Back To The Family Handyman
From 
Del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon
TwitThis
About This Project
The very best home theaters are in rooms designed and built just for that purpose. But bringing home theater to your house doesn’t have to call for major remodeling or a huge expense. You can adapt a family room, an extra bedroom or just about any other room for a perfectly fine home theater system that your family will love. The key is to know the factors that make a room more or less suitable. This article will help you choose a room and furnish it for optimal sound and viewing. We won’t, however, cover home theater technology or equipment. Visit an electronics store for a review of the many choices that will best fit your room.
What’s So Great About Home Theater?
A bigger screen is nice, but it’s the
sound that really makes home theater shine. Unlike a standard TV, which provides sound through a built-in speaker or two, a
home theater system has several speakers (usually six) placed around the room. The system divides the soundtrack and sends
different sounds to different speakers. So when James Bond is flirting with his latest girlfriend, the voices seem to come
straight from the screen. When the bad guys open fire from the right, you hear it from the right. When a helicopter zooms
over, you might duck as the roar seems to pass right over you and the subwoofer shakes the room. And this isn’t just for 007
wannabes. A simple conversation in a restaurant is more realistic as you hear the clink of silverware and the sound of waiters
rushing all around you.
Choose a Room for Optimal Sound
Don’t dismiss home theater if you
don’t have a perfect room. Simple alterations help make up for shortcomings, and almost any room can become a good home
theater. For the best sound and viewing, however, choose a room with these characteristics:
An enclosed room. Four walls and a door form the best home theater room. An enclosed room lets you nudge up the volume without disturbing others and limits the area that has to be filled with sound, so you’ll get a more powerful effect from your system. Blocking out light and getting speakers in the right place is easier too.
Furnish a home theater room with sound-absorbing materials. Locate seating so the screen-to-eye distance is about three times the screen size. Side and rear speakers sound best when positioned at ear level when you’re seated.
A rectangular room shape. Shape influences how sound bounces around the room. Perfectly square rooms or rooms that are twice as long as they are wide can create muddy sound patterns. The perfect room is about 1-1/2 times as long as it is wide, with the screen and front speakers placed against one of the short walls.
Advertisement 
