3 Things to Avoid

Picking your gear is only the first step in building a custom home theater. After your shopping spree, you have to set it all up in your home—and that’s where many people mess up. Setting up a home theater requires some knowledge of electronics and acoustics, and often, a bit of common sense. Some people find it practical to spend some extra dollars on professional home theater installation. If you’re the DIY type, however, make sure you know your stuff before giving it a try. Here are three common mistakes to look out for when installing home theater systems.

1. Open rooms. Doors and windows will let in all the sound and glare from the outdoors, which is both distracting and annoying. If there are no windowless rooms in the house, pick the one with the smallest windows or the one that’s farthest from the road. Install a few blackout drapes or boards to cover up the windows.

2. Bad speaker positioning. Each speaker in a custom home theater plays a distinct tone, and bad placement can make your audio sound cheap. There should be home theater instructions in your user manual. If there’s none, just follow the basics: center channel by the TV, front, left and right speakers on the sides, and surround speakers evenly along the walls.

3. Faulty wiring. You may think they’re just wires, but the effects of bad wiring can range from low sound quality to serious electrical hazards. If you have the budget, go for a wireless custom home theater—it’s much easier to set up, and it gets rid of the dust and clutter.