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Personalized Product Recommendations
by Paul Sanders
Home audio electronics have progressed to the point where you can assemble your own speaker system without spending a lot of money. Bookshelf speakers are ideal for constructing your own home audio system, as part of a home theater surround-sound system or a home stereo speaker-system. Selecting the bookshelf speakers yourself lets you custom build the system to your exact specifications. Here are the top five things to look for when shopping for your bookshelf speakers.
Signal-to-noise ratio: Check the speaker description for "SNR" or "S/N." This is related to the clarity of sound. Bookshelf speakers with a higher ratio will have reduced background audio noise.
Frequency response: This is the range of sound frequencies that the bookshelf speakers produce. You ears can hear in the 20Hz to 20,000Hz range. The wider the range between numbers, the better your bookshelf speakers will reproduce sounds. If you're choosing speakers for surround sound, you may want speakers that separate into the high and middle ranges of the human spectrum, with a subwoofer to handle low frequencies.
Power: If you like your music and your movies loud, get speakers that can handle operating at higher power. Bookshelf speakers will list both normal and maximum power in watts. Consistently running your bookshelf speakers above normal can damage the speaker and your ears if it's loud enough.
Total harmonic distortion: A receiver or amplifier can increase the volume of sound, but it degrades the sound at the same time. A lower THD percentage means your bookshelf speakers reproduce sound better at high volumes. Look for speakers rated at 1 percent or lower.
Connector cables: How you connect the bookshelf speakers to the amplifier or receiver matters. Lower gauge (heavier) speaker wire or connector cable has a lower electrical resistance than higher gauges, so it affects the audio quality less. Try to match Ohm ratings of your speaker wire with the ratings of the bookshelf speakers you choose.
