If you've just purchased a brand new set of JENSEN floor standing speakers, in-wall speakers or in-ceiling speakers for your home theater system, congratulations - the Earth-shattering sound and powerful viewing experience that you've been after has finally arrived. The next part of the process involves getting everything all hooked up exactly the way you want it, which is definitely something that causes a bit of anxiety in many people. It certainly doesn't have to, however, so long as you keep a few key installation tips and tricks in mind.

Measure Your Speaker Wire Very Precisely

There is a very important reason why you never want speaker wire to be longer than you need it to be: sound quality. The quality of the audio signal being transmitted from your home theater system receiver to your speakers will naturally degrade as it travels farther distances. Therefore, if you only need a three-meter speaker wire but you cut a ten-meter length, you aren't just creating a situation where those wires will quickly become unmanageable - you might be harming the audio quality of your investment at the same time. Measure very precisely, but also make sure that you leave a few inches extra for "wiggle room" in the event that you ever need to move anything around. If you suddenly determine that your receiver should be on the left side of your shelf rather than the right, you want to make sure you've given yourself enough room to make the adjustment without cutting a completely new length of wire.

Diagram Everything

At some point, you will have to pull your home theater receiver away from its current home and make a few adjustments. Maybe a wire has become loose, harming sound quality. Maybe you're trying to plug in that great new USB streaming device but can't remember where the USB input on the back of your receiver actually is. Regardless of the reason, make sure that you diagram all of your speaker wire placements and other factors DURING INSTALLATION so that you can always refer back to it later. This will make small system adjustments in the future incredibly easy, as you won't have to A) pull everything apart to get a good look at the system, or B) try to remember where everything is plugged into, which you'll never be able to do with 100% accuracy.

Ceiling and Wall Cavities

When measuring out a space for your in-ceiling speakers and in wall speakers, remember that you need to account for more than just the physical space that the speakers occupy - you need to consider the wires, too. When making room in your wall for a set of sleek Elite 203 In Wall Speakers for example, make sure that you leave a bit of additional room so that the wires, banana clips and other small accessories have room to breathe, too. For detailed installation guidelines for JENSEN in-wall or in-ceiling speakers, visit our installation page for downloadable PDF’s.