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Written by Kenton Cruz
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Wednesday, 09 July 2008 17:19 |
Best Options for Home Theater Audio One of the main benefits of having a home theater is the surround sound. Thanks to surround sound, watching a movie at home is much like watching a movie in the theater, without the movie theater ticket and concession prices. Movies today are designed with surround sound in mind.
The two leading surround sound formats are Digital Theater Systems (DTS) and Dolby Laboratories. Before upgrading your sound system or installing a new one, there are some basic facts you should know about the two formats. Most DVDs have Dolby sound options and some have DTS. So if you have the right sound system and use the right format, your home movie experience will be comparable to that at a movie theater. DTS sound is clearer but DTS encoding isn't common on television programs. So, when choosing speakers, you will have to decide if DTS support should be part of your home theater surround sound system.
Terminology you need to be familiar with is: 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1. These are the most common surround sound speaker setups in home theaters. The .1 in a surround speaker setup refers to a subwoofer channel. A subwoofer channel carries a low-frequency sound ideal for bass boost effects. The number before the .1 refers to the number of speakers. Therefore, a 5.1 surround sound system means 5 speakers and one subwoofer. This means there are right, center and left front speakers, with left and right rear speakers. A 6.1 surround sound setup has an additional rear speaker. In a 7.1 surround sound setup there are two channels for surround and an additional rear speaker. The placement of these speakers is an important consideration. Below are some simple guidelines you can use for determining exactly where to put each speakers.
First, sit in the middle of the couch or chair that is directly in front of the TV. Place the center channel speaker straight across from where you are sitting. Place it right above or below the TV. Next, place the front left and front right side speakers at about a thirty degree angle from your position on the couch. Place the left and right rear sound speakers about 100 degrees from where you are. They should also be 2 feet above your  head when you are seated. You will have to experiment with the subwoofer placement. Placing it under a table or in a corner will produce deeper bass. One of the most basic rules of home theater speaker placement is to keep all of your speakers between 1-2 feet from the walls. Dealing with all the wires and cables can be a bother and can be a safety hazard as well because people can trip over them and children can pull on them. If you can afford it, wireless speakers solve this problem. Another option is to hire a professional installer to install the speakers and strategically hide the wires. Now you have a home theater sound system that should provide many years of use. |
