Let’s take a quick look at the centerpiece to any home theater audio system, the receiver.

Home Theater Receiver

The receiver acts as a bridge between everything in your home entertainment system, and it powers your speakers. In short it connects everything together, which is a tall order for one box.

Input/Output (I/O) is a key feature. Generally the box utilizes multiple video (and audio) inputs and a single video output to your TV. This allows you to kick back and switch between source devices on your home theater system through one remote. It’s a huge convenience.

Input/Output

Given today’s technology, look for receivers with HDMI input/output capabilities. But make sure your new receiver has a video output to match the video input of your new HDTV – likely HDMI.

Audio Inputs

A full set of 5.1 analogue audio inputs or HDMI v1.1 (or better) is a must have for your new home theater receiver. And if you’re dabbling in the high def disc formats in the future, you’ll be all set for future upgrades.

Almost all current receivers can decode Dolby Digital and DTS – the audio formats found on a basic DVD. A digital audio connector from your DVD to receiver is sufficient to feed it the surround sound from DVD soundtracks.

But newer audio formats (because of Blu-ray and HD DVD) are starting to hit store shelves – TrueHD and DTS-HD. With an HDMI version 1.1 (or greater), you’ll be upgrade ready if your new Receiver has HDMI version 1.1 (or greater) inputs available. Don’t believe the hype that you need HDMI 1.3 for these new audio formats.

Nitty Gritty on Home Theater Receivers

Home theater receivers today can do it all for less than $500, but upgrades can soar well beyond $1000 – especially high end. Quality receivers are made by Yamaha, Onkyo, and others. But NAD, Adcom, Rotel and Arcam carry the impeccable reputation of truly high end gear.

Contrary to popular belief, receivers don’t contribute to sound quality. The speakers produce the sound and tonal quality, but receivers can detract by under-powering  speakers or causing distortion.

Be sure your receiver can adequately power your new speakers by matching total power output of the receiver with the recommended power input range of the speakers. Receiver’s power output is measured as follows: total watts per channel continuous (RMS), 20Hz to 20 KHz. Accept no other measure of a Receiver’s power – regardless of vague “1000 watt receiver” you’ll find on some product specs. That’s simply not sufficient information.

Impedance is another important measurement, but in North America all speakers and receivers deal exclusively in 8 Ohms; beware of anything else. The Federal Trade Commission requires an 8 Ohm de-facto standard for impedance.

That’s covers the bare necessities for Home Theater receiver shopping in today’s market. If you’re a home heater newbie, feel free to leave a comment and ask questions.

Getting chintzy after spending big on a big-screen TV is definitely not the way to go.

Chances are, after spending upwards of $3,000 for a new 50-inch flat panel HDTV, you’ve got an amazing display device and are well on your way to an amazing home theater system. But don’t – and I can’t stress this enough – back it up with a $300 Home Theater in a Box (HTiB) audio system.

Granted, not many of us are audiophiles pursuing the perfect sound, which will require us to fork over tens of thousands of dollars. That’s a luxury you can’t afford unless you have disposable wealth and plenty of time on your hands.

But there is a vast sea of options between high-end audiophile gear and low-rent HTiB.

Who Buys HTiB Anyway?

If you’re a college student in a dorm, live on a limited budget or your audio system will be set up in a bedroom, by all means go with HTiB. It’s a quick, cheap option. You don’t have to think about what you’re buying, just set it up, plug it in and it goes.

Sadly, that’s the only enduring appeal.

The two big problems with HTiB are size and compatibility.

Size: Speakers tend to be small and designed for rooms not much bigger than a 12-foot by 12-foot bedroom. Even with the included subwoofer, putting that system into a room the size of the average livingroom results in anemic sound quality. The included speakers are usually tiny, micro-satellites.

No matter how high-tech a new set of micro-satellite speakers may be, there are certain inalienable laws in the world of physics that simply can’t be broken, despite what the manufacturer might say.

• Sound is delivered through air.
• Speaker drivers deliver sound to your ears by pushing air.
• Tiny drivers move less air.  

Hear me?

Compatibility: The whole system is generally designed as a single unit. You can’t mix and match or upgrade components like you could if you bought them separately. In other words, you don’t really have a DVD player, you have HTiB. You don’t really have a home theater receiver, you have HTiB. You don’t really have speakers, you have … well, you get the idea.

Why is HTiB so Popular?

These days consumer electronics have become so complex that shopping has a steep learning curve.

After wading through all the decisions that must be made when buying an HDTV, most people aren’t anxious to learn the complexities of multi-channel audio sources. Generally the big-box warehouse stores where most people buy – hence learn – aren’t relaxing places to shop.

That’s why smaller business hi-fi and audio shops are much better. Staff will generally take the time to teach you because they’re usually enthusiasts themselves. 

Sadly, people will continue to buy HTiB systems because it provides one quick, cheap and easy purchase.

Inside one box is the simple promise of decent home theater sound quality. It’s difficult to compete with that.

Next: Getting home theater audio on a limited budget. Be here or risk poor sound quality.