Home Theater Room Design.
Setup and Optimization.

Are certain room shapes better than others for sound and home theater? Certainly. The more unsymmetrical the room, the better. A room which is a square box is not desirable! The sound level would peak and fall at different places around the room. That is not good. You want full rich sound throughout the room. At the bottom of the page are the links to home theater room design guidelines and tools to optimize your home theater experience. Their content isn't yet completed. Check back often for new and informative guides.

An optimal room would have no two walls which are the same. However, I judge most people will be setting their system up in a rectangular room which will have a "sweet-spot" of sound in one region. This is ok. When obstacles such as sofas, chairs, pillows, coffee tables, carpeting, curtains, wall hangings are introduced, sound waves are absorbed and the "sweet-spot" usually grows bigger. These items act to "smooth" the sound and keep it from becoming overly harsh. We've all been in empty rooms before. Remember how the sound is different from a room filled with furniture?

There is a point when the room is too "padded" with sound absorbing items, and the sound can become lifeless and dull. I think the key for any room setup is experimentation by using tricks recommended in home theater room design. Move things around and try different setups. Stay with the one that is the best, according to you. It is a science, but if you don't like what the pundits recommend, then it really isn't the best setup for you. Go with what gets your juices flowing.

There are books I can recommend on the subject of home theater room design that do an excellent job of covering the basics of setups, materials, costs, furniture and components. They really do cover it all. Amazon has complete guides on Home Theater Room Design, ranging from simple living room installations to dedicated theater rooms.

Click to see literature specific for Home Theater Setups .

Equipment Arrangement: Take a look at the Big Screen TV section of the site for some additional info on TV placement. You always want to ensure you are the proper distance from the TV, which depends on its size. A good distance for a 30"-40" television is 8-12 feet. This will avoid being able to see the individual horizontal scan lines on the tube. High definition TVs allow the viewer to sit closer since there are no scan lines. Still, you don't want to be excessively close. Larger TVs, >40", usually require a viewing distance of greater than 10 feet.

Check back often. The home theater room design section is constantly being expanded.