Nothing beats enjoying a movie at home. To achieve the best viewing and listening experience, it is vital to know the basic functions and connections of the equipment involved. Failure to do this may result in poor sound and image quality. Our experts summarized the best theater setup that you can easily follow at home.
Sound and Acoustics
One of the best things about having your own home theater is the ability to customize your sound setup. Here are the components to achieve the best sound quality according to your preferences, according to our sound engineers.
Soundbar
A soundbar is a good choice if you want an all-in-one speaker system without the need for a big space. It delivers quality sound and is optimally placed under the TV. The best thing about this is that it can deliver a surround sound similar to a theater.
Subwoofer
A subwoofer is added to a home theater to boost low-frequency sounds. Hence, if you love listening to songs with deep bass tones, or watching horror or thriller genres, then adding a subwoofer is really the way to go.
You can choose from either a ported or a sealed subwoofer depending on your needs.
Speakers
Aside from subwoofer speakers, you will also need specific speaker drivers to boost mid-range and high rage frequencies. Adding these speakers will help enhance the sounds in your home theater.
Connecting the Important Audio Components
The above-mentioned components are needed to have the best listening experience. Connection can be done thru HDMI cables, RCA, and adapters. Using compatible cables is important so audio and video data can travel unhindered.
Screen
It is hard to enjoy movie watching when you have a small screen. Hence, if you have a home theater, one of the most important upgrades is having a big screen.
TV
Some people prefer TVs for their large screen. This is because the price of TVs with large screens have dropped significantly while their quality and performance have improved.
TVs can also display HDR so you can enjoy better color and crisper visual quality of your videos. A\lthough the biggest so far is about 80”, that is already a big screen for viewing movies.
Projector
Many home theaters are equipped with projectors [1] nowadays. In this way, you can adjust the viewing screen to as big as your viewing wall can take. However, to achieve a quality that is at par with a TV, you have to invest in a really high-quality projector. This may entail spending more than the usual cost of projectors.
Other Essentials
There are other factors that you have to consider when you want to improve your home multimedia room. Our engineers listed some of the other improvements you can apply to your home theater setup.
Blocking Curtain
A blocking curtain is used to block most of the external sounds like barking dogs and car horns from coming into the home theater. It also acts like a sound dampener and lessens the sounds from going outside and disturbing other people.
Blocking curtains do not work a hundred percent in soundproofing home theaters. If you want a better way to soundproof it, then you can use mass loaded vinyl, green glue, zero-sound drywall, and good acoustic panels.
Dark Paint
A dark paint decreases the reflection in the home theater room. This is especially important when you are using a projector as any reflection can interfere with the image quality projected on the screen.
Seating
A comfortable seating greatly improves your stay in a home theater. Many opt for La-Z-Boy chairs as it resembles a premium theater experience. Some add bean bags too for the kids and kids at heart.
(To make your home theater more aesthetically pleasing, here are the best home theater decor you can buy)
Important Things to Consider
According to our experts, there are two important considerations that you have to make when setting up your home theater. These factors will affect how your system will produce sound.
Placement
The proper position of equipment in the home theater is important. TVs or projector screens should be at the eye level of viewers when they are seated so they won’t have a strained neck.
Subwoofers and other speakers should not be facing the walls. This is to prevent resonance which will not only affect audio quality but may also disturb other people. Seats should not be too close to the viewing screen to properly enjoy the movie.
Wiring
Connecting devices like speakers to their sources can be done using different cables. Most devices are now HDMI compatible so you can use this to transfer video and audio data. Remember though that 25feet is the maximum length without experiencing data degradation.
Other possible connections include XLR and RCA cables. Wireless connections are slowly gaining popularity too.
Also read: How can home theater can increase the value of your home.
Conclusion
The best home theater setup includes a combination of speakers, TV or projector screens, and other equipment and upgrades. Our experts discussed the function of each component of the setup. We hope that the discussion will help you on your quest for the best home theater experience.
