Choosing a Home Theater System

The words "home theater system" conjure different images in the minds of consumers. For some, it's a state-of-the-art 60-inch plasma HDTV with 1080p resolution, 8:1 surround sound, reclining theater seats and a Blu-ray player. For others, it's a modest arrangement with a smaller TV and a DVD player. At its most basic, a home theater needs a television, a home theater audio system and something that can play movies. Audio is a key component, and there's more than one way to build it out.

Home Theater Receivers
Home theater is all about surround sound that pulls you into the experience. You chose a TV for great image quality, now it's time to choose a home theater system for great sound quality.

It's helpful to remember the basics before tackling the specific needs of home theater speakers. All audio systems consist of a receiver, which decodes and amplifies the audio, and speakers, which play back sounds. The power of receivers is rated in watts per channel, and you need to match your speakers to the watts produced by your receiver. If the speakers are underpowered, you won't get enough sound. Too much wattage, and you destroy the speakers.

The heart of a home theater system is the receiver. You'll be feeding audio from a number of sources, including television receivers, your DVD player and video games, through this device. You may also choose to feed your video signal through your home theater receiver so you can control everything with a single remote.

You can buy a receiver separately, or you can get a home theater system that includes a set of speakers. Either choice is fine, as long as you focus on the receiver and not the speakers. You can always upgrade the speakers later, and it's better to choose a cheap home theater system with poor speakers and a good receiver than one with a mediocre receiver and good speakers.

One big advantage to all-in-one home theater systems is that the speakers are matched to the wattage of the receiver, which ensures good sound out of the box. It's best to choose a receiver with higher wattage, as this will give you more flexibility if you decide to upgrade your speakers. You can also find wireless home theater systems that eliminate the tangle of cords running to the speakers.

Any home theater system receiver you buy must include, at a minimum, Dolby 5.1 audio decoding for surround sound and multiple HDMI or composite video inputs, with HDMI the preferred option. Look for at least three HDMI or composite video inputs and one output. Without these features, the receiver simply isn't ready for HDTV and the new wave of home electronics.

Home Theater Speakers
With all-in-one home theater systems, you'll get at least six speakers-left and right front channels, left and right rear channels, a center channel and a subwoofer. A 6:1 system includes a rear center speaker and an 8:1 system includes left and right speakers that live in the center of the space between the front and rear speakers.

What you spend typically dictates speaker quality, although bargains can be found. Checking home theater system reviews online will give you some insight into who's packing the most sound for the buck. If you're looking at a system in a store, one general guideline is that high-quality speakers are heavier because they have better-quality magnetic coils. Pick up different speakers and hold them, comparing their heft.

Then take a look at frequency response, which is the range of sound that speakers can produce. For a subwoofer, which produces low tones, you want a frequency response of 140hz to around 20hz, although 30hz is a fair minimum. The human ear can't detect signals below 20hz, but you can feel them.

For the remaining home theater speakers, look for frequency response from 40hz at the low end to 16,000hz at the high end as a minimum. Frequency response up to 20,000hz is ideal. Beyond that range, you're paying for high tones that most adult ears can't hear.

Audio Decoding
What sets one receiver apart from another is the electronics that decode and process the audio signal. Whether you buy a separate receiver or an all-in-one home theater system, this is what you're paying for, unless the home theater in a box comes with some outstanding speakers.

Make sure that the audio formats on your DVDs are supported. Most home theater receivers support both Dolby 5.1 and DTS 5.1 surround sound. Newer receivers built for high-definition playback should support both Dolby Digital EX and DTS ES, which allow for exotic six- and seven-speaker configurations. These additional channels are only used on Blu-ray DVDs at the moment, but a home theater receiver should have a long lifespan, so it's worthwhile to invest in technology you'll need down the road.

The makers of home theater systems love to tout the incredible variety of sound fields their receivers offer. Most of these sound fields add echo, which sounds great in a huge showroom and lousy in a small room at home. Presets are great because they give you some control over how things sound. Just make sure you've got some that reduce echo, rather than adding it.

Additional Functions
Home theater systems increasingly have built-in components, such as DVRs, DVD players and center speakers. It's usually a good idea to avoid a home theater system with built-in speakers because this forces you to place the home theater system beneath your TV, which may not be ideal for your home.

A DVD player is a good addition to a home theater system during this transition from standard definition to high definition. Look for advanced playback features, such as still, slow motion and reverse if you use them, and check online for any service problems, since you'll need to send the whole home theater system in for repairs if the DVD player fails.