October 20, 2007
Home Theater System
For a while, I have been dying for a home theater system. You see, I have a friend who has it all. He doesn't buy stuff to impress people – he just loves high-tech gadgets and has the money to spend on them. He has been working on his home theater systems gear for about three years now, and it is really coming together. He actually has the best home theater speaker system that I have ever seen, and his tv is not shabby either. He has one of those new widescreen TVs – not the newest ones, but the ones from a generation before. It is still extremely high resolution, and although it takes up a huge portion of the room, it is worth it.
I have been saving up for the most perfect home theater system that I can find. You see, just for once I wanted to have the best one. My friend always has nicer stuff than I have. He wears better clothes, he drives a better car, and of course he has a better home theater system. He knows all about theater home system design as well. You see, and he is an acoustic engineer professionally, so he loves really high-quality audio gear.
I know what TV I want to get, but I can't quite decide on home theater audio systems. What kind of home theatre system should I get? Part of me wants to get one of those over the top, extremely high powered home theater systems. I want to be able to turn up the sound as loud as I want and scare the neighbors. Another part of me, however, thinks that I'm getting too old for that. Rationally, I think it would be better served by a home theater system with flat-panel speakers. I have heard that that kind of home theater system delivers the best sound quality, which is kind of the whole point.
The really tough thing is that there is nowhere I can try out a home theater system before I buy it. Oh sure, I can try it in the store, but the acoustics of the store have nothing in common with the acoustics in my house. How will I know if the home theater system will play the way I want it to if I don't get to listen to it inside? Oh well – sooner or later I'll make a decision.
Posted by HDTV at 12:04 PM | Comments (0)
June 07, 2006
HDTV - Home Theater Systems
Many HDTVs do a good job of delivering quality audio, but few in-built speaker systems will satisfy audiophiles. After all, if you've invested in the top-quality image, you'll want to accompany that with the high-end audio possible only with a home theater audio system.
The two basic components are a receiver and set of speakers. Home theater receivers are much like standard stereo receivers, but support more channels. Stereo is two-channel, home theater is three or more, usually five to seven.
Receivers have to have sufficient output power to drive multiple speakers. Any receiver can play audio loud enough to annoy even hard rock fans. But along with that high volume can come noise inherent in the electronics.
To get good volume with noise-free sound requires higher power. Most HDTVs have 10 watt per speaker systems and can't deliver that. Home theater systems have 30 watts or more per channel, often 50 watts or more. All other things being equal, the more the better (up to a point). More power, usually costs more.
Receivers will also have to have enough, and enough variety, ports to connect all the devices you'll want to run through them. That includes at least two HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) ports, component, S-video and connectors for the speakers. It can also serve as a FM-tuner, or in some cases a satellite radio receiver.
Speaker systems run the gamut from three speaker sets - the bare minimum since otherwise you could just use your stereo system - to seven channels with possibly multiple speakers connected to each channel.
Five speakers would form the set for most high end systems: left and right front-channel speakers, left and right surround system speakers and a center-channel speaker. Often, though, a sixth - the sub-woofer - is added.
The center channel carries most of the dialogue and the left and right front-channel units provide most of the background and major sound effects. There's considerable overlap in any system between sources, though. Otherwise the system would sound unnatural.
The sub-woofer, as the name suggests, carries the very low bass common in a great many modern movies with special effects - jets, crashing buildings, earthquakes... anything that produces very low frequency sound.
The surround speakers are generally placed to the side or in back for that 360 degree effect everyone is now used to from movie theaters. They add the 3-D audio realism of bullets zipping by, swirling wind, chirping birds, etc. Though, again, those sounds will come partly from all other speakers, as well.
Contemporary HDTV sets don't use an electron gun, so they're not sensitive to the magnets in speaker systems, but it's still a good idea to look for video-shielded systems.
Any set will have to be matched, though most manufacturers do a good job of providing seamless integration between all speakers. Even so, it's important to listen to any system you're considering in good testing conditions to ensure it's capable of producing a high-end, realistic audio experience.
Posted by HDTV at 04:15 PM | Comments (0)
