Home Theater Audio: How To Design Your Personal Sound by Jonathan Schultz
When it comes to home theater, controversy can often reign supreme, with so many choices and decisions in our modern day world. What does it mean to have a killer system, and why so many brands and different philosophies? How does one choose? How do you know where to start and where to end getting something that'll not only fit your needs, but your budget as well? One reader certified as J. Dogg breaks down the basics and informs as well as educates what you need to look for in a home theater system and filter out the moonshine so you can guarantee to stay on top of your game.
First, you need to start with the source; the means to power your system. Many go with a receiver where you have a processor as well as an amplifier built into one to save space in a HT center. The other option would be to go with separates. One unit processes the information, while the other unit does the amplification. Separates enable a better sound quality, but generally cost more than a receiver.
You'll next want to choose the speakers that suit you best or sound the best to you. Once you choose a brand, you'll want to stick with that particular brand and/or same series for all speakers across your HT setup. This will enable a proper timbre-match and assure what you're listening to is the way the recording studio intended it to be. Timbre-matching is also crucial for generating those subtle yet effective sounds, and having a powerful amp will only make these sounds more life-like.
Generally, if you're looking at acquiring a system to use for both movies and music, you're going to want to purchase a set of tower speakers that will allow for sufficient bass during 2-channel as well as provide the needed fullness for explosions in movies. The laws of physics state that the more drivers you have and the larger these drivers are, the greater the potential you now have to obtain the full frequency response. This is crucial in terms of enabling the 'perfect sound' to encapsulate you.
Once you've chosen your front mains and wish to incorporate them into a HT setting, the next speaker that's often been depicted as the most important is the center channel. About 60% of the information in a movie (depending on the type) comes through this speaker. Back to the basics of physics; the larger the center channel speaker, the fuller vocals will be in any movie. A large center is crucial, as you won't find yourself playing with the center volume during quiet passages in a movie.
Rear speakers are the next selection for your HT system. If this system is going to be used primarily for movies, dipoles would be the way to go. However, if you want to incorporate SACD and DVD audio into this same system, going with more of a direct bookshelf or smaller tower is often recommended. With dipoles, the phase on one of the tweeter is reversed to enhance the feel of space in your listening environment with movies. Bookshelves or towers will create a fuller response due to the increased excursion present in each driver and larger internal volume of cabinet. These are suggested for rears with SACD and DVD audio to represent that of a live concert.
The .1 in a home theater system stands for the sub. If it were .2 or a 5.2 system, there would be 2 subs helping to equalize bass response, producing an essential balance for action/adventure movies. Subwoofers come in different forms for use in several applications. A common type of subwoofer is one that has a porthole built into the cabinet, releasing the pressure. This design allows for a lower bass response as the driver has the opportunity to attain a lower frequency response. This type of subwoofer is ideal for movies, and by placing the sub into a corner of the room, explosions come to life more effectively.
The second type of sub is the sealed enclosure design. This type of sub is most versatile and can produce tight, accurate bass for music, and also have the ability to obtain the depths for movies. The cabinet withholds the pressure produced by the driver, resulting in time-aligned bass of which can be matched with the upper frequencies in your favorite song. Here you would have the opportunity to add more bass to music without it sounding like it's unnatural or not part of the song.
A third design, though not as popular as the first two is the passive radiator. With this type, you now have an active driver producing the bass pressure while a secondary 'bass reflex' driver reacts in the same manner as the active driver, producing a much lower frequency response than the active driver alone. Subwoofers of this design are utilized more in movies to obtain this lower frequency response, but can also be used for 2-channel based music systems. Often more times than not, there may be a slight delay experienced with music, but beneficial to movies with a passive radiator.
Speaker wire is needed to transfer the electrons from your receiver/amplifier to each channel, where by the means of electromagnetics, these electrons are transformed to audible sound waves. The thicker the speaker wire, the higher the potential for more electrons to travel to each speaker. If you're running speaker wire longer than 25 feet, it's often recommended you have speaker wire at least 12 gauge.
Before you purchase any home theater systems, make sure you read our home audio blog for detailed information on speakers, audio, video, and custom installations.
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Article Source: http://www.earticlesonline.com/Article/Home-Theater-Audio--How-To-Design-Your-Personal-Sound/193416
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