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of devices from a variety of manufacturers, so little setup is required just unwrap and zap. They're also useful as replacements for lost remotes. But they become outdated as soon as new gear hits the market ($20 and up).

Chapter 3 - Connecting it all together !

Use the Manual. Everyone knows real men don't use manuals, but a lot of real men don't even realize they have incorrectly configured wiring and compromised performance. Use wiring diagrams and take the recommendations in your manuals seriously. The manufacturer can tell you how to obtain the best performance from their products.

The idea is to make your home theater feel as much like the real thing as possible. The display should be front and center, not off to the side so people have to strain their necks, and at eye level. Filmmakers typically play to the center seat 10 rows back; at home, that translates to about three times the diagonal dimension of the screen for traditional TVs and one-and-a-half times for HDTV images. Speakers sound better when they're on stands or mounted on the wall rather than set atop bookshelves or cabinets. The three front speakers should form a line with the TV, parallel to the seating area; the two rear speakers should be positioned opposite each other on either side of the listeners, slightly above ear level. It matters less where the subwoofer is placed, but for the best rumbling effect, put it on the floor behind the seating area or against a wall.

When stacking your gear, make sure there's at least 8 inches between the back of the components and the wall or rear of the cabinet to allow for easy installation, servicing, and ventilation. Receivers generate the most heat, so they need to go on top of the stack or on their own shelf with at least 2 inches of headroom and a clear path for heat to escape.

Avoid bundling wires and cables or placing them near power cords; both practices will increase interference and diminish signal quality. And keep them as short as possible (but never coil them up with a twist-tie). Before you trim speaker wires down to their final length, test the equipment to make sure everything looks and sounds great.

All-in-One Systems

If acquiring all of the components individually seems like too much of a hassle, you can always keep it simple and pick up a home-theater-in-a-box ($300-$3,000). In one budget-friendly package, you'll get almost everything you need for a basic setup an integrated receiver/DVD player, a complete set of speakers including a subwoofer, even the wires to connect everything. (You provide the TV.) Besides being extremely easy to install just unpack and plug in all-in-one systems eliminate the need to figure out whether components from different manufacturers will be compatible.

One caveat: You'll have limited upgradeability. Depending on how integrated the system is, you might have to throw everything out just to get a better DVD player.

Enjoooy !

Learn more about this author, Max Allan.
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