Hook up Surround Sound

You've got the TV, the Blu-ray player, the game console, and now all you need to finish it off is the booming surround sound. Making sense of the receiver and all those speaker cables can be a daunting task, especially when compared to plugging a DVD player into your TV. That's not to mention making sure everything is placed right and the levels are set correctly. Learn how to place your speakers correctly, connect your speakers and equipment, and test out the sound.

Steps

Placing the Speakers

1. Examine your available speakers. The number of speakers you will be connecting will determine the type of surround sound you use. The most common setups are 2.1, 5.1, and 7.1.
   • 2.1 is two front speakers and a subwoofer (the .1).
   • 5.1 is two front speakers, a center speaker, two surround speakers, and a subwoofer.
   • 7.1 is two front, one center, two surround, two back, and a subwoofer.
2. Place the subwoofer near the center of the home theater. The subwoofer is omnidirectional sound, which means you will achieve similar results no matter where the subwoofer is placed. Many people like to place it towards the front of the configuration so that it is easily connected to the receiver.
   • Although subwoofers are omnidirectional, placing them against walls and corners will amplify the bass, making it difficult to control. Try to place the subwoofer in an area that sound can escape somewhat evenly. This will allow you to adjust the labels much easier.
3. Place the front speakers to each side of the TV. Make sure that if the speakers are marked that they are on the correct side. Front speakers should be placed equidistant from either side of the TV, usually around three feet from each side.
4. Angle the front speakers towards the audience. Each speaker should be angled in slightly so that it point directly to the center of the seating area. You should be able to "draw" a symmetrical triangle between the two speakers and the center of the seating area.
   • THX recommends a 45° angle for your front speakers
5. Raise the front speakers. For the best audio quality, the front speakers should be raised up so that they are ear level with the audience. You can either use speaker stands or your home entertainment cabinet.
   • If you are setting up a 2.1 system, you are done with speaker placement and can move on to .
6. Place the center channel speaker above or below the TV. The center channel bridges the gap between the left and right speaker. It helps when sound pans from left to right, and keeps dialog synced with moving mouths on the screen.
   • Angle the center channel up or down so that it points at the audience.
   • Do not place the center channel behind the TV, or you will not be able to hear it.
7. Place the surround channel speakers to the side of the viewing area. The surround channel speakers are what give the effect of sound happening around the viewer. They do not transmit as much sound as the front speakers, but enhance the action on the TV by enveloping the viewer.
   • Your two surround speakers should be placed on either side of the viewing area, pointed directly at the audience. You can place them slightly behind the viewer if you aren't using 7.1, as long as they are still pointed directly at the viewer. This means that they will be at a 90°-110° angle to the TV.
8. Raise the surround channel speakers. Your surround speakers should be placed about two feet above ear level. Angle them down slightly so that they point at the audience. This will provide the best auditory experience. Use any included stands or available furniture.
   • If you are setting up a 5.1 system, you are done with speaker placement and can move on to .
9. Place the back channel speakers behind the viewing area. Try to place the two back channel speakers as close to each other as possible. This creates a bubble of sound around the audience. The back channel speakers provide more ambiance and support the surround speakers.
   • The back channel speakers should be the same height as the surround speakers.

Connecting the Speakers

1. Place your receiver near your TV. All surround sound systems run through a receiver. The receiver processes the sound input and sends the audio signal to all of the speakers that are connected. The receiver should be near your TV so that cables can reach, and should have space all around so that it can properly vent.
2. Power everything off. When installing speakers, there is a slight possibility of electrocution. To be safe, power everything off and unplug it from the wall.
3. Examine how your speakers connect. Some surround sound systems have ports for each speaker that you simply plug the appropriate connector into. Others use clips that hold bare wire into the receiver. If your system uses clips, you will need wire strippers so that you can expose the bare wire underneath the protective rubber of the cable.
4. Run wire from each speaker to the receiver. Do everything you can to hide your wires as you run them. This will not only look better, but will prevent people or animals from accidentally tripping on them and pulling your speakers.
   • If you can, run the wires under the carpet or through the wall. This will give you the cleanest look for your system
   • Make sure to leave some slack at each end. This will keep the connection from becoming stressed, and give you room to correct errors.
5. Connect the speakers. If your speaker cables already have plugs, simply plug them into the appropriate port on the back of the receiver. If you are using standard speaker wire to connect the speaker to the receiver, you'll have to go through a couple extra steps.
   • Measure out your cable length. Measure out your speaker cable from the spool. Make sure to give yourself extra room so that you can hide the wire and keep everything slack.
   • Strip one end. Use the wire stripper to pull about half an inch or so of protective rubber off of the wire. You should see two distinct wires. Make sure not to pull too much covering off or the bare wires could touch and short out.
   • Speaker wire is composed of two different wires: a positive and a negative. Both are exactly the same, but need to be lined up for both the speaker and the receiver. For example, if you connect one of the two wires to the positive clip on the speaker, you'll need to connect the same wire to the positive clip on the receiver.
   • Twist the bare metal threads and insert them into the appropriate clip. Secure the clip so that the wire is crimped into the port.
6. Connect the subwoofer. Most subwoofers connect to the receiver via a standard RCA cable. You can buy expensive subwoofer cables, but you likely won't hear much difference than a standard cable.
   • The port on the receiver is typically labeled "sub out" or "sub pre-out".
   • If your subwoofer has multiple inputs, connect to the one labeled "LFE in" or the far left input if there is no label.
   • Using the dials on the back of the subwoofer, set the volume to about half and turn the "low pass filter" knob all the way up or switch it off.

Connecting Your Equipment

1. Connect HDMI devices to the receiver. Most newer receivers support HDMI input and out, which allows you to connect HDMI-capable devices to the receiver and then connect the receiver to the TV.
   • If there are multiple HDMI inputs available, start plugging in devices in the order that you want them to appear on a menu.
   • HDMI transmits both audio and visual signal, so you don't need to worry about connecting any other cables.
   • Try to avoid stacking your devices (DVD player, cable box, etc.) on top of each other. This will lead to all of them generating too much heat, which can lead to equipment failure.
2. Connect component devices to your receiver. If you are using any older equipment that doesn't support HDMI, you can connect via component cables. These are five-pronged sets of cables; three for video and two for audio.
   • Plug the three video prongs into the matching colors in the input that you want to use.
   • Plug the two audio prongs into the matching stereo audio input. Make sure that it is linked to the video input that you plugged the video prongs into, otherwise your sound won't appear with the video.
3. Connect any composite devices. These are the oldest of the connectors that are still in widespread use., A composite connector is a three-pronged cable with one prong for video and two for audio. This is the lowest quality connection that most surround sound systems will support.
   • Plug the yellow (video) prong into one of the available matching inputs, and then connect the audio cables to the linked audio inputs.
4. Connect the receiver to the TV. For best results, use an HDMI connection to connect the TV to the HDMI Out port on the receiver. You can use older connectors, but they will result in much lower quality. Most modern TVs support HDMI.
5. Organize your cables as you go. You'll have a lot of cables going into your receiver when all is said and done, so do what you can to keep things civil. Use twist ties to keep cables organized and bunched together.

Testing it Out

1. Set your devices to output correct audio. Before you start testing everything, you'll want to ensure that all of your connected devices are properly transmitting audio to take full advantage of your speaker setup. In general, you'll want to enable "Dolby Digital" in the configuration menu of each device. Every device is different, so consult your manual for details.
   • For your Blu-ray player, make sure to enable uncompressed audio. This is typically labeled "bitstream uncompressed" or "pass-through".
2. Start the auto-setup process with your receiver. Nearly all new receivers come with a microphone that you can use to automatically configure up your levels. Make sure that the mic is setup at the center of your viewer area, preferably at ear-level.
   • When running the auto-setup, step out of the room so that your body doesn't block any sound and mess up the levels.
   • Try to keep the room quiet while you run the test. Avoid running the dishwasher in the other room, keep the dog out, etc.
3. Manually adjust your levels. After the automatic setup is complete, you'll want to go back into your settings and tweak a few things. Of primary concern is the subwoofer settings.
   • Navigate to the "Bass Management" section of the surround sound menu.
   • If you only have small satellite speakers for your surround speakers, set them all to "Small". Set them to large if they have a powered subwoofer built-in.
   • Set the subwoofer's crossover frequency to 80Hz as a starting point. If you are only using smaller satellite speakers, you can try setting it to 100-120Hz. This will make the bass more directional however.
   • Specialists recommend your subwoofer crossover frequency be at least 10Hz higher than your speaker's lowest clean frequency.
4. Start listening. Once you've finished your initial setup, it's time to test it out! Put in your favorite album or movie and give it a good listen. If it sounds good, you're probably done! You can always go back into the settings and tweak each speaker to your preference, and there are lots of resources available online about crossover frequencies.
5. Calibrate your TV. Although this doesn't have anything to do with the sound of your surround sound system, a well-calibrated TV will make a good home theater system even better. See Calibrate-Your-TV for more details.

Tips

• Don't be afraid to experiment! Keep tweaking settings until you find the perfect audio environment.

Sources and Citations

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