If you're installing up a home theater you should seriously consider installing surround sound - otherwise you'll be missing out on a vital part of the home theater experience! Although ordinary speakers will mimic the sounds of the movie, the surround sound speakers will provide greater quality and make you feel as if you're sitting right in the center of the action on the screen.
Good surround sound speakers will come with a digital media port which will provide even more flexibility. This enables you to play music from your iPod, computer, or any Bluetooth equipment. By utilizing this port you can take the audio on these other devices and channel them through the surround sound so you can enjoy the amazing tone and range that the speakers can generate.
When you are looking for the best in quality sound, keep in mind that you must consider having between 3 to 5 wall mountable speakers and a subwoofer. Ideally, the best way to place these speakers is to have two front speakers, a subwoofer, one center speaker and two rear speakers. This way you will have the sound surround system you want.
For installing surround sound systems you have to run wires across the room, which can be a pain. Since some speakers have to be in the back ,it will require going under the seating or along the wall. One way is to drill holes in the floor and run the wires from the basement (assuming your home theater is on the first floor!. The whole messy wire business can be cut out if you go with wireless.
It is important to determine where you want your center speaker to be located. If you want it in close proximity to the TV, you should spend the money to get one that is magnetically shielded so that you will not get distorted images. Also, it is important that you get a subwoofer that comes with it's own power supply.
Also bear in mind that you wish to be certain you have a good receiver. Buy a receiver that's as high wattage as you can manage, and be sure it has at least a 4-channel Dolby Pro Logic decoder. As well, look foor Digital Cinema Sound and Auto Calibration if you desire the most realistic and crisp sound you can get. One way you can distinguish quality receivers from substandard ones is to note that the best ones have separate controls for music and movies, and connections for headphone, speakers, and other devices will have easy access.
Installing surround sound can be tricky and time consuming, so to save time and stress consider hiring a pro. The important part isn't installation but selecting the right components for your system, anyway.
With the increasing popularity of HDTV, watching a DVD movie at home is a great entertainment experience. The picture is sharp, clear, and vibrant. But what about the sound? After all, that is one of the real attractions of going to a movie theater, the wraparound sound that lets you hear every detail. So is there a way to bring that kind of audio into our homes too? Absolutely!
Actually surround sound has been around for a while now in one form or another, but it just never had a platform to bring it into the mainstream before HDTV and digital media like the DVD became so prevalent. But now by combining the right equipment, a person can actually very closely simulate the movie theater experience right in the comfort of their home whenever they want.
For surround sound, you will need three things, (1) a digital source that has surround sound already encoded into it such as a DVD or a HDTV broadcast, (2) equipment to decode that surround sound signal, and (3) at least 6 speakers including a subwoofer to take full advantage of the most popular 5.1 surround sound format. It's called 5.1 because it use 5 channels of sound to drive 5 separate speakers, and the .1 stands for the low-frequency subwoofer.
Once you have the equipment you need to establish a surround sound setup that will be right for your home. Much of the seating area will be determined by the size and type of TV that you have. If it is a 40" HDTV, which is a very common size, you can probably sit about 5-8 feet away and not notice any degradation in the picture quality. Just experiment with the seating distance until it seems comfortable though. Then the two front speakers usually flank the TV, but make sure that they are wide enough to form a triangle with the seating area so everyone will be in the sound sweet spot.
The two back speakers are often placed somewhere around the seating area and faced either to a side or rear wall. The middle speaker needs to be situated somewhere close to the TV, and the subwoofer can be put anywhere in the room that you like, since it puts out such low frequency bass that seems to come from everywhere.
Every room has different listening characteristics though due to it's configuration and furnishings, so feel free to experiment around until you find the combination that works best for you. A surround sound installation may seem challenging, but it's just simply getting the right equipment and placing the speakers where they produce the best overall sound.
Both Lee Dobbins & Jim Johnson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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