How should I setup my new Home Theater system?

[JAG]

I bought a Sony Bravia BDVE300 5.1 1000W Home Theater system with 285 watts on Sub woofer. I had a 100W NexxTech ESDVD100 with 40W on subwoofer and it looks like my old 100W Home Theatre system gave me more thrill than the new more expensive one. Why is that?

I had the SONY system automatically setup sound setting with the supplied mic and it choose -4.0db for the subwoofer, should I up it to 5.0? The range is -6.0db to 6.0db

What should be db level setting for my front, center and rear speakers?

[guitarkid61]

5.1 means you have 5 channels to work with. A 285 watt Sub is plenty of power for a home system and -6.0 dB is probably right if the mic set it there. When you used the microphone to set up the surround sound it was checking the reflections of sound off the walls for optimal acoustic settings in relation from receiver to speakers. I would try to use the microphone to set the center and rear speakers too. If all else fails the best thing you can do is listen to the system and set the levels to best balance you can. I know you're not a mixing engineer but your ears are your best tool unless you want to pay for a home instillation, hope this helps, best of luck!