Home Audio Speaker Shopping
How to shop to for a decent pair of speakers
Your speakers are the biggest contributor to the overall acoustic quality of your sound system. The loudspeaker is the device that will physically create the sound from electrical waves- their role in sound reproduction cannot be understated. When shopping for speakers it helps to listen carefully to the speakers you're considering. Ultimately it's the sound quality you're buying, but don't be too swayed by how they sound in the store on display. That's not exactly how they'll sound when you get them home.
The room acoustics in which they are played accounts for some 40% of their overall performance. The store is not exactly a good place to audition speakers unless they've recreated a living room environment in the store. Usually they'll sound better at home. If you're looking at higher end equipment sometimes they'll let you bring a set home for a demo. Remember to always get a favorable return policy in case the speakers just don't work out for you.
If you're a bit confused about what speakers to start auditioning or your choices are down to two or three manufacturers, look into the companies. Chances are searching online will result in some reviews of the product. Also looking into the background of the company helps. What else do they make besides speakers? Speaker manufacturing is not a skill that is conducive to other consumer electronics; if they make great TVs and receivers it doesn't mean they'll make good speakers. A company that only makes speakers is best and don't be afraid of newer, smaller speaker manufacturers that make good quality products. Often an engineer from an established company will leave and form his own company.
Speakers haven't really changed much over the years. The basic voice coil/driver system has been in use since the invention of the loudspeaker. Electrostatic speakers and ribbon speakers use a principle of positive and negatively charged panels to vibrate air between them. The sound produced by this planar magnetic process is possibly the most pure sound you'll ever hear and has the advantage of producing a full range of frequencies from every inch of surface space.
Like most decisions you'll make, choosing speakers is a decision filled with compromises. The drawback of the planar magnetic design is that they may lack punch and deep bass, so a subwoofer becomes a must. If you're shopping for speakers for your home you should ask yourself a few questions to help narrow down your search. Consider the following topics and ask yourself which of the following are priorities:
Floor space is simply the amount of room you have available for speakers. If you're shopping for a multi-channel Home Theater audio system, you must faciliate as many as six speakers on your living room floor. That's a lot of floor space already. There are clever designs that can help alleviate the space required for the multi channel audio system. Bookshelf speakers can be hung from the wall- or as the name implies, placed on a shelf. Just remember that your bookshelf speakers aren't capable of the same loud deep bass of floor standing speakers with larger drivers.
Considering the number of channels, you must ask yourself two questions: do you a multi-channel surround sound audio system for home theater, or do you just want to play music in stereo? There are several formats of surround sound and they can be geared toward musical playback or can be used specifically for imitating the surround sound effect you get at the movies. The subwoofer is optional for most two channel stereo systems. A two channel stereo with an added sub is often called 2.1, two channels of full range audio plus a .1 sub-channel that only plays back 1/10th of the frequency range.
Budget of course is a topic that needs little description. We all have a budget and will be tempted to push past it. It's a good idea to set a budget for yourself first and research what is available within that budget before you reconsider the price you want to spend. Too many people make budgetary alterations on the fly as they shop and this can lead to buyers regret. By sticking to a budget as you explore your options you at least give yourself some time to change your mind about the budget you set for yourself.