Help, My Home Theater Speakers Don't Work

Speakers don't often break, really, they don't. But when they do you're sitting there hurting without the music. Fortunately speakers are pretty simple things, there just isn't much to them. As often as not  if you're not hearing the music it's another link in the audio chain that's causing the problem. Let's examine the flow of the audio and music in a typical home theater system first.

 

Banana plugs

1. We're going to assume that all the electronics are plugged in and receiving electricity. Right? Is your surge protector plugged in?
2. In most cases the example above where the cable, blu ray player and TV all feed into (and out of in the case of the TV) AV Receiver via an HDMI port. Check these first.
3. If any of your connections are via a RCA or Digital Optical Cable then you should check these next. 
4. After securing all the cables check the to be sure all your speaker cables are plugged in, and not touching each other. If you wear glasses, use them please. It's easy to miss one strand of speaker wire hitting an adjacent terminal and shorting out you sound. Using banana plugs helps eliminate this problem. 
5. If some of your speakers are working and others are not and the wires are correct then try swapping out the speaker from one side to the other to eliminate that it's the receiver that is malfunctioning. 
6. If the speaker sounds muffled, or tinny then one of the drivers might be out. Here's where it gets tricky. It's generally easy to replace a speaker in a cabinet but unless you purchase it from the manufacturer you risk having distinctly different sound from that speaker.

This all assumes that we're looking at an all wired system. If your surround sound speakers are wireless surrounds or you're feeding the audio or audio and video via bluetooth from a phone or tablet, you'll need to check that source as well.

I know the check list above sounds basic but you cannot imagine the number of times someone has called me and one of the above was the culprit. 

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Soundbar vs Sound base, which is better?

Sadly, not everyone has the money or space to have a more traditional 5.1 speaker system with surround receiver for their home theater setup. For that matter a lot of people likely don't care. Today you have choices of many ways to make your TV sound better.

Soundbar with sub and surround speakers

What is a soundbar or sound base?

Basically a soundbar is a powered speaker. In most cases they are 2.1 speaker systems, meaning they have a left and right channel with a possible external bass speaker. Therefore the 1 in the 2.1. Though they leave out the center channel speaker where dialog usually comes from they often do a decent job of faking out your ears by using electronics to hear the stereo in a broader pattern and the voices dead center.

What is the difference between a sound bar and a sound base?

Typical soundbar without subwoffer

A soundbar is simply a bar with 2 or 3 channels of speakers in it that sits either in front of or mounted on the wall under your TV. They sometimes will have a subwoofer wired or wireless to add bass. Most sound bars need the subwoofer to produce reasonable movie theater bass since they are relatively small.

A Sound base has a wider, deeper box that sits "under" your television. One advantage is that it allows for a much larger cavity for an integrated bass speaker, eliminating the need for a separate subwoofer. Sound base's were originally popularized by ZVox but are now made by just about everyone.

Take a trip to your local big box or warehouse store to listen to a few of the soundbars and sound bases. Newer models sound remarkably good for casual movie watching.

Typical Sound base

Features to look for:

• 2.1 meaning they have integrated bass
• 3.1 meaning they also have a center channel in addition to a bass speaker
• Dolby
• Surround (usually electornically produced so you don't need additional speakers)
• Bluetooth to hook up your phone

Pricing usually runs between $70 and $400 an up depending on brand and overall quality. Caution on spending more than $400 on an item like this, the returns are diminishing. Once you get above this price point I'd steer you toward a full 5.2 or 7.1 speaker system with a receiver for a much better surround experience. 

Which is better? 

This depends on your specific needs and taste. If your TV is wall mounted a sound bar will almost always be the better choice. If your TV sits on a piece of furniture and you don't want something sitting in front of the TV than a sound base is an excellent choice and will offer great bass without the hassle of finding a home for a subwoofer. 

Setting up Your New Home Theater System 2012

So the Christmas party is over and you're sitting there wondering how do I set up this home theater system I got? Well here is some advice to follow no matter what type of system you received.

Soundbars - This is an easy one. Most soundbars require little or no setup. You plug the soundbar in, hook up one cable from the Cable or Sat box and you're off to the races. If it came with a subwoofer you may want play with placement till you find the best sound. Placement will be partially determined depending on if you've got a wired or wireless subwoofer. Typically somewhere near the front of the soundstage (near your television) is the best placement but the back of the room could also work. 

HTIB - Home theater in a box systems are also relatively easy to set up. With blu-ray, amp and tuner in one box you simply hook up the speakers and your off. Need help with speaker placement, click here. Key is to keep the front speakers at a seated persons ear height for optimum listening experience. Follow similar advice on subwoofer placement. 

New home theater speakers - If you're hooking up new home theater speakers follow our easy to understand speaker placement guide here. Keep in mind that many high quality speakers will need some break in period to reach their optimum sound quality, 10-20 hours or so. Use a quality 14-16 gauge speaker wire. Fancy Monster Cable is not necessary but if it makes you feel better, have at it! 

Home Theater Speakers NOT to buy

These Jamo speakers (Jamo S 426 HCS 3 WENGE 5-Piece Home Theater System (Wenge) ) are currently on sale on Amazon for an astounding  $122.99, and with Prime free shipping it might strike you as an incredible deal. 

Indeed, a full home theater speaker package for under $130 minus a subwoofer. But are they really worth it? If you went simply by the 4.5 star reviews you'd likely jump at this deal. Everything from these are based on a  design by Klipsch but made in china, to they are smooth and punchy. 

The human brain is a wonderful device and left on it's own will deliver exactly what it users preconceptions will demand. If listened to on their own with an untrained ear (most folks are untrained) these might indeed sound just fine. But put them up against even speakers costing 3 times as much you'd notice a 10 fold difference. 

• The entire speaker package weighs in at 55 lbs. Given the price range that would mean really small, cheap magnets on these guys. Really small. 
• Cabinets. Again, the weight tells us these are practically made of cardboard. Why do you care? The sound will change over time as it interacts with the environment more so than even moderately more expensive units.
• Response. It is possible that Jamos tuned the port on these to deliver a 48Hz bass response, but don't expect that response to extend beyond that specific frequency.

But like I mentioned, the human brain is great at filling in the gaps, including magically extending the bass frequency beyond what is actually there. 

As for the design being from Klipsch? Well it could be that Jamos used an old Klipsch tool to create these but it is they clearly did not use the same materials and components. 

So this is a long way of saying that if you're in a real financial bind and need a really cheap home theater speaker system, you could always get this. Just realize that your brain is the only reason these might sound acceptable. And by all means, stay away from watching movies or listening to music at a friends, you'll only go home depressed.

Better Home Theater Speaker Choices, Both with Subwoofers.





Klipsch for under $350

Boston Acoustics Horizon Series MCS100MDNT 5.1-Channel Speaker System (Black)

Flat Panel Speakers

There are some advantages to having flat panel TV speakers mounted on the wall next to your TV or at least standing next to the TV on suitable stands. There are many options these days.

Affordable Flat Panel Speakers
Klipsch, known for high quality speakers makes the Quintet SL Flat Panel Speaker set up for home theater. It is a 5.0 system with matched Left, Center and Right speakers and two smaller satellites. The bass-reflex LCR's come with 2- 3.5" aluminum drivers front-firing ports to assist in boosting the bass, but this means you cannot mount them on the wall. Like most Klipsch speakers they come with a loaded horn for highs. At only 5.6 inches deep it means they will look great next to even relatively thin TV's.

Moderately Priced Flat Panel Speakers
Boston Acoustics makes some really nice Front-ported speaker that come in both black and silver. Each 3-way speaker has 3 4.5 inch drivers, two woofers and one midrange. With thier aluminum dome tweeter, 5 way binding posts and high quality build these will nicely complement any flat panel TV. Only 4-3/4 inches deep and capable of up to 150 watts these will sound great paired with a nice 100-300 watt subwoofer. $399 each.

The Perfect Flat Panel TV Speakers?

Definitive Techonlogies recently announced their Mythos XTR-50 wall mount Flat Panel Speakers. At 1.5" thick they truly are flat panel worthy. From the Definitive site.

"The Definitive Mythos XTR-50 is the first high performance on-wall speaker whose depth matches that of today’s ultra-thin TVs. It is a mere 1.5 inches deep when mounted on a wall, shallower than many ultra-thin TVs when they are wall-mounted with their factory sanctioned mounting hardware. Beyond its utility and clean modern styling the XTR-50 stands out due to its uncompromising sound quality equivalent to full-size speakers.Definitive’s engineers have unleashed their awesome creativity and brain power to develop this revolutionary speaker that has the high definition detail and dynamic range performance of large speakers yet is a mere 1.5” deep. No other speaker complements your ultra-slim television with more style, versatility and sheer performance."

So the question would be, how did they do this? Well Definitive explains the XTR50 in the following video.

Problems with the Mythos XTR-50 speaker
One important note is that this speaker while thin will likely require a subwoofer to sound good in a home theater. Not that this should be a big issue unless you do not have space for one.

Another issues is that this speaker is REALLY thin. Most current and older flat panel TV's are thicker than this speaker and that is without the TV's mount.  You do not want to position your speaker on a wall next to your TV where the depth of the TV might block the sound to a listener off axis from the speaker.

Other than that this looks like an exciting speaker and we look forward to some reviews. At $699 ea they are not cheap but they certainly are slim.

You can purchase this speaker here. Want more on flat panel speakers. This site has just started out. Flat Panel Speakers.

Best Home Theater Speakers

CNet recently released it's best Home Theater speaker report. It is a curious list since it can only be a list of the 10 best home theater speakers that the reviewer listened to. Of course you say, what else can he do? True enough. To the reviewers credit 4 of the systems were from Aperion and Fluance, both online only brands. There were also systmes form Energy, 3 systems from KEF and 1 from Mirage, Cerwin-Vega and Boston Acoustics. Of these companies Aperion makes excellent speakers that are a bit pricey but sound great. Definitive is a mass market brand whose plasticy finish I don't particularly care for. Fluance is a true bargain brand but you should consider the quality of the drivers, density and structural integrity of the cabinets. The Mirage MX 5.1 is another mass market brand that is likely overpriced at $999. The Energy and Boston Acoustics are likely the best value in the bunch.

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