Questions I Always Ask When Putting In A Home Theater System...
I'm retired now, but I used to design home theater systems on the side. It's a hobby that got out of hand.
The questions I always asked before I started.
Is the system just for TV or is listening to music important?
If it's just for TV you can get away with a cheaper audio system, especially the subwoofer. The center speaker is 84% of your listening with TV, but the subwoofer, to me, is the second most important speaker in the system. If you're only going to use the system for TV, you can get away with a much cheaper and more harsh subwoofer. Music requires you to spend a few bucks more and get something that is softer and blends better with your system. Placement is important. I keep hearing, put the sub anywhere that you have space, because subs are non-directional. Personally, I think that's a bunch of BS. I always put the sub in the front near the other speakers, but there are ways to find the best placement, so do some homework.
Is the woman of the house going to want to use the system?
Woman generally are not big fans of a lot of base. Generally, guys like heavy base and women dont! So, think of how the woman would like to use the system.
Design the system for the least tech person to use it, so dont get to fancy.
Big thing to remember. Good audio is about CLARITY. If you have to crank up the audio to understand the dialogue or clearly hear the music, then you bought wrong!
Take a really REALLY well recorded CD or FLAC USB stick with you to listen and hear how it sounds, in the store, on low volume. If you can easily hear all the insturments on low volume, that's clarity.
When you set a price for your system, expect to pay 10% more, because we always want something a bit better than the budget allows. Guess what, the next level is usually 10% more money.
One of the things I like are rear speakers with adjustable tweeters. If you have a large room, then you can set the rear speakers farther apart and adjust the tweeters accordingly. This gives you a bigger audience area. If you have trouble figuring out where the speakers should go, CALL THE Manufacturer! The way I would generally decide where and how far apart to put the speakers. I'd find the customers listening location, put on a good stereo music and keep moving the speaker apart, until they stopped blending. Then I'd move them in about a foot. Tweeters should be at ear level.
When I designed systems, my first choice was always B&W speakers, but I live in an apartment, so my big speakers are eletrostatic Martin Logans, because they are very directional and clear audio. Again, clarity means you can get away with lower volume.
I'll probably add to this thead from time to time as I remember things.
I'm retired now, but I used to design home theater systems on the side. It's a hobby that got out of hand.
The questions I always asked before I started.
Is the system just for TV or is listening to music important?
If it's just for TV you can get away with a cheaper audio system, especially the subwoofer. The center speaker is 84% of your listening with TV, but the subwoofer, to me, is the second most important speaker in the system. If you're only going to use the system for TV, you can get away with a much cheaper and more harsh subwoofer. Music requires you to spend a few bucks more and get something that is softer and blends better with your system. Placement is important. I keep hearing, put the sub anywhere that you have space, because subs are non-directional. Personally, I think that's a bunch of BS. I always put the sub in the front near the other speakers, but there are ways to find the best placement, so do some homework.
Is the woman of the house going to want to use the system?
Woman generally are not big fans of a lot of base. Generally, guys like heavy base and women dont! So, think of how the woman would like to use the system.
Design the system for the least tech person to use it, so dont get to fancy.
Big thing to remember. Good audio is about CLARITY. If you have to crank up the audio to understand the dialogue or clearly hear the music, then you bought wrong!
Take a really REALLY well recorded CD or FLAC USB stick with you to listen and hear how it sounds, in the store, on low volume. If you can easily hear all the insturments on low volume, that's clarity.
When you set a price for your system, expect to pay 10% more, because we always want something a bit better than the budget allows. Guess what, the next level is usually 10% more money.
One of the things I like are rear speakers with adjustable tweeters. If you have a large room, then you can set the rear speakers farther apart and adjust the tweeters accordingly. This gives you a bigger audience area. If you have trouble figuring out where the speakers should go, CALL THE Manufacturer! The way I would generally decide where and how far apart to put the speakers. I'd find the customers listening location, put on a good stereo music and keep moving the speaker apart, until they stopped blending. Then I'd move them in about a foot. Tweeters should be at ear level.
When I designed systems, my first choice was always B&W speakers, but I live in an apartment, so my big speakers are eletrostatic Martin Logans, because they are very directional and clear audio. Again, clarity means you can get away with lower volume.
I'll probably add to this thead from time to time as I remember things.
Last edited by a moderator:
