There are a number of things that you should consider before purchasing home theater speakers. Depending upon the brand you purchase and the components that make up the rest of your system, you might find that you experience unwanted distortion or that the speakers you choose simply can’t handle the volumes at which you set your surround sound system. Take the time to talk to employees at the home theater equipment store and, if possible, listen to demo speakers that have been set up in-store so that you can get a feel for any distortion that might occur.
There are a lot of speaker systems out there, ranging from the PSB Image Series to the various Dali Ikon lines. To help you in making the right decision, make sure that you keep the following considerations in mind.
Distortion
One of the most common causes of audio distortion is having the volume set too high or having too much power coming through the speaker cables. Different speakers can have different amounts of distortion, so it’s important that you choose a brand that will have as little distortion as possible. This is definitely one situation in which you want to talk to a professional. Provide them with as much information about your home theater system as you can, including the type of receiver and amplifier that you’re using and how you plan to have the speakers mounted, so that they can better match you with something that will meet your needs.
Placement Requirements
Not all speakers are going to be mounted the same way, or even be the same size. You’re going to have to consider the space that’s available to you as well as the types that you want to include in your home theater system. You’ll need to choose from among tower speakers, in-wall speakers, wall-mounted speakers, and even in-cabinet speakers in order to decide how you want your speakers to appear. Tower speakers will require floor space or at least something to set them on, whereas wall-mounted speakers will need to have enough support within the walls to keep them from pulling out their mountings. In-wall speakers are unobtrusive, but require alterations to the walls that can be inconvenient if you decide to remove them later, while in-cabinet speakers are built in to you entertainment center or other audio cabinet but are limited on where they can be placed. Of course, a combination of different types can be used as well to help you get the most out of your speaker arrangement.
Volume Limitations
Just as some speakers will start generating distortions at higher volumes, others can also be seriously damaged if you try to turn the volume up to a higher level than they are designed to handle. Home theater speakers that can handle higher volumes may cost a bit more, but that cost is worth it if you plan on having music, movies, or other audio playing at higher levels. If you don’t want to have your audio system turned up very high, you might be better off with standard speakers.
Bass/Treble
It is important to remember that specialized speakers such as woofers and tweeters are also available and can be used to customize your audio experience to your preferences. Be sure to get assistance in designing your home theater system’s speaker arrangement so that you can bring out exactly the sounds that you most want. Many audio professionals can help you to find the perfect balance that will take your surround sound audio to the next level and make sure that you’re finished with the end result.
~Ben Anton, 2008
By: Ben Anton
Posts Tagged ‘Home Theater System’
Speaker Quality – What to Listen For When Buying Home Theater Speakers
December 18th, 2009Getting the Quality You Want With the Right Home Theater Cables
October 22nd, 2009
Having a great home theater system with Hi-Def picture and professional quality surround sound is something many people would love to have. And many people do go out and buy the latest Hi-Def TV, DVD player, and speakers only to have the picture and sound fail to meet their high expectations. This is because they have overlooked one small, but important component to a great home theater system, home theater cables.
No home theater system is complete without the cables that connect everything. Most home theater electronics come with free cables that allow you to connect your system and get it running. However, these cables are usually low in quality and worth what they cost, nothing. If you want to truly experience the best quality picture and sound possible from your system you should upgrade to higher quality home theater cables and you will see a noticeable difference.
Once you have determined what types of cables you need for your home theater installation you must choose which cables are best for your system. There is a bewildering assortment of types of cables, brands, and quality levels to choose from. What you choose can make a big difference in your home theater system’s picture and sound quality. When it comes to sound, you will notice less distortion and better sound quality with shorter cables.
With video cables, low resolution signals such as NTSC don’t require thick wires making them relatively inexpensive. On the other hand, high resolution HDMI cables can run up to a couple hundred dollars but deliver the best picture quality. There are also plenty of affordable mid range cables that distribute decent quality. Like sound cables, high definition signals should only be run over short lengths with the largest possible cables.
A good rule of thumb is to spend five to ten percent of your home theater’s budget on cables. To insure that you’re getting the quality you want from your cables, it is best to view the cables in action at a local retailer before you buy. Some brands and quality levels do give superior performance but not all are worth the extra money, so choose your cables wisely.
By: Vic Metten
Quality Home Theater System at a Discount
October 17th, 2009
Johnny sits quietly on his seat, a tub of popcorn. The lights have been turned off; the only illumination is the glow of lights as pictures change on an Epson screen dominating the entire eastern wall of his entertainment room. He picks up the remote and raises the volume level up by three notches. Perfect. The cost of Johnny’s home theater, you ask? $2500 US.
In another living quarter somewhere in the western side of the country, Joan reclines on her lazyboy seat, digging into a tub of popcorn. She reaches overhead and flicks off the light switch. Picking up a sleek silver remote, she focuses her view on the latest sleek 32-inch flat panel Sony LCD screen in front of her. She presses a few buttons to adjust the volume to a level she’s comfortable with. Perfect. The cost of Joan’s home theater, you ask? It is a whopping $5000, American.
Both Johnny and Joan enjoy the latest models in home threatre system and both from Japanese makers. They get the same high-definition picture quality. The audio outputs are equally outstanding. But why does Joan’s cost more than Johnny’s? It is because Johnny has a home theater projector.
Projectors As We Knew It
For people born in the 1980s and earlier, the term projector conjures an image of a huge bulky device teachers tugged out of a heavy carrier to show overhead images to their class. Remember how everyone in the middle had to move to their desks to the sides so that the images could be reflected off to the back wall? Or if you’re quintessentially archaic, you’d recall a church fixture that was normally seen off the side of the altar near the piano, where a flip of a switch shows the congregation the lyrics of a church hymn.
Projectors in the Digital Age
Indeed the overhead projector has gone a long way from a 15th-century idea to a 21st-century multimedia device. Much of the change has come along in the 1990s, as bigger computers came in sleek, smaller packages and the busy corporate suits have become busy, mobile business people.
As corporate lives became more hectic, corporate meetings became more frequent and corporate people flown in and around in various locations all over the world, carrying transparent films around and disrupting the usual seating arrangement for presentations became too much of a hassle besides being time-wasters.
The demand for a multimedia projector that was convenient to carry around (meaning it has to be light and small), versatile and reliable, and can create high-definition images of any size in any lighting condition – tall order, eh? – has lead to extensive technological research that gave birth to the latest projector technology – digital light processing (DLP).
Projectors Everywhere
Today, projectors are useful devices available everywhere. All businesses presumably have one. And as Johnny’s entertainment room shows, you’re likely to find one in home with an entertainment system. It’s not necessarily a step down your flat-panel TV option. The home theater projectors give you the same high-definition picture quality and the latest technology.
Projectors are versatile devices you can use for still photo sharing, slide show viewing and motion picture screening. But where home theater systems are concerned, it’s tough to say the flat panel is better because that’s not necessarily true. Who doesn’t want a home theater system?
By: David Urmann
