Are you the owner of a brand new home cinema receiver and surround sound system? Want to save money by doing your own installation? Below are some tips to help you
Preparation
For a basic installation, you won't need many tools. A wire cutter/stripper is a must. A flashlight may come in handy. And you may need a laptop or smartphone to read the instructions.
Many receivers do not come with printed manuals, but with links to digital documents. But most receivers come with a short quick start guide that covers the basic steps to get you up and running.
Before you roll up your sleeves to get started, read our quick start guide and tips below.
Create labels for all wires
Labels make it easy to control what goes where. Someday you may want to move or replace your receiver. This is the day you'll thank yourself for tagging the cables now.
Where will the receiver be placed?
Choose a place that is well ventilated. Make sure you have easy access to the connections on the back of the receiver.
Where will your speakers be placed?
Do you know where all your speakers will go? If you know which home cinema system you will follow, you will not have any difficulties at all, since you will know how many speakers you will use and where they will be placed in your space.
How much speaker cable will you need?
Once you've decided where you're going to place your speakers and receiver, you can figure out how much speaker wire you'll need. Use a meter to simulate each cable run.
Want to hide the rear speaker cables?
What is the best way to run cables behind the speakers? You have three main options:
Buy flat cable for under-carpet runs.
Use grooves (aka channels) to hide cables without cutting into your walls.
Hide cables behind your walls or drywall.
Speaker connections
Preparing speaker cables can be a tedious job, but take your time and do it right. You need secure connections that will last for years.
Why you need speaker cable connectors
Connecting bare speaker wires to a receiver is important. You will make at least 10 connections to a full pack of input sockets. A single stray wire could cause a short circuit that will kill your receiver.
Do yourself a favor and get banana connectors (four per speaker cable). A pack of 20 will wrap both ends of each speaker cable in a 5.1 speaker system.
Make sure you match the colors on the connectors (usually black and red) with the colors or markings on each side of your speaker wire. It is important to be consistent in order to maintain the correct polarity.
How to connect your speaker cables to the receiver
Make your speaker connections before connecting your receiver's AC power cord. If you need to redo any of the connections, first turn off and unplug the receiver.
As you connect the speakers, match the colors on the jacks to the colors on the input terminals of the speakers.
Power connections
Protect your investment. Do not plug your equipment directly into AC outlets or cheap power strips. A high-quality power surge protector will give you all the outlets you need and filter out the noise from the AC power supply. You will get surge protection and better performance from your equipment.
TV and component connections
Do you have all the AV cables you'll need? Are you sure they are the right length?
Don't have easy access to the back of your furniture? You will need to connect the cables before sliding the machines into the cabinet. This means you'll need longer cables to loosen up a few extra inches.
Cables you may need
- HDMI, for your cable or satellite box and for AV components such as Blu-ray players and game consoles.
- RCA for analog audio connections
- Optical or coaxial cables for digital audio connections
Connect your TV first
Many of today's receivers have on-screen wizards that walk you through the setup process. So Step 1 is to connect the TV. Use HDMI 1 or “Main” output on the receiver and HDMI 1 input on the TV.
Do you use your TV's built-in video streaming apps or an antenna for over-the-air TV? Use HDMI connections marked ARC (Audio Return Channel).
If you have an older TV or receiver that does not have ARC, connect an optical digital audio cable between your TV and receiver. Of course you will still need the HDMI connection for the video signal.
To connect your items, follow the wizard on your screen
Many of the latest receivers offer a helpful setup guide or on-screen application. You simply connect the receiver to your TV and follow the instructions that appear on the TV screen or on your mobile device.
How to connect your active subwoofer
This is quite simple. Run a subwoofer cable from the subwoofer output on the receiver to the LFE input on the subwoofer. If you prefer a wireless connection, you can get a wireless connection kit.
Setup and finishing touches
Once everything is connected, it's time to get your system set up and running the way you want it to. This is where reading the manual helps.
The full manual may be over 100 pages long, but it's worth reading sometime. You might be surprised to find some features and settings that enhance your enjoyment or spark some ideas for system expansion.
Speaker calibration
Most receivers have automatic calibration to perfect the sound. This is how it works:
The receiver sends test tones to a microphone placed in your seat. The receiver then automatically adjusts the volume and timing of the sound coming from each speaker. You get perfectly balanced and time-aligned surround sound.
Network setup
Follow the network setup instructions specific to your receiver model. In most cases, it's no more difficult than connecting your phone or laptop. If your receiver and Wi-Fi router support WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup), all you have to do is press a few buttons.
Remote control and ease of use
Now that you have your entire system connected, it's time to think about how you want to control it. Remote controls with dozens of buttons can be difficult. But now there are ways to make things much more user-friendly.
If your receiver offers a remote control app from a mobile device, take a look. Most people find the app easier to use than the handheld remote, especially in a dark room.
The app is essential if you use your receiver for multi-room audio and video. It lets you switch sources and control your streaming services from any room in the house.
Many receivers have scene buttons – presets for a particular activity, such as watching TV or listening to the radio. With the push of a button, you select the source and all the settings you need for the activity. These settings make things super easy for the babysitter or anyone else unfamiliar with your equipment.
The new frontier in remote control is voice command technology from Amazon and Google. Who needs a handheld remote (or even a remote control app) when you can just tell Alexa what you want your receiver to do?
A universal remote can also connect your smart lights, security cameras, and other home automation gadgets to your home AV system.
Can you hear the TV speakers when the receiver is off?
Sometimes, you or your guests might just want to watch TV and not bother with surround sound. You can do this if your receiver has a feature called HDMI standby pass-through. The signal from the cable (or other source) is passed to the TV when the receiver is turned off.
If your receiver doesn't have an HDMI pass-through, you can get an HDMI splitter and run a second cable to another HDMI input on your TV. The downside is that you'll have to change the input selection on your TV each time you want to switch from surround sound to the TV speakers or vice versa.
What is amp assignment?
Receivers with seven or more channels can be used in many different ways. You'll use five channels for a basic surround sound system. How can you develop additional channels?
- To drive more surround speakers, including Dolby Atmos height speakers.
- To feed stereo speakers in other sound zones
- For sending four channels of bi-amp powered speakers
You should choose the amplifier channel assignments that suit your needs. The manual will show you all your options.
Try the DSP settings
Many receivers include digital signal processing effects. The idea is to simulate the acoustic properties of different film environments and live music venues. Some are fun and engaging. Others may sound strange to your ears.
For listening to music, music lovers tend to prefer the “pure direct” 2-channel mode that bypasses any signal processing. Other people like to be bathed in sound from all directions, even when listening to a simple stereo recording.
Since you have these options at your fingertips, you might as well give them a try. If you find a setting you like, it's easy to incorporate it into one of the scene button settings.
Compressed music enhancement
Lower quality digital music sources such as internet radio and streaming services can sound dull and lifeless. Many receivers have a special setting that makes these programs sound better.
Elevating dialogue
Having trouble hearing what the actors are saying when watching a movie or TV show? See if your receiver has a special setting that allows you to boost or "boost" the level of sounds into the human vocal range.
Article source: www.crutchfield.com