Home theater" is really just a good television and other video components matched with an external sound system. However, an old stereo hooked up to a TV is worlds away from a deluxe "surround sound" stereo system matched to your video components.
Steps:
1. Set aside space in your home for your surround sound home theater. This should include space for a large (generally, at least 27-inch) television set, two large stand-up speakers, two smaller surround speakers, and any other components you may want to include.
2. Decide on the video components of your home theater system. For basic television viewing, you'll want a roof antenna or cable. If you watch a lot of videos, include a hi-fi stereo VCR. For optimal picture and sound quality, choose a laserdisc or a digital video disc (DVD) player.
3. Select a surround-sound receiver. For basic surround sound, purchase a receiver equipped with a four-channel Dolby Pro Logic decoder. For more advanced and realistic surround sound effects, purchase a receiver equipped with a five-channel Dolby Digital decoder.
4. Purchase surround sound speakers. You'll need at least five speakers to fully experience surround sound: two large front speakers, a smaller central channel speaker and two small rear or side surround speakers.
5. Position your television set where it can be easily viewed. Consider placement carefully: you'll place other components according to the TV's placement.
6. Connect and place your video peripherals: VCR, laserdisc player, DVD player, and so on.
7. Position the surround sound receiver near the television so you can easily adjust audio quality.
Tips:
If you want to provide more power to your speakers, purchase a pre-amplifier.
Ask the stereo sales representative for advice on the best sound equipment for the size, shape and building materials of your particular room. A rough estimate of the room's dimensions should be fine.
Your left and right front speakers will create a wide variety of music and sound effects; they must be able to cover the full range of frequencies. If your speakers' woofers cannot handle substantial bass, consider adding a subwoofer to your system.
Your center channel speaker will mainly create dialog, so its frequency range should be middle to high.
If two components in different areas of the room are connected by wires, run the wires along the joint between the floor and the wall and attach them to the floor.
Home theater" is the combination of a good television with a good sound system. Home theater systems can include a television combined with a system of multiple speakers set up throughout the viewing room. Although "surround sound" can refer to all the speakers in a system, it usually refers to the rear speakers, which create ambient sound.
Steps:
1. Check the manual for your receiver or outboard surround sound processor to determine whether you need full-range or limited-frequency speakers.
2. Check to see whether the surround channels are discrete and mono or whether they are stereo.
3. Read reviews in home theater magazines, on the Audio Review Web site and elsewhere on the Internet to further narrow your search.
4. Visit a store that has a home-theater demonstration room.
5. Ask the sales representative to demonstrate a system using a DVD movie.
6. Listen for overall effect first, and then concentrate on the accuracy of the surround speakers.
7. Compare up to three different pairs of speakers.
8. Make sure the sales representative demonstrates each pair of speakers at equal volumes.
9. Buy the speakers that provide the right effects without calling attention to themselves.
Tips:
Consider only models that will be compatible with your current amplifier, receiver or outboard surround sound processor. You must be sure that your amplifier or receiver is electronically matched to the speakers (that it can handle the speakers' impedance) and that the speakers fall within the power range specified by the speaker manufacturer.
Trust your ears. Don't let a reviewer or salesperson talk you into or out of a particular product.
Budget for speaker cables.
Don't try to compare too many speakers in one day, whether you visit one store or several.
Don't listen to speakers that are out of your price range.
Let speaker size or appearance be part of your buying decision, but avoid emphasizing those features over sound quality. The cables you choose to connect your speakers to your receiver make more of a difference than you might think. Cheap cables impair the sound, but good cables can be expensive. Consider your budget and try to audition some cables to see the differences.
Selecting a Cable Type
Steps:
1. Set your budget.
2. Consider models from AudioQuest, Cardas Audio, Kimber Kable, NBS, Nordost, Straight Wire, Tara Labs, Transparent Audio, Wire World and XLO for high-fidelity audio reproduction.
3. Buy 16-gauge lamp cord if on a limited budget.
4. Twist the leads of a double run of 16-gauge lamp cord together and solder them for an inexpensive upgrade.
5. Determine the lengths you need. Buy the shortest possible length of cable for each speaker, but buy the same length for each.
6. Check your speaker manual to see if the manufacturer recommends specific brands or models of cable. Product literature and reviews sometimes tell what the manufacturer used for internal wiring, and matching that usually works very well.
7. Check the Recommended Components lists in the most recent issue of "Stereophile" for both prices and suggestions of models worthy of auditioning.
8. Make a list of candidates.
9. Read reviews in audiophile magazines and on the "Audio Review" Web site to help narrow the list.
Tips:
Speaker cables range in price from a few dollars to thousands of dollars.
Monster cable, sold by most consumer electronics stores, rarely provides better sound quality than comparably priced cables made by other manufacturers.
Some cables terminate, usually with spade lugs or banana plugs, while others come without termination.
Auditioning Cables
Steps:
1. Check the selection at your local consumer electronics and high-fidelity audio specialty stores.
2. Make sure the cables you select fit into the binding posts on your receiver or amplifier and speakers.
3. Buy or borrow several pairs of cables.
4. Connect a pair of cables from your receiver or amplifier to your speakers and play a song. Make sure the amplifier is turned off.
5. Immediately repeat the process with another pair of cables.
6. Compare the sound by listening to the same recordings using each of the cables. Listen to each for at least an hour.
7. If a clear winner emerges, buy those cables. If you can't find satisfactory cables in your area, consider mail order.
Tips:
Most experts agree that spade lugs are the best form of termination.
If you use bare wire, you will get a better connection by soldering the exposed ends of the wires. Silver solder is best and helps prevent oxidation.
How and why cables work the way they do is a science in its infancy. While all cables have resistance, inductance and capacitance, each metal has a different degree of conductivity. Be wary of other claims made by cable manufacturers.
Call the Cable Company, a mail-order provider of cables, at (800) FAT-WYRE for recommendations on the most compatible cables for your equipment. Pay the rental fee, which will be credited toward your final purchase, and two-way shipping charges with a credit card. Audition several pairs of cables at a time.