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Best Surround Sound Home Theater

WriterGuy | Aug 3, 2011 |

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What makes a home theater truly a home theater? Many enthusiasts have very definite opinions about this, but for most lay people, a home theater is what some would call a “surround sound home theater.”

Basically, this simply means that you can take your regular television, add a surround sound system, and experience a very basic form of home theater in any room in any home.

Surround sound is exactly what it sounds like. The sound from the speakers surrounds the listener. Modern DVDs are formatted so that specific sounds come from specific speakers.

They are made with surround sound systems in mind, so to truly experience the best in DVD’s, you may want to consider purchasing a surround sound system.

Surround sound “home theaters in a box” can be found for as little as $120 (maybe even less) on sale. Of course, the quality will improve as you go higher in price, but even an inexpensive surround sound system can make a difference in your viewing experience.

The most common surround sound home theater system is what’s known as a 5.1-channel system. This means that there are five “regular” speakers and one subwoofer.

The subwoofer, just like with a traditional audio stereo, is where you hear your bass (or very low) tones. The other five speakers are set up in a specific pattern.

The central speaker plays the “on screen” sounds. These are the sounds that are being made by the characters and things you see on the screen, such as conversation. Therefore, this speaker is located with the television, usually centered right below it.

The left front and right front speakers are placed to the side and forward of the television, at about ear level. These speakers play your music and movie and television soundtracks.

The rear speakers are situated to the left and right and slightly behind the viewer. They are placed higher than the forward speakers for a true “surround” sound.

A newer technology in surround sound home theater is the one-speaker surround sound component.

This item actually contains multiple speakers in one box, many of which are angled to bounce sounds off the walls behind the listeners, creating the surround sound with only one component.