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BOB DOES HOME THEATERTV sound mixer · home theater sales · 35 years in sound
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SETUP GUIDE NO. 1  |  BOB

Your system isn’t broken. It’s set up wrong.

The settings nobody changed from the factory, and the steps the installer skipped.

Before you spend another dollar on gear, get everything out of the receiver, subwoofer and speakers you already own. I mixed sound for television for fifteen years, then ran a home theater department for twenty. This guide takes you through the setup one step at a time, in plain English, for less than it costs to have somebody come out and look at it.

See the Guide See the Math
RECEIVERSettings & calibration
SUBWOOFERPlacement & crossover
SPEAKERSPlacement & levels
Bob in his basement home theater
Bob · TV sound mixer, then 20 years selling home theater
THE PROBLEM

You paid for the sound. You’re not hearing it.

If you’ve got a home theater, a few of these will sound familiar.
The subtitles are on again.In a 2025 survey of 1,260 Americans, more than half said they watch with subtitles because the dialogue is hard to make out. A lot of the time the voices are there, just turned down or sent to the wrong speaker.
Up for the talking, down for the explosions.You ride the remote all movie long, because the master volume raises everything at once.
The sub booms in one seat and vanishes in the next.It’s rarely the subwoofer. It’s where it’s sitting, and where you’re sitting.
“You need a bigger sub.”Usually you need the one you have, with one crossover, the right phase, and the level set once.
Speakers set to Large.The deep bass goes to speakers that can’t play it, and the subwoofer sits there waiting.
Every speaker playing, nobody talking clearly.All-channel stereo is a party mode. On movie night it smears the voices across the whole room.
The installer packed up before the calibration ran.Nobody measured the room, so the system never learned it. Then they offer you a calibration visit.
You signed off before you’d really listened.Now every “it doesn’t sound right” means another paid visit.

Thirty-five years in sound taught me this: most of what sounds wrong in a home theater is a setting, not the gear. You just need somebody to walk you through it in the right order.

NO. I

The Guide

The three parts that decide how your system sounds: the receiver, the subwoofer and the speakers.
The Home Theater Setup Guide, by Bob
STEP-BY-STEP SETUP GUIDE · 65 PAGES · PDF
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Get everything out of the gear you already own.

Every fix from my receiver and subwoofer videos is in here, in the order you should do them. Each step tells you which menu to open, what to change, and how to hear that it worked from your own seat. Most of it starts with the remote you’re already holding.

The Home Theater Setup Guide
Receiver, subwoofer and speakers, step by step
$59
Receiver Menu Cheat Sheet
One printable page: where every setting in the guide lives on Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, Onkyo, Pioneer and Sony receivers
$19
Installer Sign-Off Checklist
Print it and hand it over on install day: the questions, the listening test, the test tone, the last payment
$15
Setup Record Sheet
Write every setting down once, so a reset or a new receiver takes minutes, not an evening
$9
Total value
$102
$59$27launch price, ends in 2:00:00
Get the Guide · $27
INSTANT PDF · PAY ONCE · NOTHING SHIPS · 7‑DAY MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE
NO. II

The Math

What people spend trying to fix sound they already own.
Buying your way out of it
A newer receiverDenon AVR-X1800H$849
A soundbar on top of the systemSonos Arc Ultra$1,099
A second subwooferSVS SB-1000 Pro$600
A pro to come out and set it upAngi’s national average$780
If you tried all four$3,328
Setting up what you have first
Receiver settings, in the right order$0
Subwoofer and speaker placement$0
Room correction, with the mic most receivers ship with$0
Checking the installer’s work before you pay$0
The Home Theater Setup Guide$27
Prices: list prices on denon.com, sonos.com and svsound.com, and Angi’s national average for surround sound installation, checked November 2026. Some of these may be worth buying someday. I’m not against buying, I’m against buying the wrong thing. Set up what you have first, and you’ll know.
Hear what your system can really do for $27, before you spend thousands trying to fix it.
A menu setting. A tape measure. A quiet room and the test tones. That’s where a lot of “you need new gear” problems end.
WHAT THE GUIDE HAS YOU DO FIRST
NO. III

What’s Inside

The whole setup, in the order you’d do it. Each step: where to find it, what to change, and how to hear that it worked.
THE RECEIVER · 8 FIXES

Your receiver

Where most of the sound goes missing.
  • Switch off all-channel stereo for movies, and which mode to use instead
  • Set the speakers to Small, with the crossover at 80
  • Run room correction from the seats you actually use
  • Lift the dialogue, not the master volume
  • Get the center speaker playing again
THE SUBWOOFER · 10 FIXES

Your subwoofer

All ten fixes from the subwoofer video.
  • The subwoofer crawl: find the spot that works, not the one that fits
  • Get your seat out of the bass hole
  • One crossover, not two fighting
  • The phase switch, settled by ear in about a minute
  • Set the level once, with one knob
  • Stop the hum, the rattle and the auto-sleep
THE SPEAKERS · 5 FIXES

Your speakers

Where the voices land.
  • Voices at the faces: why the center doesn’t belong in the ceiling
  • Red to red, black to black, and no stray strands: the wiring check
  • Left and right at ear height, 22 to 30 degrees off center, angled in toward you
  • Surrounds just behind your seat, at the same height as the fronts
  • The clap test, and a room that sounds like a gym
THE TV AND THE BOX · 5 FIXES

Before it reaches the receiver

Where surround gets lost on the way in.
  • Set the TV and the streaming box to send surround
  • Night mode and volume leveling: what they take away
  • When the TV won’t pass surround, plug the box into the receiver
  • Which bass boost really matters: the receiver’s, not the TV’s
  • Dolby Surround for stereo shows, so the voices stay in the center
IF SOMEBODY INSTALLED IT · 6 CHECKS

Before you sign off

What to say while the ladder’s still in the truck.
  • “How much of this quote is sound?”
  • “Which of these speakers are at ear level?”
  • “Did you run the room correction? Can I see the results?”
  • Listen to a scene you know, from your own seat
  • “Run the test tone for me,” one speaker at a time
  • Hold the last payment until it’s done
START HERE

Your first evening

The order that saves you doing it twice.
  • Put on a movie, press Info, and read how many channels your receiver is getting.
  • Set the TV and the streaming box to send surround, and turn off night mode and volume leveling.
  • Switch to Movie, Auto or Dolby Surround: no all-channel stereo, no Pure Direct for movies.
  • Set every speaker to Small at 80, and put every bass boost back to zero.
  • Wake the subwoofer up: its power switch on On, not Auto.
  • Lift the dialogue with the receiver’s dialogue control, not the master volume.
NO. IV

About Bob

Bob

I spent fifteen years behind a mixing desk at a TV station in Columbus, Ohio: newscasts, high school football, telethons. I know where the dialogue is supposed to come from, because I put it there.

When the station cut its audio crew, I moved to the sales floor and ran the home theater department at a big electronics store for twenty years. I sold the TVs, the projectors, the receivers, the speakers and the install packages. So I know what’s in those packages, and what gets skipped.

I’m not against buying. I’m against buying the wrong thing, and I watched a lot of good people do it. These days the system I fuss over is the one in my basement, which I built myself. This guide is everything I explain on the channel, laid out step by step, start to finish.

I’m Bob. Spend it where you can hear it.

Watch the channel
NO. V

Get the Guide

$27 once. Nothing ships. No account, no subscription.
A pro to come out and set up a surround system$240 to $1,321
A newer receiver to fix the dialogue$849
A soundbar on top of the system you have$1,099
The Home Theater Setup Guide$27, one time
$59$27launch price, ends in 2:00:00
  • The complete setup guide: receiver, subwoofer and speakers (PDF)
  • Every fix from my receiver and subwoofer videos, in order
  • The sign-off steps, if somebody installed it for you
  • Receiver Menu Cheat Sheet: One printable page: where every setting in the guide lives on Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, Onkyo, Pioneer and Sony receivers
  • Installer Sign-Off Checklist: Print it and hand it over on install day: the questions, the listening test, the test tone, the last payment
  • Setup Record Sheet: Write every setting down once, so a reset or a new receiver takes minutes, not an evening
  • Opens on your phone, tablet or computer, and prints fine
Get the Guide Now · $27
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7-day money-back guarantee

If the guide isn’t for you, write to me within 7 days and I’ll refund every cent. Keep the guide anyway.

NO. VI

Questions Before You Buy

I’m not a tech person. Will I be able to follow it?

Yes. It’s written for people who own a system, not people who install them. One step at a time: which button, what to change, and how to tell by ear that it worked.

Will it work with my receiver?

The steps work the same way on any home theater receiver. Where the menus have different names, the guide tells you what to look for on the big brands: Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, Onkyo, Pioneer and Sony.

I have a soundbar, not a receiver. Is this for me?

Not yet. This guide is for a system with a receiver, a subwoofer and separate speakers. If that’s not what you have, save your money for now.

Somebody installed my system. Can I still use it?

Yes, and you’ll get the most out of the sign-off section. Most of the fixes are menu settings and small moves, so you can check the installer’s work without undoing it.

Will it have me run wires or open up walls?

No. It’s menus, placement and listening, with the gear you already have. Anything inside a wall or on a new circuit is a job for a licensed pro.

How does the guide get to me?

Right after you pay, the thank-you page opens the guide, and the link comes to your email. It’s a PDF, so nothing ships, and there’s no account to make. Your receipt comes from Link, the payment service that runs checkout for this store, and your card statement will read [[TBD: statement text, after the first test payment]].

What if I don’t like it?

Write to me within 7 days of buying and I’ll refund you in full. You keep the guide.

I lost my download link.

Put your email in on the help page and I’ll send it again.

Set up what you own before you buy anything else.

$27 once. Instant PDF. 7-day money-back guarantee. Start tonight with the remote, and hear what you already paid for.

Get the Guide · $27
INSTANT PDF · PAY ONCE · YOURS TO KEEP