Upgrade your PC to 7.1 sound

Positional audio requires that you balance the volume of all seven satellites at your normal listening position. Most 7.1 sound cards provide a speaker-calibration utility that cycles pink noise (white noise that's been filtered to reduce the volume at each octave) through each channel. You can use this tool or any other pink-noise source to set volume levels by ear.

An even better option is RadioShack's $49.99 Sound Level Meter, held at your normal head position. For increased accuracy, mount the meter on a tripod. Then set the meter to C Weighting and Fast Response and adjust each satellite's volume level until all produce identical readings when playing the noise signal.

You can follow a similar procedure to set the volume of your bass unit, but not all listeners want a truly accurate bass/satellite balance. We suggest adjusting the bass-level control manually while playing your favorite source material until you find a bass response that doesn't muddy up the rest of the output.

If maxing out your bass level still doesn't give you enough bottom, try repositioning the subwoofer cabinet. Placing it closer to large, flat surfaces reinforces low-frequency output, so moving it into a corner should provide maximum bass boost.