How to Setup Your Audio Equipment Speakers to Get Your Money's Worth From Your Home Audio Equipment
The proper placement and setup of your audio equipment speakers and home audio equipment is important. We all enjoy the sounds of the movie theater at home. When we can actually feel the thumping in our chest from low frequency sounds, or hear each one of a million pieces of glass hit the ground, it adds to our entertainment. If you setup and place your audio system and speakers improperly, you are not going to be able to enjoy all the features of the system you purchased.
If you are like most people, you purchased an audio equipment system with as many features as you could get. These features are important for your enjoyment of your system, but do not guarantee great sound. Rather, you should take some time to understand some concepts of sound acoustics to get the most from your equipment.
There are many different ways to setup up an audio system in a room. There is not just one way that is best. That is because each room where a system is placed has its own individual sound quality. The identical audio system placed in two dissimilar locations will sound differently.
You should put some time and thought into planning the physical arrangement of the furniture and audio equipment in your room. You should allow yourself the luxury of exploring several different options. You will be amazed at the differences in the sound of your audio system. What you are trying to achieve is the best trade-off between the audio reproduction in the room with the placement of your furniture.
You will want to test your speaker and furniture placement through use. Keep your options open in this phase. Your best results will come from trying every combination of placements of your speakers and furniture. Each combination will probably have a different effect on the overall sound you hear from your system. Do not rush this part of the test. You want to have the best possible setup for your unique situation.
The ultimate goal for the placement of your home audio equipment is to achieve a surround, or cocoon, of sound. There should be a presence of sound, without unplanned directional sounds. Let the system create the isolated directional sound when it enhances the movie or TV show. You want your system to reproduce the natural way we hear sounds.
Avoid the tendency to use your speakers as another piece of furniture, rather than as audio equipment with a purpose. You purchased the speakers to augment the entertainment value of your TV, CD, and DVD players, not to be the base of a lamp. And remember that everything in your room is part of the audio system, since it all affects the sound you hear. You want to support and enhance that sound, rather than dampen it.
The height of the audio equipment speakers in the room is crucial to the sound you hear. You want the cone of sound to be at the same level as the listener. Make sure that the sound travels directly to the listener rather than be first reflected off other surfaces.
You should take care to place stereo speakers as equal distance from the listener as possible. Believe it or not, research has shown that even a few feet difference between the original sound and reflected sound can confuse our brain to the point that it dulls the listening sense. And if the sound is too dull, you are not receiving the benefits that your home audio equipment is designed to deliver.
Charles Moore has over thirty years of experience with audio equipment speakers. His fervent goal is for every home to have an audio system and be able to enjoy today's surround sound features. Charles' law states ..."To err is human, but to hear is divine." Before you buy anything online, check out Lee's personal selections for the best home audio equipment. |
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