Home Theater

Home theater help….. I don’t know anything about buying a system….What all do I need?

I’m looking into buying a home theater system for my husband as a Christmas gift. I’m looking at user reviews and have found a few good items but I don’t want to buy something that he can’t use right away. What all do I need to have a good surround sound home theater system? I know speakers are a must but do I have to by something else separately? I have found some reviews mentioning a sub-woofer but I think that come with most of the systems I’m looking at. Other than speakers what do I need? I have read some things mentioning a receiver….. please help me… I am so lost……
I can find a good system if I know what I’m looking for….. I need a list of components that go into a system so I can but things separately….. Thanks

Hi would be happy to help you.

Your certainly going to get many different opinions and suggestions here in this forum, so you may get even more confused after you read them all lol.

Honestly your best bet is to find a local independent hi-end audio video dealer as they carry the better brands of equipment and many have years of experience to help you choose the right system for your needs.

Your local dealer will play an important role in the design, setup and calibration of the system as well as any service you will need in the future so your relationship with your dealer will be very important. You should almost spend more time researching the store and finding a salesmen that is patient and will take the time to explain things to you.

The chain stores do not carry many good brands of equipment and the salesmen don’t have the knowledge to design a system properly. It takes years to understand the complexity’s of designing and setting up a system properly.

There are some important questions your local dealer will ask you to help him design the right system for your room and your needs. He should even suggest coming to your home and discussing with you the best options for layout of the system

Is this home theater system going to be used to play music, or is this going to be a dedicated movie system ? Its important to choose the speakers carefully on how the system will be used and how you like things to sound.

What is needed in a Home Theater System:

TV or projector and screen depending on viewing distance. (1080p display capabilities highly desirable)

Speakers ether 2 for stereo or, 5.1 or 7.1 for surround sound. These speakers should be chosen carefully for sound quality and for any speaker placement limitations. The surround sound speakers consist of a left & right speaker, center channel, ether 2 or 4 surround speakers, and the .1 being a subwoofer.

Receiver, or integrated amplifier, or separate Amplifier and Preamplifier. This is the power source that takes the low level signal from the cable or satellite system, and DVD player, decodes the audio and video signal and amplifies it to the speakers.

Dvd or blu ray player. This can be both your music player and dvd player for movies.

You will also want a good universal remote control as this will make the system much easier to use and more enjoyable. This will take all your components and program it into one. It should be professionally programmed so it works the system with minimal button pushing and confusion. For instance with a well programmed remote you should be able to hit power and it will turn on all your components, switch the TV to the correct input, and come to a desired volume.

So there is a lot to designing a nice system, its a process but with a little patience and a good dealer he should be able to help you with not to much confusion.

Kevin
40 years hi-end audio video specialist

If you want my advice on equipment recommendations feel free to email me directly.

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