theater set up is in.