How to Design Surround Sound Systems

There's a lot of confusing terminology out there regarding surround sound: 5.1, 7.1, sub-woofer, analog, digital, pcm, HDMI and component video. How do you design a system that meets your needs in a cost-effective way? Read on.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Receiver Seven speakers Sub-woofer 100 feet of Monster speaker wire Monster sub-woofer cable Surge protector

1. A receiver is the brains and heart of any good home theater system. You will want the following: 7.1 sound, meaning it runs seven speakers; at least 100 watts per channel; and at least two HDMI, or High Definition Multimedia Interface, ports.

2. Pick out your speakers. You will need seven: left and right in the front, left and right on the side, left and right in the back and a center speaker that sits above or below your television. Do not buy a seven-speaker set; visit a high-end audio store and pick them out individually. Invest more money in the three front speakers (left and right, plus center), since the majority of the sound will come from there.

3. Pick out your sub-woofer. These are generally large and heavy and sit somewhere in the front of the room near your receiver. The sub-woofer is the .1 in 7.1, as it only runs a portion of the sound, the bass. The bass, however, is very important for delivering good effect in surround sound systems, and you get that all-important rumble feeling in your room when the aliens attack in Independence Day. It need not match your speakers in terms of brand, but should cost as much as each of your front speakers.

4. Pick out your speaker cable. Many people pay $1,000 for a Yamaha receiver, $2,000 for Bose speakers and a sub-woofer--and connect it all with $2 speaker wire. No matter how good your equipment is, bad wire will make it sound terrible. So choose Monster; it's very expensive for wire, but the fiber optics makes it worthwhile. Same goes for your sub-woofer cable.

5. Connect your equipment. This isn't as hard as people make it out to be. Place your receiver and speakers. Run a speaker wire from each speaker to the appropriate speaker port. If your TV, cable box and DVD player are all relatively new, they should have HDMI ports on the back, which are long, flat connections that cover all of your video and audio needs. Connect these to your receiver, then run an HDMI wire from your receiver to the back of the TV. Some receivers need to be "told" what component is plugged into the HDMI ports. Consult your manual as each receiver varies in the specifics.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have more components than just a DVD and cable box to connect, such as an Xbox or a Roku, ensure your receiver has more HDMI ports.

[jasonhenle]

on 5/7/2009 I explain on my blog how to purchase and install surround sound for your home theater: http://www.henlivision.com/henlivison/2009/05/home-theater-setup.html