Acoustics in the chosen room: To optimize sound quality, you can improve the acoustics in the room you have chosen to transform into your home cinema by turning it into an “absorbent” space thereby eliminating any risk of echo.

Therefore, install a thick carpet, curtains, and pillows as this will help absorb resonance and prevent reverberation, place the speakers fifty centimeters away from the wall and use shelves to put them at ear level. Keep in mind however, that above arrangements are not necessary and depend on the size of the room: your objective is not to chock the sound too much as it wouldn’t be pleasant and would result in you needing to increase the volume and disturb your neighbors.

Position of the speakers: Keep in mind that each speaker has its own function! The two front speakers transmit overall atmosphere and music, the central one is dedicated to speech while the two surround parts of the set placed behind the audience transmit special effects and noises (door slamming, car engine roaring in the background etc.). The sub woofer plays a very important role as it provides the speakers with the needed back up to transmit deep “bassy” sounds.

Home cinema “off the shelf” sets for limited budgets: These sets consist of a DVD player, an amplifier and speakers (usually 5 in addition to a sub woofer) at a starting price of 300 dollars. The advantage of these sets is that they are user friendly and easy to install, however purchasing a home cinema system in separate individual units provides a high fidelity sound and higher quality results. “Off the shelf” sets are a perfect choice for small rooms; having said that, purchasing a high-quality screen is crucial. Retail price starts at 600 dollars.