Some people ask:

“What are the best practices for integrating an av receiver, projector, projection screen, speakers, and speaker cables together to create an awesome home theater system?”

The idea of whether or not to install your surround sound audio system yourself has come to your mind and maybe against all professional advice it has landed on deaf ears, or perhaps you have stubbornly decided to address this DIY home installation project by yourself.

Maybe, you still didn’t decide whether it would be the surround sound system, or if you will eventually go ahead and get the entire home theater setup since, at that point, installing the projector and the projection screen would be just a few more steps away.

This post is about how a surround sound system is integrated with the additional equipment to create a home theater system that delivers the same performance as if a professional installation company installed it. So, you can evaluate all your options and define what is best for you.

– We do not advise it but proceed at your discretion.

Before we get into this, let me say. Good for you! You go superhero! 

Now superhero, look for a cape and explore your sizzling home atticand finds out that your attic looks more like an alien planet.

That is an alien planet that has not been visited by any civilization. But instead, it has been colonized by an army of rats, raccoons, and other pests, plus you may be wondering what’s going on with all the structured cablingthat you do not even know what those cablesdo. Still, you think you will figure everything out.

Is it hard to DIY a surround sound audio system?

The horrible pictureof the lower part of your body hanging from the ceiling crosses your mind, and you may realize that it is going to take a lot more than you initiallythoughtto install the home audio system properly.

You re-evaluate the ideaof hiring a professional installerbut still push ahead and tell yourself this is not rocket science. Anyone can do it…! 

It is just cables, an audio and video receiver, a projector, a projection screen, some speakers, and a subwoofer, and better yet, you have time. 

Plus, you used to be the one in charge of the AM and FM radioback in the old days when you lived with your parents 30 years ago, and you always knew what to do.

After all, it is your house,and you have nothing else to doand can not pass on saving some moneyand looking like a technicianin front of all the family and friends.

Even though deep inside you already know your wife is already calling her girlfriends sharing with all of them her frustrations and accusing you that you never listen to her and you alwaysleave the house projects unfinished.

This surround sound installation projectis going to be one of those that will be added to the “incomplete section of the to-do list.” 

An installer can integrate everything for You

Where to start this home theater projectclouds your mind. 

Then once again,a second thoughtabout the idea of maybe the smart decision is to reconsider all thehard work needed.

Not having all the toolsnecessary to get it done right, not knowing all the technical aspectsto evaluate when installing the speakers and the receiver

Maybe then you search online for reliable and professional home theater installation serviceby a reputable companythat installs your speakers, projector, projection screen, speaker cabling, and audio-video receiver. 

Then at that moment, you realize that the sales guy at the home theater storepossibly made you purchase a home theater audio systemthat may be too advanced, technologically speaking, than what you initially thought. It may be an impossible task to install it.

Do it yourself

We adviseeveryone to hire a professional home theater installation companysince there is no comparison between an installation done professionallyvs. one done poorlyby someone withoutany technicalbackgroundor hard labor experience remodeling, modifying,or repairingthings without the direct assistanceof expert professionals. However, if you decide you would like to give it try please at least read these useful DYI tips.

Protect the furniture

Then you finally make up your mind and decide you can do it. You start by actually pre-ing the work area to protect your furniturefrom any accidents and moving all the heavy furnitureout of the way before beginning the actual installation process.

Read the user’s manual

Then you open the user’smanual for more specific cluesthat likely came along with the home theater audio systemyou purchased.

Two hundred pages and one hour later, after trying to read the instructionsin Spanish, French, Japanese, Portuguese, and Korean, you finally land on the pages that are in English.

Speaker installation

Place the speakers correctly

We highly advise when installing an audio system that nothing at all is going to work if the folks sitting in the roomdo not get that immersive feeling a soundsystemdelivers by locating the speakers correctly, which varies depending on the room layout.

Parts of a speaker

It is essential to understand the components of a speaker since it helps to demonstratehow speaker specificationscompare to each other. 

A complete understanding of how a speaker is built internallyprovides enhanced knowledgethat can be visualized to depict what counts on different types of speakers for the layout.

Install the speaker cables inside the wall

After several hours stuck in the atticbreathing in all that fiberglass insulationand asking yourself

“Am I scratching more than my pooch since the fiberglass is all over my neck, arms, and even places darker than a bad conscience?.” 

You manage to install the speaker cablesinside the wall without breaking a water pipe, burning the house, or cutting the Romex cables (power cables) and or the alarm cables for the alarm system, killing your pooch, and now are ready to connectthe audio and video receiver. 

But wait, there’s more! Howin the world do I align and install my in-ceiling or in-wall speakers?You ask yourself.

Invisible speakers installation

Invisible speakers are becoming the next trend in surround sound audio installations all over the United States. 

These beauties are defying the high-quality soundof regular high-end speakers. 

Aestheticallythese devices have no comparison. 

They are wirelessandinvisible to eyesight when installed. 

Along with the invisible speakers,you will need a subwooferand amplifier,which are designed to optimize the output of every speaker and upgrade your audio experience.

This is because digital sound processinghas been remastered in several ways to cause a large formation of materials like drywall, concrete walls, glass, metal, wooden,and carpeted flooringto get the highest performance.

In-wall and on-wall speaker installation

You proceed to make several more trips to the attic, then you realize the speakers need to be perfectly aligned, andsymmetryis essential for optimal audio performance. 

You start bymeasuring theroomand thencontinue bymeasuring the ceilingfrom some reference points that you think may work. 

Then, after a little prayer.

You end up with a ceiling that now has a few extra speaker holes like swiss cheese as you tell yourself, “Everything is okay because the speakers are installed.”

Then, as you soon realized, you are now going to have to call a painter who is going to fix the holes, re-texture, and repaint the entire ceiling).

Now you finally move to connect the audio and video receiverwhile you clean all that drywall dustand insulationfrom your eyes.

Calibrate the speakers

Calibrating the speakersis a mundane step but a crucial stepthat is relatively common to forget. 

Most receivers nowadays allow you to go to the calibration settingsby merely going to the main menu.

While in the main menu,you should find an auto-setup audio system optionthat should allow you to follow a few short steps to fully calibrate your sound systembased on the layout of the roomand the distance between all the speakers and the listener. 

The automated system will request you to connectto the audio receiver the microphonewith its long cord.

Once that microphoneis connected to the receiver, the receiver will prompt you to enter the speaker sizeso the proper wattage outputcan be assigned to the calibration mode. 

Once that is entered, the receiver will start measuringhow far away is every single speaker based on where theperson in the room is.

Also, the calibration systemwill assign a crossover valuethat mostly depends on the ability of your speakers to produce bass.

When the distance, size, and crossover settings are set up, then the receiver will balance the volume level relative to your seating position to ensure that each speaker has the proper levelregardless of how close or far away the speakers are located.

Still, confused and have not calibratedyour AVR? We posted aDIY speaker calibration video on Youtubeto assist those that needed help calibrating the audio receiver with some step-by-step visual directions.

AV receiver installation

Placement of The AV receiver

You may start by placing the audio and video receiver in the entertainment center or the AV rack. 

Then you realize that somehow now you need to run the oxygen-free speaker cablesinside the wall.

The back of the AV receiver

You start by quickly visually inspecting the back of the audio-video receiver. You tell yourself, “what happened to the IN input and OUT output.” 

You proceed by wondering,

 “What’swith RS232, ARC, HDMI, Assignable, Monitor, and all these colorful RCA ports?” 

then you say, 

“Where are my connections for my white, red, and yellow cables?” 

“Was I supposed to run an internet line to this receiver? 

should I call my internet service provider since this needs to be connected to the internet?”

Where do I connect the speakers?

Then you try toconnect your speaker cables to the speaker ports,but you are not sure which wire goes whereand why you have more speaker posts than the number ofspeaker lines.

5.1 surround sound receiver?

Once you have the amplifierconnected, you begin comparing the speakers.

If you went with the standard 5.1 home theater stereo system,the receiver should have six-speakerportsconsisting of 2 front speakers, tworear speakers, onecenter speaker, and onesubwoofer.

Positioning 5.1 speaker system

A 5.1 receiveris a decent entry-level audio receiver.

You begin searching for all the guidelinesfor the positioning of the sixspeakersfor a 5.1 sound system, as well as possibly those instructionsto expand the secondary zonelater.

The space between the rear and front speakers?

It is crucial to keep in mindthat with a 5.1 AV receiver, you want to have enough separation between the rear speakersas well as the front speakersto let the audio wavesexpand. 

And rememberthat the front speakers go where the screenis and the rear speakers or surround speakers go in the back of the room.

7.1 audio system?

If the receiver you bought allows you to install an additional speaker and you are at that point. Think about upgrading from a 5.1 to a 7.1 surround sound systemor maybe use the audio and video receiver as a 5.1.2 Atmos system.

If you decide to go for a 7.1 audio system,then you will need to additionally installthe twomiddle speakers in the middle of the roomto obtain that extra layer of audiodelivered by those to additional channels of audio.

Zone 2?

Guess what! Maybe the salesperson at the home theater storesold you a receiver that had an additional zone.

And since you mentioned, you might add an extra audio zonewhen where you are done mastering and installing your home audio system.

And he could not pass the extra commissionand receive a pat on the back from the store managerby up-selling you the most expensive receiver in the store.

AVR with all the whistles?

Mainly since you are a rookie, you thought you were saving money by installing it yourselfand especially since this is your very first audio system.

You went ahead and purchased a super-advanced AV receiver that comes with Atmos and Bluetooth capabilities, WiFi, online apps to connect to Spotify, Pandora, and XM Internet radioplus all the whistles.

The audio and video receiver comes with several ports

Then you realize that theAVRhas a lot of ports! Yes, a lot!And now wonder if you are using the correct slots.

Fortunately, a lot of devices have the ‘slots’ properly taggeddepending on the different functions they provide.

TV installed on the wall or projection system?

The positioning of the speakersis crucial and depends on the room layout. Then, combining the audio system with a video system to create a media room system requires tipsthat we encourage you also to learn if that’s yourcase.

Placement of the projection screenand the projectoris prominent when installing an audio system and applicable if the sound system will be integrated with a video system. 

Do not know what a video system is? An entry-level installation of a video system can be a projection screen with a projector or television.

These are not complex installations. You will be blown away by the number of people who do not knowif they want to have their sound system integratedwith a TV installation using a low-profile TV mountor a projector screen with a projector.

Audio system with a TV installation

If the audio system is installed and a flat-screen televisionwill be used as a video display, we highly recommend you hire your local av companyto get the TV installation professionally done.

A professional TV installation company can ensure the TV is safely mounted on the wallregardless of the type of surface or if the TV mount necessary for your custom installation is a tilting, articulatingmotorized mount,or even a MantleMount.

Audio system paired with a projector and a projection screen

If you decide to install your audio systemand also add a projectorand a projection screen,then we also highly recommend that you hirea local av companyto get the home theater installationprofessionally and successfully done.

A professional company specializing in home theater installationscan ensure the audio systemand the projector and projection screenare professionally integrated to create a home theater systemthat is fully compatible and performs as it was designed to deliver.

Spending money on an audio system

If you are making the investment in an audio systemand then think a DIYsurround sound audio system is for you and a DIY project for the weekendis suitable for you. 

Then, at least follow the basic principles that common sense dictates:

• Put in the time to read the user’s manual
• Protect yourfurniture 
• Placethe speakers correctly
• Installthe speaker cables inside the wall, 
• Learn how to connect the av componentsthat need to be connected to the audio and video receiver
• Understand the fundamental differences between a 5.1 or 7.1 system
• Evaluate if you would like to integrate a video systemwith your audio system
• Try to spend the money wiselyto get your money’s worth from your investment.
• Now you can kick back, relax, and appreciate your brand-new surround sound system.