The importance of speaker quality cannot be overstated — but the configuration and setup of your surround sound speakers is equally crucial. Without a properly wired home theatre, speaker performance suffers, and you miss the full immersion of your favourite films. Leave nothing to chance — instead, take every precaution to ensure perfect sound for your entertainment.
Be open to evolving your setup
In many cases, a home theatre’s very first setup becomes the standard configuration for years to come, regardless of how many components are added later. Even the savviest audiophile may have trouble optimizing their speaker arrangement on the very first try, and deficiencies can linger if not identified and soon corrected.
Seemingly trivial factors have a profound effect on a sound system's overall audio performance, so it's important to fully assess your home speaker system. If you're experiencing sound quality issues like muddy midrange tones or the occasional burst of distortion, run some diagnostics on your setup. Do speakers need to be spread out or brought closer together? Is your subwoofer impeded by objects in its sonic trajectory? Investigate and think critically about where you can adjust.
Maintain brand consistency
Mixing and matching audio equipment sounds appealing. You can swap out speakers, amps, receivers and cables as needed, choosing individual components that meet your price point and performance requirements. But even compatible hardware may experience sound quality issues when paired with equipment from other manufacturers.
Different speaker brands may have different output capabilities, affecting the timbre and preventing the system from achieving a full range of sound. The centre channel, front-left and front-right speakers should share the same manufacturer to avoid issues with sound quality. These channels will shoulder much of the midrange workload, making them especially susceptible to timbre-related issues. This applies to speaker and audio as well. Ideally, the cables in your home theatre setup are not only from the same manufacturer but are the same length and diameter to prevent frequency variations from occurring. According to Audio Gurus, a 2.5mm cable will properly minimize resistance, while thinner cables may negatively impact frequency response, especially when covering longer distances.
Expect more from an AV receiver
One of the biggest missteps people make when setting up their home speaker system is forgoing an AV receiver. This equipment should serve as the command centre of any home theatre, providing all the inputs needed to connect your speakers, subwoofers, televisions, media players, turntables and any other devices included in your setup. AV receivers do much more than simplify home theatre setups; they also future-proof your arrangements by supporting the most cutting-edge audio and video formats and technologies. And don’t forget, the speaker can only sound as good as what the receiver delivers.
Whatever approach you take to your home speaker system, Marantz has the high-quality audio equipment needed to create the best theatre experience possible.