So you finally got an HDTV and the only thing missing to complete the picture is a solid home theater setup that will amplify the sounds and give you that complete, theater-at-home feeling. There is no point in watching a beautiful movie in amazing detail in an HDTV if you can’t hear it well and the secret is in knowing how to properly build a home theater setup that builds on the speakers available and the design of the room. A good home theater setup starts with a big HDTV but in this case you already have that but an HDTV also means you have to have a good, healthy supply of HDMI cables and enough input and output slots to keep them all connected in the home theater setup you’ll eventually bring together. 
The best solution in keeping an organized home theater setup is to use a receiver. There are new receivers with HDMI slots so it won’t be a problem using them with a brand new HDTV. A receiver will keep all the wires and cables into one input/output device. This keeps them organized and the circuitry isn’t cut so the visual and audio quality is not ruined by tangled wires or loose connections. So after getting a solid TV and the cables to get all your components together, what’s missing in a solid home theater setup?
The answer is in the audio system. A good home theater setup is built on a solid audio system and you first need to decide whether you want to utilize a 5.1, 7.1 or a 9.1 surround sound system in your home theater setup. Basically a 5.1 system means you got five speakers and one subwoofer. A 7.1 surround system means you got seven speakers and one subwoofer and so on. The key to getting them working right to maximize the quality of your home theater setup is to position them properly in your room. Here is the ideal setup for a 5.1 home theater setup:
The very first thing you want to consider in your home theater setup is your central speaker. Most likely the audience watching on your new HDTV will be in the center to get an even view of what they are watching so the central speaker has to be positioned either below or above the TV set to direct the dialogue and the on-screen sounds that are directly related to the on-going events. By positioning the central speaker a little bit above or below the middle of the television set you are projecting the more important sounds to the audience, as intended by the movie’s post-production team and this should reflect in your home theater setup. This is why the dialogue and on-screen sounds are the ones being emphasized since these are usually edited for central speakers when a movie is turned into a DVD or Blu-Ray format.
After the central speaker, your home theater setup will have to work on the front speakers. The front speakers are for the general music and ambience to support the central speaker. These have to form an arc, at ear level from the place where you are seated, and they have to be at an equal distance from each other and from the central audience area so try to keep them at a 22 to 30 degree angle from your HDTV. This will keep them amiably distant from the central speaker while still giving the amplifying power to support the sounds and music for a balanced home theater setup. The reason why they need to be a little bit apart from the central speaker is to avoid their sounds just blending into one, as if you put all the speakers right in front of you. By keeping the front speakers apart, they’ll generate the atmosphere that you’re getting the sound and the supporting audio from every corner of the room instead of just from one general direction, but they are also balanced out to not eat each other’s quality.
Up next in your home theater setup are the rear speakers. These are the last speakers in a 5.1 surround sound home theater setup and these will be the backbone of your audio setup. You don’t want them to overcome the major role of the central speaker so they have to function like complimentary surround speakers just below the role of the front speakers a tad bit. They will give you the feeling that there are sounds coming from the back and sides but not too loud as to disorient the viewer. If you put them too far in the back, it will cause an awkward situation where the viewer watches the video in front but the strong audio comes from the back. They need to be at a higher level than the front speakers; preferably at ear level when standing up and they should be positioned at the side and slightly behind the viewers but, as mentioned, not completely behind them either. The best position for the surround speakers in a balanced home theater setup are at an even one hundred ten (110) degrees from the television set.
So you got the five speakers exactly where you want them so the last remaining piece in making a good home theater setup is to set up where the subwoofer should be. The subwoofer gives a strong bass ambience and a resonating sound. The ideal position is either directly behind the audience or relatively close to the central speaker. You want to place the subwoofer a little bit close to the wall so that the bass will reverberate through the walls but don’t stick it to the wall because this will ruin the sound emitted by the subwoofer. Experiment with the sounds and see what you can get with it.
With this guide you’ll be able to utilize your speakers, your receiver and your HDTV to come up with the best home theater setup that you can make. Adding in more speakers will require more playing and experimenting with their positions to form a balanced surround sound but the ideal choice is still the 5.1 surround sound home theater setup.
Check out our other articles: