All top end DVD-Videos are produced with a dedicated Dolby sound track which is often referred to as Dolby 5.1. To get the best out of the system the audio needs a dedicated amplifier system & speakers. There are several ways of setting up your system depending on equipment & finance.
DVD players usually have a combination of one or all of the following:-  - Digital Coax (Phono)
- Digital Optical (TOS Link)
- Decoded 6 Chanel (Phono)
- 2 Channel Stereo
The top end DVD-Movies can have the latest digital audio such as 6.1, 7.1, THX & DTS which have channels for up to 8 speakers. For this article I am concentrating on the 5.1 (6 Speaker system) The Digital outputs need a dedicated decoder/amplifier to decode the signals into their separate components whereas the 6 channel Phono output has already been decoded inside the player and just needs to be amplified either by a dedicated 6 channel amplifier connected to your speakers or an amplified 6 speaker system which can be purchased from around £20.00, These analogue outputs cannot be connected directly to speakers they have to be amplified first.
A typical setup consists of a 6 speaker system  - Left Front (Main Speaker)
- Right Front (Main Speaker)
- Left Rear (Surround)
- Right Rear (Surround)
- Centre
- Sub Woofer (Low Frequency Effects)
The sketch to the right shows a typical layout of a Dolby 5.1 speaker system.
The following factors need to be observed when selecting & setting up your speakers
The speaker's handling power must be greater than that of the maximum output of the amplifier to avoid overloading & blowing of the speakers
The speaker's impedance (ohms Ω) must NOT be less than the amplifier's output specification to avoid overloading & blowing of the amplifier
The Front Left & Right speakers need to be identical, placed either side of the viewing screen angled towards the central listening area, and placed approximately half the screen width to the side of the TV, equidistant from the center of the display.
If your screen is a normal CRT TV then the speakers will need to be magnetically screened or spaced well away from your TV to avoid the speaker magnets distorting the colors on the screen. These speakers can either be floor standing columns or wall mounted they need to be positioned level with the screen or slightly higher.
The two Rear Surround speakers need to be identical & placed either side of the room slightly to the rear of the listener and above head height facing inwards towards the listening area
The center speaker needs to be mounted centrally either just above or below the viewing screen and will need to be magnetically screened to avoid distortion of the picture on a CRT
The Sub Woofer can be placed anywhere in the room on the floor near to but not touching the wall & away from any doorways. I prefer the position as shown under or near to the TV
Speaker Wiring
Most 5.1 speaker systems come with bundles of wire to connect up the speakers to the main amp, I find this wire to be barely adequate and would recommend using a thicker cable. I use stranded fig 8, 2.5mm which is capable of 25amp capacity, more than adequate for most home theater systems.In ideal systems the speaker cables should be the same length for both of the rear speakers & the same length for both of the front speakers. Careful attention must be taken to the polarity of the speakers and the wires. The wires usually have a black or white stripe along the edge of one of the pair, decide which terminal (red or black) you are going to connect the striped wire & maintain this configuration for ALL the speaker connections throughout. There are two main types of connections to the speakers, Spring Clips & Binding Posts Note the colors & polarity which must be observed when making all the speaker connections Spring Clips can either be connected with the bare wire twisted ends or Pin connectors connected onto the end of the bare wire. Bare wire is sometimes too thick for the clips as they are generally only on low power speakers and designed for thinner cable. I prefer the binding post method which is found on most of the higher power amplifiers & speakers
Spring Clips
Binding Posts Binding Posts
| Banana Plugs
 | Banana Plugs Twin
 | Spade Lugs
 | Bare Wire Slotted Through
 | Bare Wire Bent Round
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Lay out the two cables for the rear speakers leaving enough spare for maneuverability & label the ends for future identification.
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Lay out the cables for the two front & center speakers & label them for identification
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The Sub Woofer will either need to be connected to the amplifier's sub speaker out with twin speaker cable or if you have a powered sub woofer it will need to be connected to the RCA Phono with a coaxial cable to either the amplifier or DVD player.
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Bind the speaker cables into a loom and route it to the amplifier.
- Ensure the amplifier is not powered, trim the cables to length but not too short, terminate them according to the amplifier's connectors & connect up the cables to the corresponding terminals on the amplifier ensuring you observe the correct polarity.
- Connect up the amplifier to the DVD player using one of the three ways of connecting
- Digital Coax (Single high quality RCA Phono cable)
- Digital Optical (TOS Optical Link)
- Decoded 6 Chanel (6 channel analogue RCA Phono)
- The digital coax & optical are connected to the decoder input of your amplifier & the decoded analogue signals are connected to the 6 channel analogue input of your amplifier or powered speakers
Most high end amplifiers have a speaker test signal that can be enabled playing a white noise signal in to each speaker separately the speakers should all have the same listening volume when heard from the optimum listening position. This can be set up by ear or for more accurate settings you can use a Sound Level Meter.
For a simple 5.1 speaker test I have a Video Title Set which can be burnt to a DVD (Available Here)
For more advanced setting up & testing I would recommend purchasing one or both of the following DVDs Assuming all your equipment is now set up correctly just insert your favourite DVD sit back & enjoy the experience.
Please have consideration for other members of your family & neighbors buy not playing the system too loud especially at night time.
This guide is intended to give a basic idea as to the setting up of your home speaker system and is not intended as an absolute setup which will vary with individual equipment & home environment | 
