Having a surround sound system can take your home entertainment to the next level. If you’re a fan of movies, TV shows, or gaming, you know that your surround sound setup is just as important as the visual experience. It will immerse you in the action and make you feel like you’re part of the story.
Setting up a surround sound system may seem intimidating at first, but don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. In this post, we’ll guide you through the process step-by-step, from choosing the right equipment to configuring your system for optimal performance.
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What Is a Surround Sound System?
If you already have a stereo system with two speakers for movies or music at home, you might decide it’s time to branch out and enjoy real cinema sound.
If we call a stereo system 2.0, meaning two loudspeakers, then a basic home theater system uses 5.1, or five speakers plus one subwoofer. This is what we define as a basic surround sound setup.
When you go to your local theater to see a movie, you’ve probably noticed that sound comes from behind the screen. The typical movie theater audio channel setup includes three large speakers (left, center, and right, or LCR) behind an acoustically transparent white screen.
They also use smaller surround sound speakers running down the left and right walls. You can see these clearly on display, as most cinemas do not hide them behind a fabric wall.
There’s always a dedicated subwoofer for low-frequency sounds, such as explosions. Just like in your home, we call this a 5.1 surround sound setup in the theater, too.
The Benefits of a Surround Sound System
Overall, a surround sound system can greatly enhance your home entertainment experience. More immersive and high-quality audio transforms the way you enjoy movies, TV shows, and games.
Here are some of the biggest benefits of having an at-home surround system:
Immersive Audio Experience: With a surround sound system, you can hear sounds all around you, creating a more realistic and immersive audio experience.
Improved Audio Quality: A surround sound system typically delivers higher quality audio than a traditional stereo system, allowing you to pick up on nuances in sound that you’d otherwise miss.
Better Movie and Gaming Experience: Watching movies or playing video games with a surround sound system can make you feel like you’re part of the action, enhancing the overall entertainment experience.
Enhanced Music Listening: A surround sound system can also improve your music listening experience, providing a more full and dynamic soundstage.
Customizable Setup: You can customize your surround sound system to fit the layout of your room, adjusting the placement of speakers to create the optimal listening experience.
Understanding Surround Sound Setup
To create a basic home theater surround sound system, you will need a few more components than a two-channel stereo setup. The building blocks of a home theater include a receiver, the “brains” of the system, five loudspeakers, a subwoofer, and cables.
You’ll also need a source for the movie or TV content. That could be your TV (for broadcast or streaming from built-in apps), a Blu-ray player, or a gaming console. You may already be using a Roku stick, Apple TV, or other streaming device with your TV.
An Overview of Surround Sound Components
A receiver is a box that will decode the source content to deliver surround sound. It is the key component of your system. Not only can it create a 5.1- or 7.1-channel (or larger) sound field, it acts as the means by which you switch sources (i.e. from a Blu-ray player to a streaming device).
A receiver usually includes onboard amplifiers for every channel, so you do not need external amps to make up a complete system. You have probably seen receivers advertised by well-known companies like Denon, Marantz, and Pioneer.
Next, you will need five loudspeakers to create a 5.1 system. Some people opt for full-range loudspeakers that can reproduce almost the entire hearing range from 40 Hz to 20 kHz. But we always recommend that you use five smaller speakers in the 80/100 Hz to 20 kHz region.
These allow you to pass bass frequencies to a powered subwoofer. A subwoofer helps you to keep bass sounding smooth and balanced in your media or living room.
A subwoofer usually produces all the bass sounds below 80 Hz from a surround sound source. These sounds can go as deep as 20 Hz or lower. It also reproduces the LFE (low-frequency effects). LFE signals are impactful deep bass sounds that the audio mixer at the film studio has allocated to be used in the subwoofer only.
Lastly, you will need cables to connect everything. For a 5.1 surround setup, as we describe here, five speaker cables are required for each of the speakers. An RCA or line-level interconnect cable will be needed to tether the receiver to the subwoofer.
An HDMI cable sends the audio (and images) from an external device like a Blu-ray player or gaming console to the receiver. The receiver then sends the audio to the onboard sound card for decoding and the picture to the TV or projector.
Choosing the Right Audio System for Your Home
You may decide that this all sounds too much and is too complicated. But don’t worry. Most online and in-store retailers know how to walk you through buying the best starter system for you. And, when you buy a new receiver, the setup menus are very clear and easy to follow.
If you’re only looking to boost the quality of the audio from your TV, then you may be happy with a soundbar instead. Soundbars come in a variety of shapes and sizes. But usually, they are compact and consist of a slim enclosure with several speakers built in.
The advantage here is that you can get away with using fewer wires. Soundbars sit below your TV or can be mounted to the wall. Some come with many speaker drivers to reproduce simulated or discrete surround sound. Others come with subwoofers and optional surround speakers.
However, if you decide to go down the full 5.1 (or greater) home theater surround route with separate components, the sky’s the limit. Remember that you should choose equipment that is optimal for your living space. This means taking into account both audio performance and available space.
Types of Surround Sound Systems
We’ve discussed 5.1 as the basic surround sound setup. It’s made up of three speakers at the front, two speakers at the sides, and one subwoofer. You can opt for a 7.1 setup, which includes an additional two speakers behind the seating area. Some movie soundtracks are mixed for either 5.1 or 7.1 speaker setups, where all five or seven main channels are set up at ear level.
But many of you will have heard of object-based or immersive audio. In recent years, both Dolby and DTS have come up with surround systems with height channels. Home theater receivers always include 5.1, and often 7.1, as a minimum.
But now, many receivers can decode Dolby Atmos or DTS:X with 5.1.2 or even 7.1.4 channels (with the last digit representing the number of ceiling channels). These new codecs make it possible to be even more immersed in the action with surround sound effects now coming from above the seating area.
Learn more: A Beginner’s Guide to Dolby AtmosWhere possible, we recommend you choose to use two or more subwoofers instead of one. This almost always improves bass coverage in any listening area. Therefore, you might see a home cinema setup described as 7.2.4 or 9.3.6.
The first digit in these configurations represents the number of ear-level speakers in the setup. The second, the number of subwoofers. And, finally, the third being the number of height speakers.
All of this means that you can spend a lot of money building or upgrading a surround sound system. In the end, it will all come down to how much money you have to spend on a surround sound setup.
You might have only $200 to fork over for a soundbar or $200,000 to spend on a bespoke designer cinema in your home. It’s horses for courses. But make sure you know your budget before you move forward to avoid disappointment later.
Setting Up Your Surround Sound System
Room acoustics is a science in itself. Unless you have a dedicated room and a lot of cash to offload, you will not be employing an acoustician to treat your room. But there are some good rules of thumb to use in your living area or home theater.
Ideally, you will want to keep the room partly dampened with a fitted carpet and lots of soft furnishings. First reflections from front loudspeakers hitting sidewalls can muddy up the sound. As a result, it’s sometimes a good idea to place a full bookshelf or absorptive pad on the wall.
But you don’t want to make the room too “dead” either. Keeping some surfaces free of obstructions or household items is a good policy, too.
Calibrating a Surround Sound System
We cannot stress enough how important it is to read the operating manuals of your new components, particularly the one that comes with your surround sound receiver. It will give you all the knowledge you need for connecting your sources to the inputs on the receiver and how to wire up your loudspeakers.
It is also crucial that you follow a receiver manual’s instructions for running the in-room calibration system. Multi-channel surround sound requires that the timing, distances, and sound pressure level (SPL) of each loudspeaker have to be accurately measured.
Manufacturers include a microphone and stand for the task. You can then read the calibration results via an on-screen display. The difference between a non-calibrated and properly calibrated system is night and day, so don’t skip it.
Common Issues and Troubleshooting Tips
Take it from us — you will run into plenty of snags when you first get going with setting up a surround sound system. Sometimes an HDMI cable will not “seat” correctly, some of the speakers will be wired out of phase, or the subwoofer won’t produce enough bass.
Multi-channel audio proficiency has a learning curve. But we say always try to plan ahead. First, make sure you’ve bought the right cable lengths for your room. Then, check that the speakers will fit around your display and that you’re using the correct outputs and inputs for connections.
Try using banana jacks for convenience instead of bare wire when connecting speakers. Always use cable ties to keep the area behind your flat-panel TV free of clutter.
And did we mention this before? Read the manual!
Accessories and Upgrades for Your Surround Sound System
One of the downsides of owning a home theater surround system is that you will probably get a case of “upgrade-itis” and constantly want to improve your setup. But the more performance you get, the more you will have to spend.
Many receiver owners decide they want to upgrade from a receiver to a processor. In general, you will get a marked increase in clarity and dynamics by doing so. But a good processor often costs as much as a home theater receiver with an equivalent channel count. And good power amps can put a serious dent in your wallet. You have been warned.
If you upgrade from a 5.1 to a 7.2.4 system, remember that you are buying more speakers, as well. If you have to burrow into the ceiling for your height channels, factor in the cost of an electrician or handyman.
And don’t spend too much on cables! Retailers will try to sell you their high mark-up shiny jacket wires. Don’t fall for it. Use an online resource like Monoprice or another vendor.
You might get incremental performance hikes from some audio cables. But our advice is to steer clear of this minefield until you know more about what it is you expect to achieve by upgrading.
Final Tips and Recommendations
If you’re just starting out, we recommend you begin with a budget and work backward from there. Second, know what it is that you are trying to get from a new surround sound setup. Do you want friends around for movie night or just need a humble uptick to your TV sound?
The more you have clear in your head before heading to an online or physical store, the more you will be forearmed and make the best decisions.
Try to have fun with this hobby. It can bring many hours of pleasure. Putting together a surround sound system is as immersive as the audio it can produce.
In the future, we will delve deeper into some of the topics we have covered here, but hopefully, this gives you a good overview if you are on the cusp of taking the leap into a surround sound system for your home theater.
Want expert advice on which system to choose?
Check out our surround sound system reviews!
Martin, a seasoned journalist and AV expert, has written for several notable print magazines. He’s served in key roles at Lucasfilm’s THX Division, NEC’s digital cinema division, and has even consulted for DreamWorks. Despite his illustrious career, Martin remains rooted in his passion for cinema and acting, with notable appearances in several Spielberg films, Doctor Who, and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. He currently resides in San Francisco.
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