Everyone listens to music at home. Earlier it used to be playing acoustic instruments and singing to one another, or having your friends over and preparing for a gig in the garage. Now it is a bit mundane, yet it can be music of great quality – playing records, if you are retro, or finding some good tunes on the web and playing them via bluetooth on your wireless loudspeakers.
When thinking of going beyond your small PC loudspeakers and investing in a good home sound system so you can immerse yourself while watching a movie or a live performance, the question needs to be asked – what is a good system?
Luckily, the internet is an inexhaustible resource when it comes to guides, comparing prices and brands, so let us have a look.
What Is The Sound System For?
Every system, however big or small, will have at least a player, amplifier and a loudspeaker. Building up on that all of those components, and their details, will differ depending on what they are intended for. A large concert hall? A small room with furniture thrown about or maybe a car sound system? We first have to define the use before exploring more.
If we are talking about a home sound system such as, say, a surround sound system in your living room with the TV next to one wall and a couch in the middle, we have stumbled upon one of the more frequent types that are searched for. There are some typical arrangements here that we can look at:
The International Telecommunications Union, or ITU has defined several standards on how telecommunication networks operate and interwork, of which the 5.1 standard calls for 6 speakers in a typical surround sound system.
A central channel, front left and right, two surround channels and a subwoofer (for lower-frequency effects, popularly known as “bass”). The system was originally meant for theaters but has since been implemented in house sound systems. It is designed with a sweet spot in mind, as there is a best possible position for the listener in this configuration, roughly in the middle of a circle, a bit closer to the front channels.
Beside the theoretical standardization of speaker placement what we are interested in is the real life application of these principles, how to adapt to our living rooms and what brands are best for us. SoundCertified.com and similar sites offer advice on DIY sound equipment projects, as well as reviews of various brands on the market. It is also a good idea to go to an actual shop and seek advice from a clerk, but if you didn’t do any homework beforehand it’s easy to get swindled.
Equipment You Should Get First
If you have lots of spare money it is easy to go out and buy all the different geeky audio stuff you can imagine, but when starting a system you do not need to get everything at once but rather grow it and, once you know its nuances, you can start twerking it and adding more power or finesse.
A player, be it a record player, a CD/DVD player or even an MP3 or MP4, should be considered first when designing your own sound system. With the surprising return of vinyl records this retro type of player is gaining popularity once more and many swear it has the cleanest possible sound.
Others argue that vinyl deteriorates relatively quickly when being used – while on the other hand digital sound, such as over a bluetooth device, remains the same forever.
Loudspeakers, combined with amplifiers,are the single biggest expense and will take up most space.
Make sure you are getting them large enough to fully experience the sound you want while still managing their position in the room, such as not having bundles of cables over the floor you can trip on. If using the aforementioned 5.1 standar, you will need at least 6 speakers for a good surround sound, while later developed standards, such as 7.1 or 10.2 require an even larger number of them, but these are still rarely used in home theaters.
Whether for a house party, a family theater or just to get a groove on for yourself, a good home sound system is a worthwhile investment!
Make sure you do your calculations right first so as not to spend too much money on a too thin cable or too large speakers, so when you get everything positioned you can just plug in and start head banging.