1) You can keep noise out of your AV signals by separating the data wires from your power cables. By letting the power cables touch other cables carrying data, interference is taken in by the data wires and a slight degradation of signal is resulted. Use a twist tie from garbage bags and group power cables together, and keep them away from as much hardware and wires as possible.
2) Symmetry. Make sure your television is the center of your system. All of the speakers should be equally spaced from the television. The left and right main speakers should be the same distance apart from the TV. Also, the main speakers should be at least four feet away from the TV. This will allow for your ear to differentiate between stereo sounds better, and it will keep the magnetic field from the speakers away from your TV (reducing distortion).
3) Positioning. If your speakers are short, buy speaker stands. The tweeter of each speaker should be at ear level when you are sitting down in your seat in front of your system. Low notes provided from your sub woofer and woofers in other speakers have no problem traveling throughout the room, but the high notes created from tweeters are dependent on the angle of the source. If your couch is the place that you use your system, then angle all the speakers to hit a spot in the middle of your couch, creating a "sweet spot". Also, make sure the main and rear speakers are roughly the same height, keeping in mind the tweeter placement. The center speaker will usually be slightly above the ear, because it is more important to have the TV in a centralized spot. Your eyes should be looking straight forward when viewing the middle/ middle top of the screen.
4) Sub Woofer. Imagine how a megaphone works... you speak into the small opening of a cone, and as your voice exits the big opening, the sound is amplified. The same is true with the placement of your sub woofer. If it is possible to place your sub in the corner of the room, you will get a fuller sound with less power. Of course, you could always place it in the middle of the room and crank the level control.
5) Wire. If you had to, you could cut the power wire off a lamp and use it as speaker wire. But I wouldn't recommend it. Good speaker wire should have thick shielding (which helps keep noise out of the line). Speaker wire with banana plugs are better than simply twisting wire and pinching it in the speaker because the banana plus provide more surface area for contact, giving the data going through the wire a cleaner, easier path to travel through. in addition to wire and banana plugs, heat shrink tubing can be purchased to seal the ends of the wire where the banana plug meets the wire. By sealing this area, it protects the wire and plug from corrosion by elements in the air, keeping the pathway clean. In addition to audio wire, video wire can be purchased too. Video signals run at a different frequency, and there is wire designed specifically for that feature.
6) Wire length. The longer your wire is, the more noise that can get in the signal. Measure the distance from your furthest speaker (comparing front left or right, or rear left or right), then cut 2 wires to the same length as this measurement. For example, if the distance between your receiver and right speaker is eight feet, and distance from receiver to left speaker is two feet, then buy sixteen feet of wire and cut it in half, into (2) eight foot segments. This will keep the wire length at a minimum, and provide correct timing for both speakers. The same should be done with the rear speakers. The center speaker should be the same type of wire as the front speakers, and the same length as the front wire. If your receiver has AC-3, then be sure to use the same wire through your whole system, and if possible, match the length to all the wires. The same is true for video wires, if all you need is a half meter, then buy a half meter. Longer cables can only result in signal loss.
7)If you have several s-video devices, you may want purchase a video selector box. Some less expensive boxes can be purchased that do nothing but select an input. More expensive selectors can choose between more inputs and can provide filters and other features. Pictured here is the JVC JX-S700 AV selector. This Selector can take in up to seven composite or s-video connections, and supports resolutions up to 960 lines of horizontal resolution. This device operates via remote control for ease of use. All the circuitry is high quality and can even concert composite signals into s-video, so you only need one s-video cable to go to your TV. One note: a signal that was converted to s-video from a composite will have the same look as a composite signal because the original composite signal is the bottleneck, and circuitry cannot truly "fix" the lower quality signal. The same can be said for laser disks... the media was recorded as a composite signal, so even laser disk players that have an s-video output is not improving the picture. If anything, the additional conversion could possible degrade the quality, since it is traveling through more cables and circuits.
8)Believe it or not, but the power coming out of your wall socket can be flawed as well. Standard AC outlets often supply raw, unprocessed power that diminish the clarity of audio signals and reduces video resolution. It is possible for this AC to damage your sensitive circuit elements inside your components as well. Pictured here is the Adcom Ace-515 AC Enhancer. This device can help you in several ways. It has a high quality surge protector that protects against power surges and power spikes (like when a refrigerator turns on). It also filters the incoming AC power so that your components can have a clean, noise free power source. Lastly, it has a Power switch so you can shut the power down in the event of a lightning strike, and when you power up, it does it sequentially so that there are no audible "thumps". For a high quality home theater, you should not think twice about buying something like this. It protects your investment, and increases the AV quality of your system for under $200.
