Designing The Perfect Home Theater System

When it comes to home theater, controversy can often reign supreme, with so many choices and decisions in our modern day world. What does it mean to have a killer system, and why so many brands and different philosophies? How does one choose? How do you know where to start and where to end getting something that'll not only fit your needs, but your budget as well? One reader certified as J. Dogg breaks down the basics and informs as well as educates what you need to look for in a home theater system and filter out the moonshine so you can guarantee to stay on top of your game.

The first objective is to start with a decent home theater receiver or going with separates that'll enable a better sound quality that may fit your liking. Receivers are a one-stop shop, while separates consist of 2 units that require more than one shelf in your rack and often cost more than a receiver. With separates, one piece of equipment does the processing capabilities, while the other does the amplification.

You'll next want to choose the speakers that suit you best or sound the best to you. Once you choose a brand, you'll want to stick with that particular brand and/or same series for all speakers across your HT setup. This will enable a proper timbre-match and assure what you're listening to is the way the recording studio intended it to be. Timbre-matching is also crucial for generating those subtle yet effective sounds, and having a powerful amp will only make these sounds more life-like.

Generally, if you're looking at acquiring a system to use for both movies and music, you're going to want to purchase a set of tower speakers that will allow for sufficient bass during 2-channel as well as provide the needed fullness for explosions in movies. The laws of physics state that the more drivers you have and the larger these drivers are, the greater the potential you now have to obtain the full frequency response. This is crucial in terms of enabling the 'perfect sound' to encapsulate you.

Once you've chosen your front mains and wish to incorporate them into a HT setting, the next speaker that's often been depicted as the most important is the center channel. About 60% of the information in a movie (depending on the type) comes through this speaker. Back to the basics of physics; the larger the center channel speaker, the fuller vocals will be in any movie. A large center is crucial, as you won't find yourself playing with the center volume during quiet passages in a movie.

Information being sent to the rear channels is often in the form of treble and midrange. Because of this, it's not as important to have as large of drivers in these speakers as that of the center and front mains. Dipoles are usually recommended, as they present a larger than normal response, having one tweeter in each cabinet with a reversed polarity. This will make surround sounds or background sounds seem farther away than what you'd expect; similar to a small movie theater in terms of size. Keep in mind the reversed polarity in dipoles is not listening-appropriate for SACD or DVD audio. This type of setup would be more inclined to having a direct design speaker, like a bookshelf or small tower speaker.

The .1 in a home theater system stands for the sub. If it were .2 or a 5.2 system, there would be 2 subs helping to equalize bass response, producing an essential balance for action/adventure movies. Subwoofers come in different forms for use in several applications. A common type of subwoofer is one that has a porthole built into the cabinet, releasing the pressure. This design allows for a lower bass response as the driver has the opportunity to attain a lower frequency response. This type of subwoofer is ideal for movies, and by placing the sub into a corner of the room, explosions come to life more effectively.

Another type of subwoofer is one with no port hole built in or known as a sealed enclosure. This sub will play tight and accurate with the rest of the frequencies, making this sub the most musically sounding and versatile to play with both movies and 2-channel music. The bass response isn't generally as low as that of a ported design, but often sounds cleaner and more refined in the sealed enclosure type due to increased decay.

Another design, not quite as popular as the first two, is the passive radiator type. This design utilizes an active driver with one or more 'fake' drivers on opposite sides of the cabinet that act in a way to increase excursion of the overall subwoofer itself. This provides for an efficient method to achieve a lower frequency yet maintain a proportional cabinet design. These subs are generally used for movie settings, but can also be used for music although a delay may occur as these subs are purposely built to fulfill sub-low frequencies.

Speaker wire will be needed to transfer the electrons from your power source to each channel. The thicker the gauge, the greater the electron transfer potential to each speaker, resulting in a better sound. A good rule to follow is any length over 25 feet should be 12 gauge or thicker. Keep in mind, this is also dependent on the amount of power your amp is generating, with greater power requiring a thicker gauge of wire.

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