How to Fix Sound Quality on a Home Theater System

Authored by: Support.com Tech Pro Team

1. Introduction

In certain cases, some users will experience their system not sounding "right." This could be due to an issue with improper or loose cabling, or receiver settings. Most A/V Receivers don’t have any idea if there are speakers connected to various inputs or what kind of speakers they actually are. These steps will take you through some things you can check to resolve issues with speaker output.

2. Check the Media Being Played

Whether it be television programming, a movie, or an audio recording that you're enjoying, ensuring that the type of media you're consuming on your system is capable of outputting the type of audio that you're expecting is important. This will vary depending on the type of media you're watching and where you're getting it from.

Sometimes the issues you may be experiencing with your home theater system have nothing to do with your equipment or the settings that are being used. You may not be hearing surround sound if the programming you're watching is not capable of surround sound output. You also might hear static or feedback on certain media that may have been poorly mixed or recorded.

• Most, but not all post-1980 films are available in at least 5.1 surround sound. That being said, if you're watching a movie through your cable or satellite TV provider's equipment, you may need to contact your provider to help specifically set your box to output surround sound where available. Many of these boxes will only output stereo sound despite certain programming being available in 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound audio formats.
  

• The majority of DVD and Blu-ray movies will display what audio formats are available for playback on the rear of their packaging.
  

• Most all music and talk shows will primarily only be available for playback in stereo audio.
  

• Certain TV shows or movies may produce feedback, hissing, static, etc. This may not be your system at all. This may simply be poorly recorded or mixed audio on a TV show or movie that you're watching. Higher-quality speakers can uncover flaws within audio that you may not have noticed before. Always try multiple audio sources before deciding that your system is to blame.
  

3. Adjust the Volume or Boost Levels of Speakers

The easiest way to fix your sound experience is just to adjust the volume.

• Rear speakers are often used to set ambiance. The sound coming from them may be subtle and soft and used to set the mood.
• The sound from your speakers may not be very obvious and you may need to turn the volume up very high to hear it.
• Certain speakers may be used for ambient noises and they can be drowned out by the other speaker volumes that are higher.

You can boost your dB on your speakers to make them louder. Or reduce it to make it softer if the audio feels distorted.

• If they are being drowned out or are low compared to other speakers, boosting them to a higher level for the room might make the most sense.
• This can be done in the receiver's speaker settings.
  

Make sure you're using an audio mode that does not distort the sound. Modes that typically work well with audio are Stereo and Dolby. You may be able to change your mode by using your remote and selecting your desired sound method.

4. Keep Obstructions Away from the Speaker

An obvious but often overlooked reason sound can be muffled is because there’s something in the way. Anything from HVAC ducts to couches can affect the sound of your home theater.

When setting up your speakers, make sure there’s nothing obstructing them. This means having no large objects between you and the speakers, as this can help to absorb the sound waves. While obstructions won’t lead to drastic muffling, it can compromise the clarity of those expensive speakers.

5. Adjust Equalizer Settings for Personal Listening

Digital equalizer settings can be found on anything that produces sound now a days. While they come with presets like "rock", "hip hop", and "movie", you can adjust each EQ setting on its own. Equalizer settings you may be familiar with are bass and treble.

Equalizer settings can help you smooth out your audio. With careful tuning and testing you can adjust the settings so the music in your ears sounds like magic.

Try adjusting your EQ settings by lowering the level of a frequency, rather than increasing others. You'll find even small adjustments can make huge changes to the way your system sounds.

6. What Are Ground Loops, Wires, and RF-Interference

What is a Ground LoopA ground loop in home theater equipment occurs when one or more pieces of equipment are plugged into your power at different locations, then connected together by electrical signal cables (RCA, HDMI, composite, component) whose shielding is connected to ground.

This creates a single-loop antenna that just loves to use electromagnetic induction to suck in various types of noise and make annoying sounds.

Anything that breaks the loop will remove the noise. The easiest way to do this is to plug all of your equipment into a single power strip and then plug that strip into the wall.

How Can Wires Cause Issues

While modern cables and wires are well shielded, running power cables next to audio will cause unpleasant interference.

A poorly made or old cable can also cause issues.

RF-Interference

Cell phones, WiFi equipment, and computers all can cause radio frequency interference with your home theater System.

7. Review the Home Theater Receiver Cabling

Before moving your equipment or checking any cabling, make absolutely sure that your A/V Receiver and any other components that are currently on are fully powered off.

If after making sure your sound settings are correct, you're still experiencing issues then we want to make absolutely sure that all cabling on the rear of your A/V receiver is connected properly.

1. While checking your speaker wires, make sure none of them are damaged, crimped, or frayed.
2. Speaker wires can be inserted into receivers in a few different manners. Making sure that the bare wires of each speaker cable are making good contact with the binding posts, poles or ports and has not come loose is very important.
3. If your A/V receiver uses binding posts or poles, ensure that the speaker wires did not slide out or come loose while tightening things down or moving the receiver in place.
   

1. If your A/V receiver uses spring-loaded clips, ensure that the bare wire is inserted fully and making good contact with each port. This type of connection can be prone to coming loose if wires are pulled on.
   

1. Some speaker wire is not color-coded for positive and negative, and may have text labels or only a line to indicate positive from negative. Ensure that positive and negative ends are connected properly at both the receiver and each speaker.
   

1. Aside from speakers, ensure that all other connections in the rear of the receiver are firmly and fully connected where they should be.
   

1. Make sure you're using high grade digital cables. Avoid using older RCA cables and instead use HDMI, SPDIF or Toslink.
   HDMI Cable

1. HDMI Port

8. If Home Theater Sound Still Isn't Right

If after checking everything and adjusting settings you still have no sound on your home entertainment system