Basic Setup Questions (Home Theatre)

[Hugh Cowan]

Hello,

I have two basic questions with regard to setting up my Home Theatre. I recently purchased a Ken Wood home theatre-in-a-box (HTIB??).

I have a 32" Sony Wega / Vega??? TV that I will be connecting to using Component video cables. I am hooking it up in our bedroom (that is the only place that there is space). I know that it's not the optimal place, but it's the best we can do.

I am not trying to setup the *best* home theatre ever -- as I know that I don't have the best components out there to start with. Nor am I trying to achieve perfection, rather I just want to get the most out of what I have!!

The Home Theatre did not come with any speaker mounts or stands. I have noticed before that the speakers tend to be angled down towards to listener so I went looking at wall speaker mounts.

I found some but they seem to be very expensive (in my opinion). They cost on average about $50 (cdn) for both rear speakers and $100 (cdn) for the front two.

Is it worth getting speaker mounts for angling the speakers? Or is there another, less expensive approach to achieve similar results?

My second question is in regards to using those calibration DVDs. The ones that help you fine tune your Video and Audio for your Home Theatre. Are they good? Do you recommend using them -- again, they run for about $50 (cdn). If so, is there any single one that stands out above the rest, or do they all pretty much do the same thing?

Thanks so much for your help!

Hugh,

 

[Shinerman]

Wall brakets for speakers do tend to be a bit pricey. But, you also don't want to skimp to much if you have heavy speakers. I am guessing the Kenwood speakers that came with the HTIB are not real heavy so most brackets will work fine. You might look online at places like Partsexpress.com. They probably have some cheaper models. Also, as long as the mounts are solid and don't have any vibrating parts, just about anything will work. Get creative. I have seen people build little wall mounted shelves out of wood, steel, plastic, etc. Look at some hobby stores. They tend to sell decorative shelves and sconces (sp?) that would work fine. Aiming the speakers down directly at you can be important with some speakers but I would not worry to much about it.

Any of the calibration disks out there should be fine for your purposes. However, you will also need a SPL meter to calibrate the sound. About $30 to $40 at Radio Shack. In a bedroom system I am not so sure it would be worth the money. But that's up to you. It will improve your sound but is it cost effective for you?

Shinerman.

 

[zipper]

Another,very inexpensive method is,providing the speakers have slots in their backs for them,is to just get some long wood screws or sheetrock screws & just mount them in a stud in the wall & hang the speakers off them.If you leave enough of the screw exposed,you can slide the speaker out to the end of it & it will be angled down.As Shinerman said,this is provided that the speakers are not real heavy,& I'm betting they're not,& you're not too particular of the aesthetics. This is not what I would do with a pricey speaker AT ALL,but I have done it with cheapies & it worked fine.Wasn't enough juice to worry about vibration or anything along those lines.Temp solution anyway.

Of course,if the slots are right in the middle of the rear of the speaker,not near the top,it won't work as the speaker will not brace itself against the wall.