The speakers have arrived, been set up and connected to the receiver - but don't sound as expected? Good sound depends on the room, the settings and of course the speaker/receiver. 3.
1. there is usually little you can do about the room, but you can learn about the room acoustics to get the best sound in your living space. Basic setup tips for home theatre systems can be found here: Set-up tips
The correct configuration of the AV receiver is the be-all and end-all. Depending on the receiver, a wide variety of settings are possible. Almost every current AV receiver has a possibility of automatic calibration, just to adjust the speakers to the spatial conditions. Useful tips can be found here: Calibrate loudspeakers
If the standard setup is done, you can also take individual listening habits into account at the receiver. In most cases, the automatic calibration only provides a basic setting. Take your favourite movie and change at the receiver among other things:
- the settings for the level of the individual speakers (more or less volume on the centre speaker, the rear surround speakers, etc., as desired)
- the delay of the sound signals to compensate for room peculiarities
- change the phase/bass level of the subwoofer
Do the speakers and the receiver fit together and are both suitable for the room size? Does the receiver match the speakers performance-wise? What fits where?
Background:
The continuous power handling (RMS/sine power in watts) of the speakers should roughly correspond to that of the amplifier. Roughly speaking, a 50-watt amplifier does not match a 150-watt loudspeaker.
In a room with 50m² to be sounded, small micro speakers will not be able to build up the fullness of sound as e.g. large floor standing speakers.
Conversely, a system with floor standing speakers, for example, will hardly be able to show its sonic capabilities in a 15 m² room.