10 Common Home Theater Problems: Troubleshooting Tips

Home theater systems are complicated. When you’ve obtained a system with this several cables as well as setups, it’s surprisingly very easy for things to fail.

During establishing and testing dozens of pieces of home cinema devices over the years,

we have actually encountered lots of problems ourselves. Luckily, we’ve discovered a couple of things along the way.

In this Exactly how To direct, we’ll break down 10 of one of the most common problems individuals encounter when establishing a home theater system, and exactly how to repair them.

1. I’m Not Getting Any Sound At All

You’ve taken every little thing out of the box, connected it, invested hours adjusting inputs and stripping audio speaker cord, as well as you’re lastly prepared to collapse on the sofa with a dish of popcorn as well as watch Netflix in glorious 5.1. However you can’t, since there’s no sound appearing of your speakers.

The good news is that it’s very unlikely you have actually experienced a complete system failure.

For that to occur, every audio speaker in your configuration would need to go not working all at once, which isn’t mosting likely to take place unless there is a tragic power surge at the specific minute you took a seat.

Step one: disconnect your receiver from the power source.

You can’t review the rest of this overview if you’re dead from an electric shock. The next thing you need to do is check that your AV receiver is connected effectively. Do not laugh– it’s even more common than you believe.

‘Attached properly’ suggests the power line is totally placed as well as the audio speaker cords have actually been appropriately pushed in (if you’re using banana plugs).

If you’re using bare cable, you need to make certain that it’s held down tightly by the binding blog post screws, without way too much excess cord noticeable.

Thinking everything is correct as well as connected correctly, the next best guess is that the trouble is with a setting in your receiver’s software application.

Browse to the on-screen setups food selection, as well as begin examining various speaker settings.

Sometimes, you might need to by hand assign speakers to particular networks, as well as in others, the resource material might not be able to play in the speaker configuration you have.

No matter, examining various setups need to very quickly resolve this trouble. In many methods, a full absence of noise is the simplest problem to fix– unless you actually have been struck by a power rise or shipped a completely dud set of audio speakers. In which instance, we can’t help you.

Possibly next time, you need to buy a surge guard as well.

2. My Surround Audio Speakers Aren’t Functioning

We’re going to recommend a virtually ridiculously noticeable option– one that possibly won’t address the trouble, however is worth doing anyway.

Turn up the volume. In some cases, the border product in a particular scene of the motion picture or collection can be really subtle, as well as your initial perception of there being an absence of border sound may be due to the fact that it’s playing also quietly.

You’ll require to navigate to your receiver’s configuration menu to readjust volume for individual speakers.

Presuming that’s not the case, examine the audio speaker connections to see to it that every little thing is screwed in properly.

If that doesn’t fix the problem, it’s time to take a long, tough look in your source material.

The question you need to ask yourself is whether your source product is, actually, efficient in 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound. If you’re playing songs through your receiver, then it most likely won’t be, as many tunes are combined for two channels, not 5 or seven.

Flicks and also series are far more likely to have a border mix, however not constantly. If that’s the case, you may need to set your receiver to equate a 2.1 mix into a 5.1 or larger.

Receiver settings differ, however you need to find the alternative for this under something identified DSP Setups or similar.

Again, play around with different settings, and also see if it makes a difference.

You can constantly check a resource you understand is capable of full border sound in order to check if your receiver or speaker is at fault.

If you’re making use of a Blu-ray gamer, you might require to establish the result to multi-channel bitstream. You ought to have the ability to discover this alternative in its very own setups food selection.

3. My Front Audio Speakers Don’t Audio Right

Again, this is something that can probably be fixed by messing around in your receiver settings menu. 90% of the moment, there’s a concern with the speaker size settings. The majority of receivers permit you to set the size of your speakers as either Tiny or Big.

This enables it to integrate them better with the other speakers in your setup. Undoubtedly, Small and also Large cover fairly a variety, yet it’s rather easy to select the ideal one.

If you have a set of floorstanding audio speakers in your arrangement, after that pick Big. If your front audio speakers are a satellite kind, then choose Little.

An additional alternative is to adjust your speaker’s crossover.

This is the factor in the frequency spectrum where the audio speakers start to roll off their noise, as well as the subwoofer selects it up.

You may have it established so that your front speakers are taking excessive of the bass tons, which can distort or otherwise muddy the sound. Begin by setting it at 80Hz as well as go from there.

Our close friends at SVS, who generate things like the massive PB16-Ultra Subwoofer ( complete review right here), have an superb overview to this.

4. My Elevation Speakers Don’t Audio Right

Ceiling and also elevation audio speakers are difficult to get right.

Thinking every little thing is attached appropriately, the first thing you need to attempt is changing the settings on your A/V receiver. If you have height audio speakers, you almost certainly have a receiver capable of 9.2 or 11.2 noise.

The service might simply be transforming your codec setups, which is a term for the software that encodes audio.

If that does not function, you may require to put more assumed into how you’re putting the audio speakers.

Undoubtedly, this takes a little bit more effort (and perhaps some exasperating hole-drilling) if you have ceiling audio speakers, however it’s much less problematic when you have height speakers. Rather than being mounted within your ceiling intending downwards, elevation audio speakers bounce speak up the ceiling, or angle it into your paying attention position.

Below’s an example: the Klipsch RP-500SA Recommendation Best Atmos audio speakers. See exactly how their tilted form is created to increase your height noise?

Try relocating your height speakers around and also check them with the very same source material you made use of formerly. Is there a distinction?

Is it much better or even worse? Will angling the audio speakers in a different way boost the product?

It might just be a case of needing to deal with positioning and direction– check the documents your audio speakers featured to see if the producer advises anything details.

5. There’s Fixed Originating From My Audio speakers

In nearly all instances, static is a sign of issues with the speaker connection.

A wire may have been shaken loose from its socket, and all that is needed is that you wiggle it back in. Not addressed? The following step is to pierce down right into the resource of the problem.

Is the fixed persistent or does it just appear at certain factors?

If so, what are they? An excellent way of narrowing the choices is to attempt switching out different sources. If you’re making use of a Blu-ray player, attempt a different one if you have it, or see something on a streaming solution to see if the static reproduces itself.

The process of removal ought to assist you find out which part of your system is causing the problem. If you utilize a power amplifier with your receiver, you may discover that the problem is with the link there – an outcome that is far more usual than you would certainly assume.

Ultimately, fixing an issue with static is almost always a concern with a loose connection, and also as soon as you recognize where it is, it’s fairly simple to take care of. Unless, horror of scaries, your speakers might have blown from being mismatched with your amp.

You ought to examine this guide so it does not take place again.

6. The Entire System Appears ‘Off’.

This one is a little more difficult to detect. You have actually placed the audio speakers appropriately. You’ve established the crossover, chose the right setting on your receiver, made certain that your space is loaded with points that will certainly treat your sound well.

And yet … something is wrong. The sound really feels slim or stifled, with much less bass than you would certainly expect.

It’s not something you can fairly put your finger on, yet you understand your system isn’t doing as well as it must be.

It could be the entire setup, or it may only be a couple of audio speakers. Whatever it is, it’s frustrating. Residence movie theater systems are costly, as well as having one not work as advertised is a gigantic pain in the neck. There are a few typical concerns that could be creating your issue.

For beginners, all audio speakers need to be attached in stage.

Each of them will have two connections on the back– a favorable one, and a negative one, normally tinted white as well as red.

The connections on the back of your receiver will be arranged in the same way. Favorable needs to be linked to positive, and negative to negative.

If they’re turned around, points run out stage and also the audio you listen to will certainly be diminished.

If your speaker system sounds thin or stifled, the main thing you need to do is examine that you have actually linked your audio speakers properly.

Some systems will also inform you on-screen if something has failed– the Marantz SR8012 receiver is really proficient at this.

7. There’s A Frustrating Hum!

Welcome to the joy of ground loops. Basically, two tools on the very same electrical circuit are disrupting each other, creating what is known as a 60Hz ground loop– that frustrating hum you can listen to with your audio speakers, that will not go away regardless of how hard you try.

To remove it, the first thing you require to do is figure out that the culprits are. As opposed to simply unplugging everything willy-nilly, work methodically. Start with your receiver. An excellent test is to readjust the quantity.

If the hum modifications, then you’ve found at the very least among the perpetrators. Otherwise, after that whatever is causing the sound is after the receiver.

What takes place if you select one more input? Is the hum still there?

If it is, eliminate all wires that link the receiver to anything else, however leave the speakers linked, together with the receiver’s power cable.

If you can isolate it, all you need to do is get rid of the offending piece of equipment, which suggests that piece of equipment might need some repair or further study.

The people at PS Audio have a great overview to this, which enters into a whole lot more technological information than we have area for here.

Yet allow’s think you can not isolate it, either by switching inputs or adjusting quantity.

What after that? Well, it suggests you probably have a ground loophole, which suggests you’re mosting likely to require a couple of tools to repair it.

If the resource is your cable TV, you’ll need a seclusion transformer, like this one. If the source is something else, attempt a ground isolator, like this one.

This solution features a big caveat: we are house audio enthusiasts, not electric designers.

Whatever you do is at your own danger. If you assume something is seriously incorrect, or you’re not certain you can repair it, the very best thing to do is either talk with a qualified electrician, or call the customer assistance line of the people that constructed your audio speakers or receiver.

They’ll have the ability to chat you with the procedure of removing the hum, detailed.

8. My Universal Remote Does Not Function.

Universal remotes are fantastic. They change the thousand other little gadgets you require to manage your audio life, yet once in awhile, they fail you.

First things first: allow’s remove the evident. Inspect that the batteries have a cost, you’ve got the appropriate source picked, as well as there’s nothing in between the remote as well as your receiver.

This can occur if you put your receiver in a closet or cupboard, which is a more common mistake than you might believe. Assuming all those points are hunky-dory, it’s time to obtain technological.

Go on the internet and also find out if your remote usages Infrared (IR) or Superhigh Frequency (RF).

Do the very same for your receiver. A receiver that uses RF will not be able to pick up a remote that utilizes IR, and also if you’ve wound up with a mismatch, it’s very easy to get disappointed. Specifically if you’ve just bought the remote as well as do not intend to experience the hassle of returns.

The good news is that, in many cases, you can transform this setting on your receiver itself. If you can’t, there are a lot of gadgets which convert from IR to RF, or the other way around.

9. I’ve Got No Bass.

Remember back to when we talked about crossover frequencies as well as setups.

This ought to be first on your list. Establishing the crossover of your subwoofer can usually make a significant difference to exactly how your bass is regarded.

As we said previously, begin with 80Hz as well as go from there. If you still haven’t seen an improvement, after that it may be a link problem.

For reference, a single RCA wire from your receiver to your subwoofer should care for that. If neither of those are the answer, then it’s probably a positioning issue.

There are a couple of things you require to be familiar with when dealing with subwoofers.

Typically, one of the most common locations to place a speaker are in an edge of the room, far from the wall surfaces; beneath and close to the front speakers; or sideways of your paying attention position.

These are the starting points you need to try if you wish to prolong your bass.

If that does not function, it’s time to try an old technique that sub-lovers have actually been utilizing for some time now.

Take the below, still attached, and area it in your paying attention placement. Play something heavy on the bass, after that– as well as we truly indicate this– crawl around on the floor, as well as figure out where the bass is most famous.

Location the speaker there. It’s an old trick, yet tried and true.

10. I’m Experiencing Lag In Between Audio and also Photo.

This is among one of the most typical and also most irritating issues worldwide of residence movie theater.

It’s so typical that several manufacturers also include a particular menu attribute to take care of it. Quickly, when your audio comes before your picture, it’s since the video processing is taking a little too long.

That indicates that the noise prepares before the picture, as well as the actors on display will speak prior to their mouths move. It’s deeply annoying.

The good news is, it’s likewise very easy( ish) to deal with. Look for a function on your TELEVISION or receiver’s onscreen food selection labelled Audio Hold-up.

Change it by a few milliseconds each time until the noise and also the picture match.

If the picture comes prior to the audio, by the way, you may have deeper issues. Thankfully, that full guide will certainly aid with that as well.