Sound quality is a huge part of our movie and music watching experience. So, getting nice speakers for our home entertainment system should be a priority. Whether you stay in instead of going out to the theaters on date nights may hinge on it.
Much like in areas of the home that we don't know much about, we tend to think that more expensive is better. But speaker shopping shouldn't be focused on the cost. It should be focused on what you want and what your house can provide. This is important to remember because some of them carry price tags closer to cars while others cost as little as $50. With the wide-ranging price and wealth of choices, it's easy to fall for the trap of thinking that more expensive is better.
What a regular speaker shopper doesn't know is that the tech behind one speaker might be different from the other. And that is what makes it more expensive. Not necessarily better. Each of them also works differently in different acoustic settings. It's a nuanced decision with a lot of factors. But, you don't need to get a degree in acoustics to learn how to find the perfect one for you. To help you out pick out the best one for you, we've put together this list of considerations in order of priority.
What Are You Getting the Speakers For?
The speaker industry has grown so much that there's an unimaginable wealth of choices that you might not even know. It's become such a difficult choice where you have to consider brands, types, and plenty of other factors.
To help narrow our choices, the first most general thing to consider is what we're actually going to use them for. This is a huge consideration that you have to adequately answer before moving on to any of the specifics.
Small Rooms
For most people, a decent soundbar might be enough. Audio tech has progressed so far that surround sound can be achieved even through a single source speaker. It all has to do with acoustics and how these inexpensive machines bounce sound off the walls. Small rooms, then, can be serviced by these small-footprint speakers. This way, you don't have to take up much space in the room or spend more money than necessary on audio equipment. Other than that, larger speakers would load up the room with more bass than it can handle that muddies up the sound.
Big Rooms
While decent soundbars are effective in bigger rooms as well, prolonged usage reveals its weaknesses. If you often go on intense music listening sessions or go on movie watching binges in big rooms, you may want to check out legit surround sound systems. Depending on the room, you can load it up with as many satellites you need depending on how big the room is.
Specifics
Now that we've narrowed down our choice between small, big, or many, it's time to get down to the specifics.
The sounds that the speakers produce comes from an input device. These are usually either from the movie you are watching or the music you're listening to. That input is converted into sounds using a receiver or an amplifier. These are equally important hardware considerations in audio system shopping. Since most receivers are also amplifiers, we're putting both under the umbrella term "amp" for this guide.
Most importantly, the ohms that the speaker can take and the amp can produce needs to be compatible. If not, you may be either be using more or less power than you need. Luckily most known brands use 8-ohm speakers and amps. But if you want to customize your experience by using lower or higher impedance speakers then you need to pair them with the proper amps.
Finding the right combination of speakers and amps is one of the most important things to do. Speakers and amps also have characteristics that are often subjective. Some speakers tend to favor treble. Pairing them with similar treble-oriented amp might make it unbearable for some.
Subtle Things That Have Great Effects on Sound Quality
It’s not always just pure power output and room dimensions that affect sound quality. What’s inside the room also matters in producing crisp sounds. If the sound bounces around too much, an echoing effect might ruin the listening experience.
Speaker Placement
Placement is a key consideration in speaker shopping too. If you're going to go for a 7.1 speaker system, your music listening or movie watching area should be at the center. The satellites should be surrounding you. So, if your couch is against a wall, there's no point of getting a surround sound system.
But, in dual stereo speaker systems, it's important to remember that the sound is projected only to where the speakers are facing. The rest of the room might suffer from distortions.
Furniture
Hard surfaces are great at bouncing sound around a room. Too much bounce and it may be more of a distraction. Furniture can help in absorbing the sound vibrations in a room.
Having a wooden furniture instead of metal ones increase sound absorption. Heavy drapes are also excellent at absorbing the sounds. So, if you have distorted sounds, you may want to try out changing up the drapes before considering a new audio system.
Parting Insights
Audio system improvement is a complicated and expensive process. So, it's important to experience it for yourself first before buying it. It's highly recommended that you go on a sort of an audition before making any decision. But, don't let that experience be your sole reason for judging the quality. It's important to remember that the room that you're going to place the speakers in is also going to have an effect.
It's no doubt a nuanced subjective decision that you alone can make. That's why it's important to know your preferences first. Ultimately, your choice of speakers depends on the music or movies that you like. If you know yourself, then you'd make the decision a lot easier.
Much like in areas of the home that we don't know much about, we tend to think that more expensive is better. But speaker shopping shouldn't be focused on the cost. It should be focused on what you want and what your house can provide. This is important to remember because some of them carry price tags closer to cars while others cost as little as $50. With the wide-ranging price and wealth of choices, it's easy to fall for the trap of thinking that more expensive is better.
What a regular speaker shopper doesn't know is that the tech behind one speaker might be different from the other. And that is what makes it more expensive. Not necessarily better. Each of them also works differently in different acoustic settings. It's a nuanced decision with a lot of factors. But, you don't need to get a degree in acoustics to learn how to find the perfect one for you. To help you out pick out the best one for you, we've put together this list of considerations in order of priority.
What Are You Getting the Speakers For?
The speaker industry has grown so much that there's an unimaginable wealth of choices that you might not even know. It's become such a difficult choice where you have to consider brands, types, and plenty of other factors.
To help narrow our choices, the first most general thing to consider is what we're actually going to use them for. This is a huge consideration that you have to adequately answer before moving on to any of the specifics.
Small Rooms
For most people, a decent soundbar might be enough. Audio tech has progressed so far that surround sound can be achieved even through a single source speaker. It all has to do with acoustics and how these inexpensive machines bounce sound off the walls. Small rooms, then, can be serviced by these small-footprint speakers. This way, you don't have to take up much space in the room or spend more money than necessary on audio equipment. Other than that, larger speakers would load up the room with more bass than it can handle that muddies up the sound.
Big Rooms
While decent soundbars are effective in bigger rooms as well, prolonged usage reveals its weaknesses. If you often go on intense music listening sessions or go on movie watching binges in big rooms, you may want to check out legit surround sound systems. Depending on the room, you can load it up with as many satellites you need depending on how big the room is.
Specifics
Now that we've narrowed down our choice between small, big, or many, it's time to get down to the specifics.
The sounds that the speakers produce comes from an input device. These are usually either from the movie you are watching or the music you're listening to. That input is converted into sounds using a receiver or an amplifier. These are equally important hardware considerations in audio system shopping. Since most receivers are also amplifiers, we're putting both under the umbrella term "amp" for this guide.
Most importantly, the ohms that the speaker can take and the amp can produce needs to be compatible. If not, you may be either be using more or less power than you need. Luckily most known brands use 8-ohm speakers and amps. But if you want to customize your experience by using lower or higher impedance speakers then you need to pair them with the proper amps.
Finding the right combination of speakers and amps is one of the most important things to do. Speakers and amps also have characteristics that are often subjective. Some speakers tend to favor treble. Pairing them with similar treble-oriented amp might make it unbearable for some.
Subtle Things That Have Great Effects on Sound Quality
It’s not always just pure power output and room dimensions that affect sound quality. What’s inside the room also matters in producing crisp sounds. If the sound bounces around too much, an echoing effect might ruin the listening experience.
Speaker Placement
Placement is a key consideration in speaker shopping too. If you're going to go for a 7.1 speaker system, your music listening or movie watching area should be at the center. The satellites should be surrounding you. So, if your couch is against a wall, there's no point of getting a surround sound system.
But, in dual stereo speaker systems, it's important to remember that the sound is projected only to where the speakers are facing. The rest of the room might suffer from distortions.
Furniture
Hard surfaces are great at bouncing sound around a room. Too much bounce and it may be more of a distraction. Furniture can help in absorbing the sound vibrations in a room.
Having a wooden furniture instead of metal ones increase sound absorption. Heavy drapes are also excellent at absorbing the sounds. So, if you have distorted sounds, you may want to try out changing up the drapes before considering a new audio system.
Parting Insights
Audio system improvement is a complicated and expensive process. So, it's important to experience it for yourself first before buying it. It's highly recommended that you go on a sort of an audition before making any decision. But, don't let that experience be your sole reason for judging the quality. It's important to remember that the room that you're going to place the speakers in is also going to have an effect.
It's no doubt a nuanced subjective decision that you alone can make. That's why it's important to know your preferences first. Ultimately, your choice of speakers depends on the music or movies that you like. If you know yourself, then you'd make the decision a lot easier.