Common Home Theater Problems

One of the most common problems with a new home theater is the sound. The sound seems to be something that is very important to most people in regards to their home theater system. Most people would agree that the sound quality in a home theater is almost as important if not just as important as the video quality. If your home theater has the right sound, it could bring a movie right into your living room. If the sound quality is poor, it will remind you of watching black and white movies on your grandparents old console TV.

There are many problems that can arise with the sound quality of your home theater. The following is not a troubleshooting guide, but more of a collection of tips on how to handle some sound quality problems. Some can be fixed with just minor adjustments of wiring or placement of speakers, but others may require a full replacement of certain components.

Your first thought when your sound seems bad is that your speakers are bad. But before you rush out to the nearest electronics store and deplete your checking account, check these possible faults. The problem may not be in the speakers, but in the amp or the speaker wiring or connections. The first step would be to confirm that the speakers are properly connected at both ends.

If the connections are correct, the next step is to determine if the problem lies in the speaker or the amplifier. Some of the less expensive home theater systems come with low end amps that tend to have more problems. People that have these systems in larger rooms tend to notice the problems faster because they are trying to push too much sound through the little amp and it causes more problems. To determine if it is the amplifier, hook up your speakers to your stereo. Stereos tend to have a more powerful amplifier and the speaker quality will likely improve. If the speaker quality does not improve, then it is likely your speakers at fault.

Bad or old speaker wire or poor cabling could be a culprit to bad sound quality. Cheap quality cables are often included in home theater packages and can greatly reduce the sound quality in your system. This can be corrected by going to any electronics store and purchasing a higher quality speaker wire and ensuring that the corrections are made correctly.

When you first experience sound quality problems with your home theater system, it is best to first check all of your connections. The connections and wiring are generally easier to check and cheaper to replace than a component itself. By ensuring that everything is connected properly and your amp has sufficient power, along with using high quality speaker wiring, you should have no problems getting the sound quality that you desire. Taking these simple precautions could result in much less headache in the end. Before you rush out and buy a new system, use these suggestions to make sure that your problem is really a problem and not just a misunderstanding.