How to Find the Best Home Audio System at the Lowest Price
Everyone wants their home to echo with theater type sound, but many consumers believe the hassle of choosing and installing the best home audio system is more work than it really is. Interestingly, this fact has led many home audio companies to manufacturer "home audio in a box" type set ups, which enable anyone to make their TV equipped with theater type sound. Even better, you can install the best home audio surround sound system without being an experienced installer.The challenge today is not setting up a home audio system, but finding the best home audio system for YOU without overspending. With dozens of home audio manufacturers on the market and even more models to choose from, finding the best home audio system at the lowest price can be a daunting task. Where to do you even start?
This guide is designed to help you understand the types of home audio systems available, and the features that are important for you to consider as you shop around. When the time comes to buy, this guide will help you find the cheapest home audio system among the hundreds of stores that offer them.
Step #1, Understand which features make up the best home audio systems
Most "home audio in a box" systems come with the following basic elements, which include everything you need to get your TV equipped with theater type sound:- Speakers and subwoofer
- Receiver and amplifier
Speakers
The most important thing to remember when shopping for the best home audio system is this: listen to the speakers before you buy. A good rule of thumb is to bring a familiar DVD or CD and play it on the demo unit. The more you are familiar with the way a movie or music should sound, the better you'll be able to tell the differences between each set. You'll find that being prepared will help you find the best sounding home audio system relatively quickly.Subwoofer
Like the speakers, you'll need to listen to the subwoofer before understanding what sound it is capable of. If you are fan of good sounding base, bring a DVD or CD that challenges the subwoofer, and make a determination with your ears. If this is not possible, a good rule of thumb to remember is this; the smaller the subwoofer, the more difficult it will be to produce good sound. This doesn't mean you need a huge subwoofer to get the job done, but it is true that small units are generally are not as good.Receiver
While it performs many other tasks as well, the receiver also controls the surround decoding, which is the way two-channel Dolby Surround is decoded to derive left, center, right, and a mono surround channels. What this means is that your receiver takes audio that was not recorded with the intention of surround sound and decodes it to sound like if it had been. There are a few surround decoding options worth noting, however. In general, if your home audio system consists of a 5.1 speaker configuration (see below), you won't need any thing more than a Dolby Pro Logic II decoding format. This type of format will make full use of your CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes, radio, and standard TV. If you plan to go with a 7.1 (see below) speaker configuration, then the Dolby Pro Logic IIx format is best suited for your needs. Although there are many other decoding formats available, the professionals recommend you look for one of the two mentioned above when shopping for the best home audio system.Speaker configuration
In general, speakers can come in the following configurations. You should understand them to know what to look for as you shop for the best home audio system.4.0 - Includes front left and right, center, and mono surround speakers.
5.1 - Same as 4.0 but with the addition of low frequency affects channels, which allow you to hear those bass rumbles and booms you feel in full-size theaters.
6.1 - Same as 5.1 but with the addition of a third surround speaker directly behind the seating area.
7.1 - Same as 6.1 but with the addition of two back-surround speakers that are positioned behind the seating area instead of just one.
