From simple soundbars to full-blown, AVR-powered surround-sound home theaters, rigging up your first home audio system is a surprisingly simple enterprise, provided you start on the right foot with all the necessary cables and connectors.
Luckily, Sweetwater’s expertly trained Sales Engineers are always standing by to help you pick out all the cables, banana plugs, and connectors you need to ensure your setup goes smoothly. But the components are only half the battle — a firm foundation in the art of home audio is equally important. Read on as we cover the ins and outs of setting up your home audio system, whether it be a soundbar, an AVR-based rig, or a hi-fi stereo setup.
How to Set Up a Soundbar
Soundbars are designed to provide home audio enthusiasts a level of sound superior to a TV’s built-in speakers in a simple, plug-and-play package. As such, connecting a soundbar to your television is usually a quick and straightforward process.
Where to Place a Soundbar
Soundbars often perform their best when placed directly centered under your television and aimed at your primary listening position. Select soundbars come with additional surround speakers — these will often give you specific instructions on where to place them, which is usually to the left and right of your listening position.
How to Connect Your Soundbar to Your Television
For the vast majority of soundbars, all you need to do is connect your television’s audio output to the soundbar’s corresponding audio input with an HDMI cable. Certain soundbars may come equipped with an optical input for receiving audio, but we recommend sticking to an eARC or ARC HDMI input when possible. If your soundbar is capable of decoding uncompressed, multichannel audio formats such as Dolby Atmos, then you’ll need to make sure that your HDMI cable is certified for HDMI 2.1 and up.
How to Set Up an A/V Receiver
Audio/video receivers (often referred to as AVRs or A/V receivers) require more setup and connections than a soundbar, but they also reward you with superior sound, more versatile placement, and the ability to tie together all your video and audio sources in a single place.
Where to Place a Receiver
The receiver is the central hub of your entire home audio system, so it’s a good idea to place it in a location where all your other components (speakers, television, game systems, streaming devices, and so on) can conveniently connect to it. A receiver should also be placed in a position where it receives sufficient ventilation — we recommend reserving about two inches of space around your receiver and at least six inches of space above.
Before We Start Connecting . . .
Whenever you’re setting up speaker connections to a receiver, ensure everything’s powered down beforehand. This is also the perfect time to consider how your speakers will be placed and how the speaker wires will be routed throughout the room. Common methods of speaker-wire management include tucking the wires along baseboards, running them through the walls (especially for wall-mounted speakers), laying them under your carpet, and scores of other methods.
In addition, it’s best to work from the bottom up when hooking up connections to your receiver. Plugging in all the top connections first can quickly obscure the lower ones, depending on where your receiver is located.
What Wire Do I Need to Connect My Speakers?
The wire used to connect your A/V receiver to your speakers generally comes in a large spool that you cut and strip yourself. The tools required for this process are minimal; all you need is a wire stripper and a wire cutter, and your local hardware store very likely has a single tool that combines the two.
What Gauge of Wire Do I Need for My Speakers?
For runs up to 50 feet, 16 AWG (American Wire Gauge) wire is the standard. For greater lengths, you may want to start looking at thicker wire gauges. A good choice for longer cable runs is 14-gauge wire, and that’s also the standard for high-current amplifiers and speakers with a lower impedance.
How to Set Up Surround Sound/Stereo Speakers
On the back panel of your receiver, there will be a group of outputs labeled for specific speakers (front, center, back, etc.), each with two terminals. For example, you will have a total of four outputs to drive your two main speakers, as each speaker requires both a positive and a negative component — these are generally indicated by color-coded terminals (red for positive, black for negative) or plus and minus symbols. Your speakers will likely have a matching set of inputs to accept the two most common methods of speaker connection: bare wire and banana plugs.
How to Connect Your Speakers with Bare Wire
Bare-wire connections are the most basic form of speaker connection. After you determine what length of wire you need, cut it and strip away about 3/8 of an inch of insulation from the end. Give the wire a gentle twist to keep it tidy and to prevent any strands from fraying.
The bare wire can then be inserted into your receiver’s speaker outputs; these usually consist of a port to slot the wire in and a mechanism (often a binding post) that clamps down onto the wire to keep everything secure.
To test these connections, first visually confirm that the clamping mechanism isn’t pinching on the wire’s insulation. After that, give the wire a very gentle pull to ensure the mechanical connection is solid. If there’s even a bit of movement or slip, then a quick tightening of the clamp will usually seal the deal. For most speakers with bare-wire connections, you can simply repeat this same process on the other end of the wire for the speaker inputs.
How to Connect Your Speakers with Banana Plugs
Bare-wire speaker connections will work in a pinch, yet we strongly recommend you make your speaker and receiver connections with banana plugs if possible.
A banana plug is a connector that attaches to the end of your speaker wire, allowing you to plug straight into your receiver/speaker’s terminals with no clamping mechanism required. We recommend Monster’s XP QuickLock self-crimping banana plugs as a straightforward solution to all your home-audio wiring needs.
Once you’ve attached banana plugs to both ends of your speaker wire, all you need to do is plug them straight into your outputs and inputs, just like a standard 1/4-inch or 1/8-inch cable. This saves a significant amount of time and effort when you’re building or tearing down a home audio setup.
How to Connect Audio Sources to Your AVR
Now that you have the speakers all wired up, let’s get all your audio sources connected. These are often labeled to simplify setup, and most receivers will have a plethora of digital and analog connections available to hook up CD players, tape decks, and other legacy audio sources. When hooking up a turntable to an AVR with a phono input, make sure to connect both the analog inputs and the ground for a clear, hum-free connection.
Your TV’s audio can be sent to your receiver by using an ARC or eARC connection. These protocols allow you to send both video and audio via a single HDMI cable. Older televisions without ARC or eARC HDMI will require an optical cable to send sound. Finally, ensure your HDMI cable is HDMI 2.1 or up if you’re running uncompressed, multichannel immersive audio formats.
How to Connect Your Video Components to Your AVR
Your AVR will likely sport HDMI ports near the top of the rear panel; these will be used to connect the brunt of your video components. Many AVRs will list the intended purpose for each HDMI connection (game console, streaming device, and so on) along with a few extra, unassigned ports.
As for HDMI cables, it’s important to pick a cable that’s HDMI 2.1 or higher for devices that send uncompressed, multichannel audio (such as Dolby Atmos or other immersive audio formats) or high-frame-rate, 8K video (modern gaming consoles). The AudioQuest Forest 48 ultra-high-speed HDMI cable is a perfect choice for both of these high-performance applications.
Double-check Your Connections
Last, it never hurts to make sure all your connections are properly seated. Check to ensure that all your speaker connections match up in polarity (red to red, black to black, etc.) and that no connections are loose. Power it all on, run all applicable software/calibration programs your AVR requires, and then bask in the stunning sound and vivid visuals of your home theater’s now-complete A/V system!
How to Set Up a Stereo Receiver/Hi-fi System
To set up a stereo receiver or hi-fi system, simply follow our AVR guide and disregard the video-based components. Connecting your speakers and audio sources to a stereo receiver or an integrated amplifier is an identical process to setting up an AVR’s audio connections, right down to the banana plug vs. bare wire considerations.
How to Connect a Subwoofer
Whether you have a soundbar or an AVR setup, hooking up a complementary subwoofer is a straightforward task. Home audio subwoofers almost always have their own power onboard, so you’ll need to factor in the location of your outlets. As for connecting a subwoofer, they will generally plug straight into your receiver/soundbar’s subwoofer output with a subwoofer/RCA cable. There’s no hard-and-fast rule regarding subwoofer placement, so feel free to experiment with its location to find where it sounds best.
Conclusion
Setting up your first home audio system doesn’t have to be a challenge — we’re here to make it easy! Our guide covers all the basics, but we encourage you to reach out to our expertly trained Sweetwater Sales Engineers at (800) 222-4700 for a personalized walk-through concerning all the connectors, speakers, and devices you need to transform your space into a cinema-grade home theater.