Setting Up Your Home Theater System Speakers – Part 1
Well, you’ve done it now. You’ve gone out and purchased a home theater system but now you have no idea how to best maximize its setup. Do you just plug it all in, pop the speakers on the floor and fire it up? Or, are there some simple things you can do to maximize how well it sounds right out of the box?
Of course there are some simple things you can do to make sure the initially you’ll be setting up your home theater system so that it sounds great right away. After awhile you’ll want to tweak things to maximize them and as well as when you become more and more comfortable with the system itself.
Most of the common home theater systems will consist of six separate speakers. You’ll have the center speaker, the subwoofer, the two front speakers and the two surround speakers. Your home theater system is designed so that each speaker maximizes certain sounds from the programs you’re watching. As such, it’s important to place them where your ears will hear those sounds as the producers of whatever you’re watching intended. This will enhance your experience exponentially.
The center speaker, you’ll hear it referred to as the center channel speaker, is where most of the important sounds will be coming from. Over fifty percent of your soundtrack will be channeled here, in addition to almost all of the dialogue you hear in the movie or show you’re watching. So, since it’s the center speaker it stands to reason this speaker should be placed in the center. The most appropriate place to put this speaker would be directly below your screen, or directly above the screen you’ll be watching.
Your subwoofer is where all the bass comes from. The deep sounds that pull you in and really thump your floor. This speaker should also be placed as near to center as you can get when you first set up your home theater system. After awhile and with some experimenting you’ll eventually find the exact position that best takes advantage of this speaker’s great sound.
Alright, you’ve got the two front speakers setup and you’re ready to move on to the side speakers and the surround speakers, the speakers that bring the entire experience home. Literally, setting these next home theater system speakers in the right spots will go a long way to whether you have a true cinema experience in your home or just another really loud stereo.