Bootstrap Surround Sound Setup

[k3nny1550]

Okay, so a family friend basically gave us a 5.1 tuner for free. I found some speakers lying around the house and I’m going to try to basically build a free surround sound setup if I can. At least, that’s the plan. The speakers I have on hand are pretty old, possibly from the 80s at least. They use speaker wire connections. The junction box here appears to have the right inputs and outputs. The bin on top of the tuner is where I’m searching for speaker wire.

Does anyone have any general tips on setting stuff like this up? I have an instruction manual handy but my technical knowledge of this sort of thing is limited at best.

As for the configuration I intend, I want to use my TV’s stereo speakers to act as a speaker/sub combo (by bass boosting the speakers), and the two pairs of speakers as L/R channels front and back. Is this the way I should do it, or do you have more experience at this then I do and want to shoot me for my incompetence? Please submit helpful comments or the necessary death threats below!

EDIT: Fuck, I don’t seem to have any speaker wire.

[sudpuzzer]

The likelihood of using your TV speakers and the amplifier and surround speakers at the same time without an echo is slim to none. Usually, your TV speakers get the signal a few milliseconds before the external speakers, and you will get a small echo that will shortly drive you nuts. The only thing I can see you doing is turning off your TV speakers entirely (within your TV menu, you’ll set an option to use external speakers only) and just use the four large surround speakers.

Also, it is worth noting that you should make sure that the speakers are of a resistance compatible with that amp. On the back of the speakers, it should say how many ohms the speakers are (the symbol for ohm is the greek letter ‘omega’), and similarly on the back of the amp, there should be a safe range of ohms to use on those channels.