After installing a surround sound system, do you experience lower sound than expected? The reason why you are thinking about adding more speakers on the current system?
A question must be in your mind, can I add more speakers to my surround sound system or upgrade it to another pair of sound systems?
It’s not a regular case where a user wants to add new speakers to the pre-existing surround sound system. While adding speakers is not difficult, the wrong installation may affect your sound quality.
Before buying any speaker, you need to consider a few things. Otherwise, a wrong buy can cost you a couple of hundred dollars.
Key Takeaways:
- You can add more speakers to the sound system through wired and wirelessly.
- Ensure your receiver is capable of connecting with added speakers.
- Try to find speakers, with the same specifications.
- Adding speakers may not grant to increase sound quality.
Things to Consider Before Adding Speakers:
Although adding speakers to the existing sound system may look easy, it was not. That’s the reason you have to consider this thing:
1. Upgrade the receiver:
If you have a 5.1 surround sound system, your receiver must be capable of connecting with those 5 speakers and one subwoofer. In this case, if you want to add more speakers, it’s not possible.
Buy an upgraded AV receiver that can allow you to add more speakers to your sound system. If you already have a receiver that is capable of connecting with more speakers, you can do it.
For a wireless receiver, there is also a limitation. As per your receiver, you can’t add more speakers than its limitations. If your wireless receiver is capable of connecting with 6 speakers, or currently you have three; here you can add 1-3 more speakers.
2. Use the same quality speakers:
On average 50w to 100w speakers are used for surround sound. Your average surround sound system speaker will likely have a rating of 4, 6, or 8 ohms.
Before adding or buying any pair of speakers, check the speaker’s spec’s that you already have. Try to match all specifications, this may work for you.
For example, if you have 60w speakers and you’re trying to add 100w speakers to your surround sound system; this may not work for you. You may experience volume fluctuation.
3. Subwoofer and speaker ratio:
Subwoofer and speaker ratio plays a crucial role in sound quality. Did you have a 7.1 surround sound system and want to add more speakers to it, this may not ideal system for you.
With a clear and loud sound, you need a low-frequency bass from the subwoofer. So, maintain the speaker and subwoofer ratio according to your room or home theater size.
Do it, if your premium subwoofer is capable and provides enhanced quality after adding new speakers to surround sound system.
4. Room size:
Room size also matters, when you’re looking to add more speakers. You can add more speakers after following the things that we discussed before.
A small room is enough with a 5.1 surround sound system, but not ideal for a hall room or home theater. So, as per my suggestion is; adding two more surround speakers with a subwoofer will be the best option for you.
Upgrading the Surround sound system vs adding speakers
- Quality: Upgrading to the latest surround sound system is always preferable, than adding speakers to existing speakers.
- Budget: Adding a speaker to the existing surround sound system is more budget-friendly than upgrading to a new one.
- Current System: Using an outdated or less-featured sound system is not the right choice, so it’s better to upgrade the entire system.
- Space: In a limited space, adding speakers might be more effective than installing a new sound system. With large space, you can go with upgrading the surround sound system.
- Headache: Upgrading the sound system is a headache-less process. To add a speaker you have to check the specifications of the speakers, receiver, etc.
As per my suggestion, if you have an outdated surround sound system that is not capable of fulfilling your sound requirement, upgrade it to the new system.
Can you add wireless speakers to a surround sound system?
Yes, you can add wireless speakers to a surround sound system, but it’s a little bit complicated process. Sometimes you may face delay on wireless audio transfer.
Few surround sound systems come with the latest technology that allows you to expand audio setup wirelessly.
Bluetooth and satellite speakers are capable of connecting with your latest sound system. If you have an old type surround system, use an adapter. This can connect to your existing speakers and enable them to receive audio from the receiver.
Add more Subwoofers to surround sound system
If your sound system lacks sound quality, when it comes to action scenes; a low-quality subwoofer may be the reason behind it.
Changing a subwoofer depends on which type of receiver you have. If the receiver has multi-subwoofer output, you can easily add more subwoofer to your existing surround sound.
What to do if you have a receiver with a single subwoofer output?
Here you need to use Y-Splitters. A “Y-Splitter” cable that has a single connector on one end, and a dual connector on the other.
A Y-Splitter cable takes the single subwoofer output from your receiver and splits it into two outputs. Using this method you can able to add more subwoofers to surround sound system.
Can I use large speakers for surround sound?
Yes, you can, but you have to match Ohm. If your receiver is rated for 8 ohm speakers, then use 8-ohm speakers for surround sound.
A large speaker might require more wats than a regular one, so ensure that the current receiver is capable of it. Large speakers always demand more space. Proper placement of large speakers plays a crucial for achieving the best surround sound experience.
After adding a couple of large speakers, must check the low-frequency or bass quality. Your large speaker may not cover lower frequencies and lack bass quality.
If it’s needed, add subwoofers to existing surround sound system to handle deep bass or lower frequency. For an immersive surround sound quality, you have to maintain loud and lower frequency with a proper base.
Final Word:
I’ll not recommend you add more speakers to your outdated surround sound system. If you have the latest surround sound system that allows you to expand your audio setup wirelessly, you can do it.
Adding multiple speakers to your current sound system may not increase the sound quality. You need to maintain the subwoofer and speaker ratio of deep bass and low frequencies. If you still have any questions regarding whether can I add more speakers to my surround sound system, comment below.
I’m sourav, a music lover and sound enthusiast. After experiencing multiple sound qualities, I thought many people searching regarding this topic, but there is not enough detailed information on it. That’s the main reason why I created this blog.
