Home Theater Buying Guide

Home Theater buying tips

When you decide to buy audio, consider four points:

• First, how much? Prices and options vary widely; decide how much you want to spend, then pick the best set up in that range.
• Second, where? Sketch out the room; show dimensions, furniture and windows; keep the sketch handy as you look over your options. If you know how much space you have and what components you'll add, your purchase will sound better. Sound bounces off walls, so use that to your advantage -- a 10-foot by 10-foot room doesn't need the same home theater system as a 15-foot by 20-foot room. You should also consider seemingly unrelated factors: Does the room have large doors or open walls? Where are the electrical outlets and cable hook-ups? How is the room's traffic flow?
• Three, check your connectors. If you will plug new components into existing components, make sure you have the right connectors. If not, you will need to buy adapters. Good adapters are relatively inexpensive; the best adapters are not cheap, but they do provide superior signal transfer.
• Fourth, compare the options. Make a list of the home theater systems that fit your budget and rank the features. Number of speakers? Floor mount, bookshelf or wall mounted? Are you just buying a home theater receiver or a complete home theater system? Does it need to fit into an entertainment center? (Overstock.com has wonderful entertainment centers in our furniture store.)

When you've reached your conclusion, come to Overstock.com and get the equipment you need at a great price.

Home Theater terminology

If you want to get the right components, you'll need to understand a little techno-jargon:

Volume is measured in decibels (dB) and gauges both air pressure and sound volume. Think "How hard do I have to hit the drum to make a noise that loud?" In theory, 0dB is the threshold of hearing, the softest sounds people can hear, though many individuals are higher or lower. Ears don't respond to all frequencies equally. The high and low ends of the scale need more volume to sound like they are the same volume as midrange frequencies (see "Equalizer" below). Loud sounds can, of course, damage your hearing, and hearing loss is usually permanent. Avoid anything over 90dB (jackhammers, airplane engines, H-bombs going off) and do what your parents kept telling you to do when you were a teenager -- turn your stereo down!

Frequency response of human ears ranges from about 20 Hertz to 20,000 Hertz (20KHz). Frequency response is the range of tones a speaker can make:

• Tweeters: can get up to 20KHz.
• Mid-ranges: are 500Hz-3KHz
• Woofers: reach 500-200Hz.
• Subwoofers: go deep, close to 20Hz.
• An earthquake, for comparison, is around 5Hz; you can't hear it, but you can feel it in your bones!

In theory, the response should be steady. That is, 20Hz at 10dB should be as loud as 20KHz at 10dB, but perfection is still a few years off, so you may see "20Hz-20KHz +-3dB" meaning frequency response will vary by 3dB across the range. The better speaker will have a wider frequency response with lower variance.

Impedance exists because wires and microchips are solid objects that impede (ever so slightly) the flow of electricity. Think of a water pump connected to two pipes -- the larger pipe has lower impedance because more water can flow through. Impedance is measured in ohms (abbreviated by omega, the horseshoe-shaped Greek letter). Stereo amplifiers and speakers are usually rated at 4, 8 or 16Ohms; they work best when the numbers match; mismatched components can give you bad sound or damage each other.

Digital storage capacity is measured in Megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB):

• 1MB = 1,000,000 bytes
• 1GB = 1,000MB
• A typical 1GB iPod or MP3 player can store 200-300 songs (depending on play length).
• A standard CD is 750MB (about 75 minutes of music).
• A standard DVD is 4.7GB (just over 2 hours of video).
• DVRs record onto a hard drive instead of disc or tape; its capacity will be measured in GB -- many, many GB!

Power is the amount of electrical energy each speaker can use before exploding (okay, 'being damaged'). Measured in watts (W), it varies with the size of the system and may carry two numbers: normal and maximum power (maximum is almost always twice normal). A speaker rated 75W normal usage would be marked "75W RMS/150W peak power" (RMS = 'root-mean-square', a meaningless phrase unless you're an engineer) or "75W continuous/150W peak." Cranking up the volume puts more energy through the speaker, causing more wear on the components. Think of wind -- your house might survive a steady 75-mph wind (your basic hurricane) for several hours, but it's much less likely to hold up against 150-mph gusts (Katrina revisited). Some people think there's no such thing as too much power; these are people who buy new speakers and hearing aids regularly.

Sensitivity measures speaker efficiency, or how much volume a speaker puts out for a given voltage. There is no universal standard, so for simplicity, if speaker A's sensitivity is rated 3dB higher than speaker B's, then A needs less juice to put out the same volume as B. Higher sensitivity means a lower electrical bill, if one may put it so.

Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR or S/N) is about clarity. "Signal" is the sound you want to hear; "noise" is the unavoidable audio clutter in the background. Usually measured in decibels (dB), the higher the ratio, the less noticeable the clutter.

Surround sound describes a suite of speakers identified by a number: 5.1-channel, 6.1-channel or 7.1-channel. The ".1" is the subwoofer. The other numbers define how many speakers are in the set -- 5-channel has a center speaker, left & right speakers and left & right surround speakers. 6-channel adds a single rear surround speaker and 7-channel adds two rear surround speakers.

Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) is similar to SNR. Imagine an amplifier as a copier set to enlarge; it won't make a perfect copy. These imperfections are 'distortion.' THD is expressed as the percentage of distortion within the total sound. A good audio component has a THD around 1-percent; really good components are below 0.1-percent.

Home Theater components

Amplifiers and pre-amps

Basically, every device that makes sound has an amplifier. Modern microphones are very small and use a tiny amount of electricity, which, if recorded without an amplifier, would reproduce as a whisper. Still thinking of an amplifier as a copier set to enlarge? Imagine using two copiers. The first is the pre-amp. If a recording has very low signal or a lot of distortion, a preamp can strengthen and clean up the signal, then the amplifier will power it up to speaker level.

Cassette Decks and Turntables

No joke here; many people still have audio cassettes and vinyl disks -- in fact, phonograph records (LPs, 45s, etc.) are still being manufactured and sold as a niche market and are gaining popularity, so don't throw away those 'manhole covers'; take a walk down memory lane with the original analogue tracks.

CD players

They come in many sizes, from the single-disc CD player to the modern equivalent of the malt shop jukebox, CD changers. CD recorders are also available for those who want to keep audio records of family and friends.

Computers

Many TVs can now function as computer monitors and computer disc drives can function as DVD or CD players.

Equalizer

Recorded sounds can be run through this device that raises or lowers the volume of various frequencies without affecting other frequencies, in effect, fine tuning output to the personal preference of the listener.

iPod and MP3 Players

Docks for these mobile units can form the core of mini stereo systems or be a component of a larger home theater.

Radios

AM/FM radios are still the way to listen to local stations. A new satellite radio tuner will provide access to dozens of digital audio stations from all over the world.

Receivers

The heart of the home theater, with pre-amp, amp, microchips and cable jacks aplenty -- they take codes and signals from radio, CDs, DVDs, TV or other sources, decode them, amplify them and send them into the speakers.

Televisions

Home theaters aren't just for music, owners want theater-quality sound for their wide screen, high definition movie watching. Who can blame them?

Video Recorders

There are a few who still use a video cassette recorder (VCR), but most have been replaced by digital video discs (DVDs). The newest toy is the digital video recorder (DVR), which does for digital what VHS did for analogue.

Speakers

May sell as a multi-speaker system or individually. Home theater speakers always include the center speaker or center channel speaker, which projects the core sounds, dialogue, music, etc. All other speakers are called 'satellite speakers':

• Left & right speakers: placed in front of listeners to create more realistic sound effects.
• Left & right surround speakers: placed just behind listeners to add depth.
• Rear surround speakers: -- one or two speakers placed left & right in the back of the room for additional depth and realism.
• Subwoofer: placed near the receiver or center speaker to pound out those really low frequencies.

Speaker placement is also important:

• Floor standing speakers do just that; if they are very tall, they're called tower speakers.
• Bookshelf speakers are small, unobtrusive units that sit quietly (well, not so quietly sometimes) between Ernest Hemmingway and J. K. Rowling
• Outdoor speakers are weatherproofed, but also work indoors
• Wireless speakers use radio transmission instead of wires; makes for an uncluttered look
• Speaker mounts or wall mounts are the hardware needed to attach the speaker to the studs
• Speaker stands get floor speakers off the floor, creating a better sound

Stereo accessories

What we now call 'home theaters' or 'audio systems' were first called 'stereos,' meaning any audio device or system with more than one sound channel. Today, the term includes all the neat toys that go with a stereo: microphones, karaoke machines, disco lights, headphones, turntables and more.

Cables

With so many different types of audio cables, a complete listing would be impractical (and really boring to read). Most components include all the necessary cables; when they don't, read the instruction manual, then visit our audio cables pages.

Home Theater care

Amplifiers, audio systems and the rest don't require much care. Very few have moving parts to wear out, though dust is a problem. Wipe down the exteriors regularly, buy a can of air and blow clean the openings, air vents, CD & DVD slots, etc. Never blow them clean yourself; the humidity in your breath is not good for them. A room dehumidifier or air purifier (available in our housewares department) is worth considering.

Electrical components will wear out eventually, but you can extend their service life by not abusing them. Electricity flow generates heat, so be sure the components get proper ventilation. Don't place them in completely enclosed cabinets. If your home theater gets hot, use a fan or air conditioner. (You may need to keep that on even when the audio system is off.) Turn components off when not in use.

"Heads" are the components that actually read the VHS tapes, CDs, DVDs and so on. These need to be cleaned and many kits are commercially available. They are inexpensive, quick to use and give you better output when used regularly. It's also a good idea to call a professional technician for a tune-up if you know one that makes house calls. They can suggest speaker placements, room set ups and advise you on getting the most out of your home theater system.

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