Warning Signs That Your Home Theater Sucks – Part 2
If you don’t know the warning signs, you might not know that your home theater system sucks. That’s okay, we are here to help. In our first article, we identified some of the problems with the room and how you experience dialogue. This time, we are more about the bass.
Uneven Bass
You’ve set up your system and are pretty sure you’ve followed all the “rules” (as laid out by Dolby and Reddit). But your bass is terribly uneven. Some bass notes are far too loud while others are basically non-existent. This isn’t the way it is supposed to sound!
The Fix
Chances are, you have a single subwoofer. If you haven’t set that single subwoofer up properly, it’s time to get crawling. Even if you have, a single subwoofer can’t really create even bass over multiple seats. It is time to get two. You’ll want to properly place them (no, not both at the front of the room). Also, you’ll want to add some bass traps (a type of acoustic panel).
Can’t “Hear” The Bass
Lots of time people think that bass is missing from their system. They are expecting more than they are getting. There can be lots of fixes, so let’s just skip to those.
The Fix
The most common problem is thinking that you don’t need a subwoofer. Often, when people upgrade to a capable subwoofer, they think that they’ve somehow lost bass. Even adding a second subwoofer can sound “quieter” than a single subwoofer. Each of the links above has solutions. Again, adding bass traps will help.
Your System Sounds Bad with Recommended Settings
One big warning sign that your home theater system sucks is when you have to disable (or enable) settings that should make your system sound better. If you read online that most people find that specific settings improve their sound (not using Pure Direct mode), and it makes your system sound worse, that’s a red flag. Room correction programs in particular should make your system sound better. If they don’t, or conversely, make it sound worse, something else is wrong.
The Fix
The most common fix is to double-check all your settings and configurations. Here are some links to help. Oh, and don’t forget to add some acoustic panels to your room. That’ll help as well.
- Audyssey Dynamic EQ On or Off – Which Sounds Best?
- Which Room Correction Program is the Best – Audyssey, YPAO, or Dirac?
- Audyssey Midrange Compensation Explanation and Settings
- Is Dirac Live Bass Control A Worthy Upgrade?
- Home Theater 101: Basic Speaker Setup Guide
- Proper Crossover Settings for Your Speakers: The Definitive Guide
- Speaker Overkill – How to Know You’ve Got Too Many
- Why Did I Upgrade My Speakers If They Weren’t Going to Sound Better?!?!?
- Curves of Equal Loudness – What Are They and Do I Want Them?
- Shhh…People are Sleeping! Dynamic Range Compression and Your Receiver
