It has all happened before at home: watching TV shows with dialogues we can’t understand, hearing too much bass it comes across as just noise, and getting muddled up sounds that turn our experience into something not very entertaining. It turns out that no matter how elaborate (read: expensive!) your sound system at home is, the culprit behind messed up acoustics from your television might have to do with how you set up your own space.
This can only mean that even moderately priced speakers could sound great in a room with well thought-out acoustics and even top of the line speakers could sound messed up in a room with poor acoustics. Lucky for us, the solution, for the most part, could be a little reorganizing.
Here are a few tips on how to set up your home audio systems and your space to achieve maximum sound quality without shelling out too much.
#1 Evaluate and improve your room’s acoustics
Muddied sound is often an end result of having too much sonic “reflections” in your space. The presence of wood, tiles, mirrors, and glass in a room could contribute a lot to this. You’d want to control these reflections as much you can, as they tend to distort the quality of sound. But don’t worry. You don’t have to smash windows or remove your tiles for this. Sound absorbing materials like curtains, books, frames, and rugs naturally disperse sound into all directions of the room. This helps achieve optimum distribution, as sound bounces off well on those pieces. So if you have a tiled floor, simply place a rug or carpet over it. If there are tons of windows, throw shade at them and use curtains.
#2 Be mindful of where you sit
No, you don’t have to sit near the television set to get better acoustics and neither should you sit too far. The secret is in knowing exactly where to place your couch. There’s a little math to it. The setup should be the diagonal length of the television set (in feet) multiplied by two equals the ideal distance from the television set (in feet). So let’s say you have a 60” plasma TV with a diagonal length of 5 feet: 5 feet x 2 = 10 feet, which is the ideal television-to-couch distance. (Use this calculator to do the math for you) Also, make sure to leave at least one feet of distance between your main seating couch from the rear wall to avoid sound distortion. And lastly, make sure nothing comes in between your ears and the sound system—like a stack of magazines or décor—to maintain audio quality.
#3 A soundbar is the way to go
A full-surround sound system helps a lot, for sure. But they take up too much and might cost an arm and leg. A practical way to go about this, especially if you have a smaller space, is with the use of a soundbar placed dead center under your television set. A soundbar is an easily mountable and wide loudspeaker that creates good stereo effect. It’s a quick upgrade for your TV speakers when watching sports, movies, or concerts at home sans the messy cable setup. And if the television isn’t in use, they doubles as speakers for music, too.
#4 Make sound more exciting with subwoofers
To complete the overall experience with great quality sound, use subwoofers to give even, low-pitched tones a full, round effect. We’re taking about the bass from a concert you’re watching or even the thud of a loud explosion from a movie—yeah, it’s as if you’re there! Even low-frequency bass can be heard better to let you in on the music better and explosions sound more real with subwoofers. Place one or two beside the main listening couch, or perhaps move them around the room to match your hearing preferences, whether you’re gearing towards loud and crazy surround sound or for something more subtle and gentle.
Courtesy of SGNL by Sony
Art by Dorothy Guya