Home Theatre

Choosing Speakers For Your Home Theatre Audio System

April 27, 2008 | Audio Considerations

We all want that great surround sound that you get when you go to the movies. But how do you get great quality sound from a home theatre audio system? There are so many options available when it comes to choosing your home theatre audio system, that it would be impossible to not get the movie theatre experience at home.

How Many Speakers Should You Use?

The number of speakers you use in your home theatre audio system, is entirely dependant upon how large of a room your theatre occupies. A smaller room will require far fewer speakers, and a larger home theatre audio system will need many more. To safely gauge how many speakers you will need, divide the number of square feet in your theatre by ten. That should give you an accurate estimate of how many speakers to use in your home theatre audio system.

If you have a moderate sized theatre, six speakers should be more than enough. Be sure that you have: a center speaker, which will provide the in front of you sound for when people onscreen are talking; two front, side speakers and two rear, side speakers, which provide the surround sound effect; and a good subwoofer. I prefer a subwoofer with a dial control, so that I can manage my home theatre audio system with greater ease.

How Much Should You Spend

When purchasing the speakers for your home theatre audio system, you will find that there are high quality speakers available in every price range. A good rule of thumb, is to spend no more than one third of your total home theatre audio system budget on speakers.

Speaker Layout And Function

Remember that there is a defined layout pattern when you set up the speakers for your home theatre audio system. Understanding what each type of speaker does, and placing it appropriately is essential to getting the best sound out of your home theatre audio system. A speaker put in the wrong place, could cause audio feedback, or even interfere with your picture quality.

Your center channel speaker should always be placed directly above our theatre screen. This allows for more realistic sound when listening to people on the screen talking. Be sure, if you haven’t already, that your center channel speaker is video shielded. Most are, but it is always a good idea to check to make certain.

To get the best quality sound out of your home theatre audio system subwoofer, you can either place a wicker basket over it, or face it toward a wall. Facing your subwoofer toward a wall, turns the entire wall into a giant subwoofer.

No matter what your budget is, if you shop around for the best deals, you can get a great home theatre audio system that will carry you and your family away!

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Choosing The Best Home Theatre Audio System

April 25, 2008 | Audio Considerations

Since the early 1970’s when Dolby introduced the first surround sound theatre system, our expectations for the way we listen to music and movies has been ever evolving.

Nothing short of perfection is expected in our home theatre audio systems. Home theatre systems are becoming more and more popular in today’s society. We want all the features that a cinema has to offer, but with the creature comforts of home. With so many new people installing home theatres, home theatre audio systems have been brought to task, and are evolving at the speed of sound.

Setting Up Your Home theatre Audio System

When setting up a home theatre audio system, one of the most important things to take into consideration is the size of the room you will be installing it in. With a smaller room you may only need the bare minimum of speakers. Three, to be exact, is a good number of home theatre audio speakers to install if your room is quite small. Be sure that you have one subwoofer, and two side channels if you are only going to be using three speakers. The speaker on your television set will provide the center speaker home theatre audio sound that you would otherwise gain with more speakers.

With a larger room, I have found that a home theatre audio system sounds best when it includes: one center speaker, two front side speakers, two rear side speakers, and one subwoofer, for a total of six speakers. A good way to get the most out of your home theatre audio system’s subwoofer, is to either cover it with a wicker basket, or to turn it so that it is facing a wall. Turning it toward the wall will, in essence, turn the entire wall into a home theatre audio system subwoofer.

Quality And Value

When shopping for a home theatre audio system, it is easy to mistake high price for high quality. While many systems that are higher priced do have better sound than ones less expensive, such is not always the case. It is a good idea to ask your sales representative if there is a listening room, where you can hear the sound quality of several home theatre audio systems, before making a final choice. Most stores have one, and are happy to show off their various systems available.

My personal favorite is the Bose home theatre audio system, as it allows for the sound quality of a large system, while only utilizing a few speakers. Whichever system you choose, if you choose wisely, you will have many years of enjoyment from your home theatre audio system.

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