Take Audio Quality into Consideration During Your Home Theater Installation

Having a successful home theater installation comes down to three things: dynamic images on your video display, a comprehensive sound system, and a comfortable viewing experience. In this blog, we’re going to focus on everything you can do to optimize the audio in your Orange Park Acres, CA theater. Creating the right environment for your sound to thrive involves finding the right speakers, placing them correctly, and making sure the room has the necessary acoustic treatments. 

SEE MORE: Install a Custom Home Theater for the Ultimate Escape

Make Sure Speakers Are Properly Placed 

The first step is figuring out what type of surround sound layout you want to use. We recommend going with a Dolby Atmos system. You can check out their website to see their typical speaker layouts, but regardless of the one you choose, always follow these rules:

• Make sure all speakers are equidistant to the viewer to avoid uneven sound. Your AV installers will be able to expertly measure out the room to install and angle your speakers the right way to accomplish this.
• Your subwoofer is there to add more bass to your sound system. While there’s a bit more leeway as to where it can be placed within a Dolby Atmos layout, it should never be in the corner of the room. Best practice is to have it between your center speaker and your left or right front speakers.
• Speakers should never be against the wall as this will mess with your room acoustics. If you want to keep them out of the way due to space limitations, you can install in-wall speakers. 

Invest in High-Quality Audio Equipment
Once you’ve figured out the layout that makes the most sense for your home theater installation, it’s time to pick out your speakers and AV receiver. When it comes to your speakers, make sure they all match up. All speakers should have the same power output and the same volume settings to avoid uneven sound. Since a Dolby Atmos system is all about moving sound around the room, you’re also going to need speakers that emit sound from above the viewer. There’s two ways to accomplish this: in-ceiling speakers or upward-firing speakers which bounce audio signals off the ceiling to make it seem like sound is coming from above.

SEE MORE: Check Out Photos from Our Previous Home Theater Installations

Pair your speakers up with a Dolby Atmos receiver that can translate your sound into objects. This is what lets the audio move around the room instead of being relegated to a particular channel, giving your surround sound a more realistic feel. At a more basic level, you need to make sure your receiver matches up with the speaker layout you’ve chosen. It needs to have the necessary outputs and power specifications to get the signal clearly to all your speakers.

How to Improve Your Room Acoustics
There are also a few things you can do duringnstallation to optimize the room’s acoustics. The first step is making sure that all seating is centrally placed. The closer it is to the sides, the more likely sound will be muffled or distorted as it deflects off the wall. 

Most of your acoustic adjustments will be about softening the room up to avoid distortion as sound bounces off hard surfaces. The easiest thing to do is to install drapes and carpets. If you find you have a lot of trouble spots—hard surfaces that sound bounces off immediately after leaving your speaker—you can install acoustic panels that absorb the sound. These are typically placed between the viewer and the front speakers.

The first step in any home theater consultation with our clients is to learn more about where their theater will be located and how they plan on using it to figure out which surround sound system would work best for them. To learn more about our installation process call us at (714) 779-9900 or fill out our online contact form.

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