Home Theatre

What To Look For When Buying Home Theatre Speaker Systems

May 5, 2008 | Audio Considerations

To appreciate good home theatre speaker systems you don’t have to be a hardcore professional of audio equipment with a lot of experience. You also don’t have to pay out a lot of money for home theatre speaker systems. Rather you just need to know a few tips and then you will be prepared to determine what to look for when you are buying home theatre speaker systems.

Consider the Area

Before choosing home theatre speaker systems you should take a careful look around the room that you are going to be placing them in and you should pay special attention to what the room looks like from the seating area. Consider making a quick sketch of the room including the shape, contents, windows and openings to other rooms. You should take this sketch when you shop to help you decide where each speaker will go and whether it will be mounted on the wall or placed on the floor. This will help you to determine if you need to buy other accessories for home theatre speaker systems such as wall mounting brackets or speaker stands.

It is also a good idea to have room dimensions. This way a salesperson can help you determine what home theatre speaker systems will give you the best audio experience for your home theatre room. You will also want to take into account how many speakers you can afford. Today five speakers and subwoofer isn’t the standard approach to home theatre speaker systems. There is now 5.2 systems which have five speakers and two subwoofers which gives a more complete, bass response. Then DVDs led to 6.1 and 7.1 channel speaker systems which help increase the surround sound experience.

Depending on the room you are using for your home theatre system you will also want to consider the dilemma of cables. Do you want cables visible throughout the room or are you willing to tear apart the walls to thread the cables. If neither of these options seem acceptable then you may want to consider the new wireless home theatre speaker systems. Although some of these systems will still require that you plug them into a electrical wall outlet. There are also new pseudo-surround home theatre speaker systems which use a special sound process to create the illusion of surround sound without the need for a lot of speakers. Some only have two front speakers and still have a surround sound to them.

Try to shop during off-peak hours since this will allow you to have a more relaxed shopping experience. This helps you to enjoy your experience and take the time to think out your decisions. You should also remember to try out the speakers in the store if they have a display before you purchase them. You don’t want to get home and find out you bought something you don’t need or like. Even when shopping on a budget it is a good idea to visit specialty stores since they may have home theatre speaker systems you can get elsewhere and offer better advice.

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The Importance Of Home Theatre Speaker Placement

May 3, 2008 | Audio Considerations

After buying home theatre speakers many don’t take the time to or know how to do proper home theatre speaker placement, although this is the key to enjoying the full quality of your home theatre system. You shouldn’t feel so bad since there is no specific and accurate place where you should place your home theatre speakers. Personal preference, room layout, furniture, aesthetics, children, pets and other factors will influence home theatre speaker placement. The following tips can help you to find a home theatre speaker placement that allows you to get the most benefit from your home theatre system.

The Center Speaker

Your home theatre speaker placement should start with the center channel speaker. The position of your television will influence where you place this speaker since it acts as an anchor for your dialogue and other on-screen sounds during a movie. You should center this speaker directly above or below your television. If you are mounting it above you television then the front edge of the speaker should be aligned with the front edge of the television. This limit’s the amount of distortion you may get from sound reflecting and diffracting off the TV cabinet.

Right And Left Speakers

Home theatre speaker placement should also focus on these front speakers since they are responsible for handling your movie soundtracks and giving you all the sound related to stereo music. They should form a slight arc when positioned in line with the center speaker. They should all be placed the same distance from you seating area and aimed at your ears. It is best to precisely measure the distance since a noticeable difference can result if you are so much as an inch or two off your measurements.

Surround Speakers

Next your home theatre speaker placement should focus on your surround speakers. These speakers are used to provide you with atmospheric sound and for special effects during the movies. While there are some tips to home theatre speaker placement for surround sound, you should always experiment since these are the speakers that will vary in their placement depending on the individual.

You want these speakers to be in line with or slightly behind your listening position. You should have them slightly high so that they don’t play directly to your ears when you are watching a movie. It is generally best to place them at ear level while you are standing so they will be at the best level when you are seated. Just experiment with placing your speakers until you get the ideal sound you are looking for.

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