If we are keeping it real, most sound systems are pretty darn expensive. You need your budget in the thousands if you’re looking for sound speakers that are both genuine and hi-fidelity.
Not everyone of course, can make to spend big amounts of cash on gear. It is for this reason that most people end up settling for cheap speakers.
So, can you make these cheap speakers sound good? Well you’re about to find out because that’s what this post is all about.
Without wasting much time let’s get right into it.
Can you make cheap speakers sound good?
With a few tweaks and placement techniques cheap speakers can sound a whole lot better.
In this regard, cheaper speakers placed properly with a few settings applied to them can be great for easy listening. However, you won’t be able to substitute them for the more expensive highly optimized speakers.
Therefore, cheap speakers can work well for casual listening and not complex audio work like sound engineering.
With that said let’s get into some of the ways you can make your inexpensive speakers sound better.
Get your speakers to ear level
Speakers generally sound the best if they’re brought up to the ear level.
This gets them off the ground and gets them aimed at your listening position making them sound better. This is true for high end speakers and true for inexpensive speakers.
Therefore, a good practice is to figure out a way to to set your speakers up on top of maybe a table or anything else that can provide the needed lift.
Getting speakers to ear level will help you avoid a lot of issues that can get in the way of sound flow in your space.
Separate them from each other
A basic rule is to place speakers the same distance apart as they will be from where the listener is seated or positioned. This means that if the listener is 8 feet from one of the speakers, each speaker should be 8 feet apart from the other.
This will provide equanimity in the way speakers output sound towad the listening position.
One of the rookie mistakes that people make often times in speaker placement is having speakers close to each other and at two different distances from the listening position.
This causes conflict among audio signals coming from each of the speakers.
You want to avoid this especially if you know that your speakers are not of high quality.
Angle them toward the listening position
Another rule in speaker placement that is quite effective is angling the speakers towards the listening position.
In this regard you want your speakers angled about 30° toward the listening position.
This will allow them to hone in on the listening position which will make them sound a lot better.
If you have ever heard the term “on axis” , it essentially means aiming speakers toward the listening position at an angle.
It works well for high end speakers and cheaper speakers alike.
Equalization
Adjusting the parameters of the sound system is another great way to ensure that you get the most out of your speakers, even if they’re not high end.
The best way to do this is to turn down all equalization knobs and then start bringing their levels up one by one.
You can start with the bass knob and then proceed to adjust the mid and high frequency knobs.
This can easily transform the way your speakers sound if you do it correctly. Equalization should essentially give you the listening experience that works the best for you.
Get speaker arrangement right
Speaker arrangement is everything.
For example, if you have a surround sound system, it means you need to have the speakers spread out surrounding your room.
Because, by design, a surround sound system is supposed to be 3D speaker placement that gives the listener the experience of listening to audio like we do when we are out in the enviroment.
In addition, If you’re simply working with two channel speakers you need to take the time to find the right and left speaker and set them up accordingly in order to optimize your listening experience a lot better.
Get your speakers away from walls
Speakers whether they cost a thousand dollars or 30 bucks shouldn’t be placed near walls.
Untreated walls tend to reflect sound which can cause audio signals to be tossed out and doubled all around the room.
This can great diminish the quality of your listening experience.
Get your speakers away from the walls, up to ear level and angled 30° towards the listening position.