DIY Surround Sound and Home Theater Installation Guide

T

ime and time again, I have talked about the mishaps that people unknowingly go through when buying a surround sound or home theater product. Here’s a question that grabbed my attention recently:

-        I already have a dual speaker and subwoofer set up. I just want to convert it into surround sound, without having to buy the complete 5.1 home theater system. Is there a solution to it?

Actually there is. Some people who like to create their own surround sound effect; they simply purchase the rear speakers and match it with their old product. This is a very cheap and cost effective way of doing things your way, especially if you don’t have a lot of funds and you still want to get off of the full surround sound experience.

However, I wouldn’t recommend you to set up your speakers in this way. Doing so, will probably create a difference between the sound qualities. For instance, if the front 3 speakers are from Brand A, and the rear speakers, which you just bought separately, are from Brand B, they’re all going to have a difference in terms of frequency and sound emission.

Also, as a side note, I’d advise you to consider checking out Energy Take Classic 5.1 speakers at Amazon. They’re really cost effective and stand out amongst other brands because of their solid performance.

Here’s how you create your very own surround sound system, which is more like an ambient sound emitter:

• If you have the manual for your previously bought speakers, read it through and through for speaker frequency and maximum range. If you don’t have a manual, your speakers will probably have a small numeric figure written besides a “Hz” symbol, somewhere on their side or bottom.

• Now you need to check the nature of your current speakers – are they mono or stereo? Usually, it’s not very difficult because Mono and Stereo have their own color based notations.

• Simply go to the store and tell them that you’re looking for 2 new speakers within a specific frequency and wattage range. They’ll also let you in on a demonstration, which is going to give you a better idea of how good your speakers will sound.

• You can also ask the demo guy to demonstrate these 2 speakers, using a DVD, Mp3 and a BluRay disc. All these different platforms will emit a slightly different quality of sound. If the speakers start to sound a little crappy beyond a specific volume threshold, it is a good indicator of their poor performance.

• Once you’re satisfied with your newly purchased speaker pair, it is time for you to pay the salesman and head back to your home.

• Install the speakers as rear channel devices because this was the whole object of purchasing them in the first place.
• Now simply, go over different songs and volume settings, so that you can balance all the sound effects from your previously owned speakers and the new ones you that just bought.