10 Ways to Improve the Sound of Your Home Theatre System Quickly improve the sound quality of your entire home theatre system with these tried and tested tips. 1.
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Explore the menus of the speaker setup. – If you haven’t explored the options menu of your 5.1/6.1 A/V receiver setup, chances are your sound is probably out of sync. First option is quick enough to go through, which is the speaker size: Large, small, or none – for the right, left, or center speaker. As a general guideline, speakers with 6-inch or larger woofers are considered large. Next, measure the distance from the speaker to the listener, by using a tape measure. Be sure that the sound from all the speakers reaches your ears at exactly the same time. Depending on your system, some receivers may use milliseconds rather than feet in inputting values. Just to remind you, 1ms is the equivalent of one foot. Lastly, be sure that all of your speakers are equally balanced. Adjust the relative volume of each channel until the loudness of each are the same. Get hold of a sound-level meter. – This device, which measures sound pressure levels, is fairly inexpensive. You may need a sound-level meter in order to accurately match sound levels. Be sure that your speakers and cables are in their correct positions. – With all the wires and ports that that come with your home theatre system, it would be very easy for them to get mixed up. Be sure to double check that the intended wire goes into its right port. Navigate through subwoofer level and crossover controls. – There are more to bass department testing than just test tones and meters. If the bass of your subwoofer is thick or uneven, you may first try to lower its volume. Cranking the
bass level higher than necessary is a very common malpractice. Larger speakers have the ability to produce their own bass, so they will sound better with your subwoofer’s volume near the bottom of its range. 5. Make use of speaker stands or brackets. – Purchasing speaker stands or brackets can help you improve the sound quality of your home theater system, especially if your speakers were just placed above bookcases or on top of cabinets. 6. Maximize the placement of the speakers. – Front speakers should be positioned as close as possible to ear level. The left and right speakers should be equally distant from the listening position. Optimize angles by directing corner speakers to the main listening position. 7. Curtain up. – Curtains and drapes can actually absorb unwanted sound reflections, improving total sound quality of your home theatre system. If you have lots of windows or mirrors, which can make soundwaves bounce everywhere, you may consider hanging thick curtains. 8. Upgrade the cables of your speakers – Top-quality cables can significantly improve the sound of your speakers, especially if you’re still using skinny, freebie wires. 9. Have a separate power amplifier for other devices. – Home theatre systems can eat a lot of power. Using a single power amplifier for all devices in the room, such as security cameras for home, with your home theatre system can affect its sound. 10. Your speakers should match. – If you’re planning to purchase a home theatre system, you should consider a matched package. Just like home security cameras, a moderately priced package will offer far greater performance.