Why does my sound have static?

Static problems usually originate at the connection or speaker cable level. It is a simple process of elimination to find out which connection or cable is causing trouble:

• Check whether the static only occurs when the source is from one particular item. Does it only happen when watching DVDs? When listening to the stereo? When watching cable? This is a big clue as to what is causing it.
• If you get static no matter what you are listening to, check the cables and connections between the AVR (Audio Visual Receiver) and your amplifier
• If the static only comes from one speaker (or even if the previous tips fail to give you any hints), check the speaker cables and connections between the amplifier or the AVR itself and the speakers.
• If the static is still coming from all speakers and you have never had static-free listening, check that your speaker cables are the correct width for their length.

Why are my speakers humming?

Not quite the same as static, hum is more constant and less acutely annoying. It still has the potential to wreck your listening experience, though! Hum coming from your speakers is not usually a speaker cable issue, but to do with ground loops. These occur when two devices in a circuit or system are grounded through different paths. Noise voltage can occur with the difference between the two grounds.

You need to identify which appliances are running at a slightly different voltage – look for a label on the appliance itself, or in the manufacturer’s information. A simple solution is to plug the two differently volted items into separate power sockets if possible. If this isn’t possible, an item called an isolation transformer can help.

What’s wrong with my bass?

I swear I used to have more bass than I do now – am I imagining things?

• There are several common reasons why your bass might have dropped out completely or become weak. Some people don’t realize that subwoofers have their own separate power switch, just like a television. Once you plug in the subwoofer speaker cable, you still need to switch the unit on to have it work. Check this first up, as the button can be easily bumped off even after it has been turned on.
• Also, your subwoofer needs its own power source as well as being connected by speaker cables to the stereo. If the power cable is loose, you won’t get bass.
• Another obvious one – just check the master volume level or control level on the back of the unit. They sometimes get ‘accidentally’ moved!
• Failing this, check in your AVR that the bass output is set to go to the subwoofer.
• If you have bass, but performance is an issue, set all of your speakers to ’small’ in your AVR with fixed global crossover of 80Hz. Defeat the low pass filter (LPF), or set it to its highest setting or you’ll get cascading effects.
• Check that the seating position is still optimal – if your furniture has moved, you may need to redo your auto-EQ calibration process.

Left and Right Channel Placement

These are the most important speakers to have placed optimally, to get realistic and enveloping sound. You should:

• Keep these speakers equidistant from your TV, ideally at least 6 feet apart
• Keep them the same distance from your usual seating position
• Keep them parallel with the front row of seats for group viewing
• If you drew a line from the center viewing position to the left speaker, and then did the same for the right speaker, the angle formed should be around 45 degrees for movie watching, and 60 degrees for listening to music. These are general guidelines only though, and differ with different models of speaker.

Centre channel placement

The center channel is the third-most important speaker to have placed correctly. When placing the centre channel speaker and running the speaker cable, try to:

• Place it further away from you than the left and right speakers are, to avoid unbalancing the sound.
• The center channel tweeter should determine the placement of the left and right channel tweeters – if you move one, the others should move also.

Speaker toe-in

We touched on this when talking about the left and right channel speakers – some people say that a toe in of 45 degrees is best for watching movies, while 60 degrees is best for listening to music. However, not every speaker has the same mechanics. Check out the literature from your speaker manufacturer first; if there are no hints here then simply experiment with the positioning that sounds better to you. If there is no discernible difference – rejoice in your flexibility!

Surround Sound for home theater

Surround sound speakers aim to create a diffuse, enveloping sound environment that makes it seem that you are right in the middle of the action on television. Not always ideal for horror films … but effective, nonetheless! Your surround sound speakers and speaker cables should be:

• Placed slightly to the rear of the usual seating position
• Placed on the walls, if possible
• Two to three feet above ear level when you are seated

Subwoofer placement

Subwoofer placement is the least critical of all of the speaker placements, because the low frequency sounds should not be ‘directional’. If you can tell where you subwoofer is without looking, the volume is set too high. Place your subwoofer directly on the floor for best effect, and try to keep it away from walls or corners. This may mean a little more speaker cable is needed, but will improve the sound quality.

We bring this up only to give some context to this next statement: There’s really no such thing as a “best” audio cable, or even a “better” audio cable, or in fact, even a “low quality” audio cable or “high quality” audio cable.

The truth is that that a gold plated cable doesn’t give you any better sound quality than a standard one dollar cable. If you want to get the best possible setup for your sound system, then what you should be thinking about rather than the quality or value of the cable itself is whether or not it fits in with your setup.
Getting the best sound is really just about how you want to set up. You have a number of options, here. In terms of technical quality, it essentially comes down to how many channels the cables deliver.

For example, a stereo RCA cable gives you two channels, while six channel analog gives you three sets of stereo RCA (hence, six channels). So really it comes down to what type of cable you need more so than how much you’re willing to spend.
Once you’ve determined what sort of setup you want, here’s a short list of everything else you need to consider before buying your audio cables…

1) The price

That’s it. That’s all you need to consider. And on that subject, you might as well save yourself a little extra on the side and shop online for cables.

Okay, it can be a little more complex if you’re, say, running a sound source outdoors, like if you’re connecting speaker cables for a live concert or something. In which case, you might want something that won’t bend and break when it’s being stepped on, moved about, and subjected to the weather. In that case, it might not be a bad idea to get a thicker audio cable. However, don’t kid yourself for even a second that it’s affecting sound quality.

In short; if it’s of the right type, if it’s not frayed, if it’s not snapped in two, and if you can plug both ends in where they need to go, then any audio cable is as good as the next one.

So, in other words, just don’t get hoodwinked by fast talking electronics store clerks. Save your money and get cheaper audio cables, because when it comes down to the quality of sound, there’s really no difference at all from one audio cable to the next. Just so long as you’re using the right cable for the right task, you should get clear, quality sound no matter what company made the cable or how much you spent on it.