5 Ways We Can Improve Audio in Your Custom Home Theater
Are you constantly adjusting the volume during movies to hear dialogue over booming action scenes? This is a common frustration for living room or home theater setups that rely on built-in TV speakers and even soundbars.
There’s no getting around it: the key to a well-balanced audio experience is a dedicated surround sound system. A professional, custom home theater will guarantee immersive, clear sound, just like you’re at the movie theater.
If you’re tired of endlessly reaching for the remote and volume buttons, here are five audio tips we share with our customers in Denton County, TX.
SEE ALSO: How to Deal with Ambient Light in Your Home Theater
1. Upgrade to a 3.1 or 5.1 Surround Sound System
There’s no way to make basic TV speakers or a soundbar ‘immersive.’ You need to be truly surrounded to actually feel like you’re in the middle of emotional or action-packed scenes.
If you’re looking to build a home theater room, do not skip the surround sound setup. Adding a dedicated center channel speaker will make a noticeable difference in dialogue clarity and overall balance.
2. Optimize the Center Channel Volume
Now that you have more speakers, sometimes they still need a little tweaking to achieve optimal results.
In a multi-speaker system, most dialogue comes through the center channel. Increasing its volume compared to other speakers can make dialogue easier to hear without making action scenes too loud.
3. Enable “Night Mode” or Dynamic Range Compression
Many receivers include a “night mode” or dynamic range compression, which reduces the volume gap between soft and loud sounds. This way, dialogue is clearer without sudden audio spikes during intense scenes.
4. Calibrate Speaker Levels
Using a sound pressure level (SPL) meter, we calibrate each speaker to achieve even sound across all channels. This step helps ensure no one speaker overpowers the others, which can disrupt the audio experience.
5. Experiment with Speaker Placement
Properly positioning the center speaker, in particular, can improve dialogue intelligibility. Even a small adjustment can make voices sound clearer.
Let the Professionals Help
For a theater-quality experience, investing in a custom surround sound system is the best way to ensure balanced audio without interruptions. Ready to stop fiddling with the volume? Contact DB Media Solutions today!