Home Cinema Speaker Reviews

People tend to concentrate on either image or sound. Generally speaking, we're perhaps more exposed to the image side of things, and it's certainly easier to set up tens of TVs one beside another in shops than a wall of speakers. Nevertheless, a good-quality sound track is vital and shouldn't be neglected as it draws you right into the film.

All-in-one or separates?

There are two types of system: all-in-one package systems and separates. The advantage of the all-in-ones is that they're generally cheaper, take up less space and are often better designed to suit your decor than large floor-standing speakers. Separate speaker packages allow for greater flexibility, however, and allow users to change or hone their solution almost endlessly. Indeed, if you go for a separate Blu-ray player, amplifier and speakers, you can replace them one at a time and spread the cost of your investment.

Think about the set-up!

Separates may bring greater flexibility, but they also be problematic. While linking your Blu-ray player up to your amplifier won't pose any compatibility problems, linking the amp up to the speaker system is another matter altogether. You must, for example, avoid at all costs choosing an amp that isn't powerful enough for your speakers—they wont last anywhere near as long. And don't take tech specs as gospel! Measurements aren't especially standardised and it isn't always easy to make the right choice.

Is a subwoofer really necessary?

This isn't a trivial question—it's quite the opposite, in fact. There are two very different possibilities. Systems with small satellite speakers or 'bookshelf' speakers don't reproduce the bass frequencies properly. Forget what it says in the spec, it may well claim a frequency of from '20 Hz - 20 kHz', the difference in reproducible volume between a sound at 50 Hz and another at 1 kHz is such that the bottom of the spectrum will be missing in the majority of cases. Here then, the subwoofer is indispensable, especially for home cinema type use. If, however, your system includes floor-standing speakers, you may well find you don't need a subwoofer at all. With the membrane area you get with these, they're much more effective with bass sounds. Make sure you get information on product capacity before you buy. In fact, a film enthusiast will often require more bass than a music lover. Everything depends on your requirements.

Listen before buying!

Don't trust the numbers and don't buy anything without testing it first. Have pity on your ears and before you go and spend several hundred pounds on a 5.1 system, go and listen to it. Go into your local home cinema/hi-fi shop and have a listen to a selection of systems, even if you're going to buy on the net, as it'll help you avoid any nasty surprises. Personal taste also comes into things and you need to find out what suits your ears!