Hello,

My name is Marc and I have been attempting to set up my own hometheater. I have sound dynamic speakers, Denon Avr-1802 receiver, Denon 1800 DVD changer, RRCA ultimate tv a sony vcr, and a Sharp TV not to mention the Harmony Remote. My room is approximately 20 x 20 and I am not familiar with the proper way to set up the speakers through the receiver, ie what db I should set each speaker on. In addition, I was wondeing if there is any schematic anyone has as to the proper or reccommended way to set up all these components? I think I did it right, I was just wonderingif ther is a better way. I look forward to your response.

Marc

Marc, the proper way to interconnect the components is shown in each of the owners' manuals. With rare exception, everything should have input and/or output jacks labeled appropriately.

As for setting up the room, besides the fact that a square room is not ideal, try this:

The TV should be centered on one wall, with the main L & R flanking the TV, at a distance somewhere around halfway between the TV and the corners, and, of course, the center above or below the TV. Avoid the temptation to put the TV in a corner.

The rears should be directly to the sides of your main seating, but higher, maybe at about 6' from the floor. In spite of being called 'rears', they usually sound better, and allow for better seating, placed to the sides.

If you have a subwoofer, only trial and error can tell you the best location, but some experts recommend placing the sub where you sit, and crawling around the perimeter of the room and listening for the best bass. What's 'best'? Deep, but tight. Should not have that 'overwhelming, one-note' bass that Bazooka-type car woofers have.

The last rule: Experiment!

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com.

What room type is best??

Marc, there iare several "ideal" ratios of room length X width X height. I don't hace them handy, but the important thing is to avoid exact duplicates or multiples, like 10 X 20, etc.

The reason for this is that every frequency of sound has a wavelength, and when the wavelength, or its multiples (harmonics) or even 'sub-multiples' (subharmonics) match a room dimension, the frequency is boosted by the aadditive effect of the sound wave being in synch with its echo.

At the same time, frequencies between those that receive this boost are actually reduced by the subtractive effect of the echo not being in synch with the original sound wave.

By varying the different room dimension, these boosts and cuts occur at different frequencies in each direction, so there is no one frequency that is either boosted or cancelled to a great enough degree that would be objectional to the point that it would make the overall frequency response of the system and room (which together actually are a system) unlistenable, or (gasp!) correctable with an equalizer.

If you want to know more, check your library for books about acoustics.

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

Marc,

In answer to your initial question (what db to set your speakers on), the THX reference standard is to calibrate on 85db. Many home listeners find this too loud, however. The test tones on my favorite tool, the Avia DVD, are calibrated for 75db. I personally find 78db to be my preferred listening level, but your ears may vary :)

Depending on your goals, there may be multiple ways to connect your components. The simplest and most common way is to connect everything "into" the receiver and then connect the receiver's video output to the TV. The best bet is to consult your manuals.

I turned up a couple of references on the Web about room dimensions. The simplest rule to remember is that ideally none of the three dimentsions are equal. Beyond that I found this quote on optimal dimensions: "Although nothing is ever ideal, there are a few room dimension ratios that are better for listening rooms:

Height: Width: Length
1: 1.14: 1.39
1: 1.28: 1.54
1: 1.6: 2.33"

If you want a heckuva lot of detail, check out this reference. It is not light reading...

Finally, you might be interested in The Crutchfield Guide To Home Theater. There is some good speaker placement guidance beginning on page 19.

Hope this helps! -Bruce

This message was edited by Bruce Burson on 04/05/02 05:19.27.

I had many problems trying to find a good spot for my subwoofer and finally switched to an infinity. It was a bit pricey but when used with the RABOS system it tunes the sub for your particular room and sounds very nice.

http://www.dolby.com is also a good reference.