Video Asylum

Posted by jbmcb (A) on February 18, 2005 at 12:07:35

In Reply to: Home Theater Speakers posted by DuffyCoug on February 17, 2005 at 14:40:50:

1. How many channels are you going to use? It's better to not use additional rear or side speakers if you can't place them correctly in a 7.1 channel setup.

2. How big is your room? With a larger room you'll need larger woofers and/or subwoofer and more amplifier power to produce the same sound level as in a smaller room.

3. Spouse acceptance factor? Does someone whose opinion matter live with you? Better get speakers that either look nice or can be hidden easily. My white Magnepan MGMC on-walls more or less disappear against our white walls. Wife==happy.

4. Too little power is worse than too much. When playing loud passages too little amplifier power can ruin your voice coils. Don't get WAY too much, though. A 300W amp into 100W max load speakers isn't a good idea.

5. In general, if speakers work well for music, they'll work fine for movies. Listen to music when trying out home theater speakers. Better yet, listen to a musical. I hated Chicago but it's a good test of a home theater setup. Loads of music, ambience coming out of rear speakers, people moving around and talking/singing.

/*Music is subjective. Sound is not.*/