Surround sound home theater speaker systems are matched sets of speakers designed to be installed as a set to provide a realistic sound stage for music and multichannel movies. Proper installation and setup of your home theater speaker system is essential if you want to enjoy the best-quality sound. With a little careful placement of your speakers and the proper wiring, you'll get the optimal sound out of your surround setup.
Instructions
1. Place your speakers. Many surround sound speaker systems use the same size of speakers for all of the speaker locations, with the exception of the center channel speaker, which will have a lower profile. However, some will have two larger speakers for the two front speakers. In a 5.1 system, place two speakers in front on either side of your video screen. Place the center channel directly above or below the video screen. Place the surround speakers one on either side of the listener, facing them. In a 6.1 system, add one speaker directly behind the listeners, facing them. In a 7.1 system, add two speakers behind the listener spaced a few feet to either side of the center.
2. Place the subwoofer. Subwoofers don't produce directional sound, so the location isn't crucial. Corners tend to give the best bass response.
3. Lay out your speaker wires. The wires that come with your surround sound speaker system will be marked or color-coded for each individual speaker. This makes it easier to ensure you've connected the correct output from your receiver or amplifier to the correct speaker. Route the wires so they don't interfere with the flow of traffic in your room-around the base of the wall usually works well.
4. Connect the ends of the speaker wires to the speakers. Speaker terminals vary in operation. For most, you push down on the terminal or a tab on the terminal to open a hole in the terminal. Slip the bare end of your speaker wire into the hole and release the tab or terminal to close the terminal onto the wire. Be sure the wire marked "+" is placed into the red terminal, and the wire marked "-" goes into the black terminal.
5. Connect the other ends of the speaker wires to the amplifier or receiver. The terminals will operate in a similar fashion to the speaker terminals. The terminals of the amplifier will be marked with the location of the receiver they power-be sure to match the proper output to the proper speaker. Remember that "left" and "right" refer to the perspective of someone listening to the system.
6. Plug your subwoofer cable into the subwoofer input jack on the subwoofer end, and into the "Sub Out" or "LFE" output of the receiver. Consult your receiver's manual if you're unsure of the location of the output.
Tags: either side, speaker wires, center channel, ends speaker, ends speaker wires, facing them