Buyers often choose equipment first and the room last. That order produces rooms that sound thin or look washed out. Knowing how to plan a home theatre room well means working from the room outwards. This guide gives the steps in order, with simple rules you can check yourself.
Start with the room
The first step in how to plan a home theatre room is measuring. Measure length, width and height. Rooms that are cubes or have exact multiples of dimensions can cause bass problems. A rectangle is better. Note windows, doors and pillars, and decide where the screen wall will be.
Our home theatre systems page shows how the parts fit together.
Seating and screen
Choose the seat position first. As a rough guide, a screen should fill a comfortable part of your view, so a bigger screen suits a greater seating distance. Many people choose a picture width that spans about 30 to 40 degrees of view.
Put the main seat away from the back wall if you can, since the wall adds bass boom.
Speaker placement
For a 5.1 layout, the front left and right speakers sit at about 30 degrees either side of the centre line, at ear height. The centre speaker sits under or behind the screen. Surround speakers sit to the sides, a little behind the seat, and a little above ear height.
Read about speaker options on our Focal and Bowers & Wilkins pages.
Light, echo and noise
Windows need blackout curtains or blinds for a projector. Hard walls and floors echo, so add curtains, rugs, soft furnishing or acoustic panels. Keep AC noise low, since a loud unit masks quiet scenes.
Doors and walls with gaps leak sound to the next room.
Cables, power and ventilation
Plan conduits to the speaker and screen positions before painting. Give the equipment rack ventilation and enough power points. Think of a spare conduit for future cables. Our Denon and Marantz receivers page explains what the receiver needs.
Mistakes to avoid
Many people who read how to plan a home theatre room still make the same few mistakes.
- Buying equipment before measuring the room
- Putting the main seat against the back wall
- Ignoring window light, so that the picture looks washed out
- Leaving no conduits, so cables run along finished walls
- Hiding the receiver in a closed cabinet without airflow
Your next step
Send us the room drawing and photos. We will visit, draw a layout and propose equipment that fits your room and budget. Essatech designs, supplies, installs and services these systems in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. Send us your drawings or photos for a priced plan.
What affects the price
- Room size and treatment
- Screen or projector
- Receiver, speakers and subwoofer
- Cable routes and civil work
- Seating and lighting
- Calibration and training
What to send us
- Room drawing and photos
- Seating plan
- Budget range
- Films and music you play