Since there are still many mistakes that are commonly committed by homeowners when they install their home theater systems, we are continuing to publish articles about these mistakes. It is not good to spend hefty amounts of money on a home theater system but you are not able to take advantage of what it can offer. Therefore, we are writing these articles to educate homeowners so that they will be able to fully enjoy their home theater systems. Here are 3 additional home theater mistakes that most homeowners commit.
- Speaker Levels Are Unbalanced
If you want to hear symphony music from a 100-piece philharmonic orchestra as if you are right there in a concert theater, all of your speakers should re-create the sound that you will hear inside that theater. However, if you speaker levels are unbalanced, you will not be able to get that coveted concert theater experience. If you are watching a movie, the subwoofer would be drowning out all the rest of the sounds. Ambient sounds or the surround effect will seem to be undefined, dialog will not be very clear and all sorts of sordid things can happen.
You can correct the sound situation by placing your speakers in their right places. Sometimes, the recommendation of the manufacturer cannot be implemented in the particular setting of the room where you have installed your home theater system. You just have to make do with your situation and follow the manufacturer’s instruction to as best as you can. But there are certain things that you really need to do:
- Don’t place your speakers behind your entertainment console.
- Make sure there is nothing that blocks the sounds coming from your speakers going to the ears of the listeners.
To balance the sounds from your speakers, you need to use a sound meter. There are CDs, DVDs and BluRay discs that can provide the test tones that can balance speaker sound levels. Or you can use a tone generator which may be a built-in feature in your home theater receiver. Most home theater systems are equipped with a set up program that you can use to balance your speaker levels according to the specifications of your room. It will help you choose the sizes and distances of the speakers from the primary listening position. You will be able to adjust the output levels of the sounds coming from each speaker if you will use this set up program.
- Buying A TV That Is Too Large Or Too Small For The Room
The most popular size of flat screen TVs today is the 55-inch TV. Most consumers, as statistics have shown, have bought 55 inch flat screen TVs in the past year. Some consumers are even going for the larger 60 to 70 inch models, regardless of the sizes of their home theater rooms. But a very large TV is not the best for an average-sized room. For instance, an HDTV of 720p or 1080p resolution needs a viewing distance of around one and a half to two times the width of the TV screen. In other words, you will need to have a distance of around six to eight feet from the TV screen if you have a 55-inch flat screen TV. If you sit closer than this recommended distance, you will be seeing the pixels of the screen, and you will not be able to enjoy the clarity of the picture, even if it is full HD. If you want to sit close, then buy a 4K Ultra HD TV. It will allow you to sit 5 feet from the screen even if it is a 55-inch TV.
- Not Asking For Professional Help Even If You Need It
An expensive home theater system needs an expert to install it. Yes, it is your property and you can do with it whatever you want. But if you want to get your money’s worth, you need to ask the help of a professional sound and sights engineer to set up your home theater system. Yes, you can connect everything and make the whole system work. But is it optimally working the way it was designed, or is the sound coming out of the speakers is terrible? Only a professional engineer will be able to tell you where the problem lies. He will also be able to help you correct the things that you may have overlooked.