SolveYourProblem
Home Theater Article Series
I
Want a Fantastic Home Theater Setup
Your
Guide to Speakers & Subwoofers
Perhaps
the most essential component of any home theater system
is the speakers. The sound portion of the
home theater experience is what creates a movie like environment
for film enthusiasts.
There
are some basic types of speakers that are in all home theater
packages. The front left and front right speakers,
the center channel speaker, the surround speakers and the subwoofers
are the components of most home theater sound systems. There
are many brands of speakers to choose from in these categories
but the most important thing to remember is that the speakers
must work well together to create the best sound experience.
For this reason, it might be best to purchase a home theater
speaker kit or at least stick to one manufacturer for all of
your speakers. “Voice matching” is the term used to express
the desired effect of the speakers working together. It is
important that all of the speakers in your system have compatible
“voices” to get the best sound quality.
The front
left and front right speakers provide a wide range
of the sound effects and interact with the screen image to
create a more realistic movie experience. The front left and
front right speakers are responsible for the movie score and
reproducing off stage effects. There are a wide variety of
styles available for front left and front right speakers, including
floor-standing speakers, bookshelf speakers and satellite speakers.
Floor-standing tower speakers are the most efficient and provide
the richest sound; however, they are space consuming. For small
spaces, satellite speakers combined with a sub-woofer may be
your best option.
Many interested in home theater may overlook the center
channel speaker, but these speakers do a majority of the work. In addition
to providing over half of the soundtrack, the center channel
speaker also provides the dialogue. The speaker normally sits
on or below your television. For those with wall mounted flat
screen televisions, there are wall mountable center channel
speakers to adapt to your home theater set up. These speakers
are available in a variety of sizes. In order to find the perfect
center channel speaker for you, consider the size of your front
left and front right speakers. It is also important that these
speakers be voice matched to each other for optimum sound quality.
Surround
speakers are responsible for the ambient sounds in
films, such as the sound of rain, wind or crunching leaves.
These sounds are what make the film watching experience more
complete and realistic. They draw you into the world of the
film. The most common set up for surround speakers is a 5.1-channel
surround system. This set up comes with a single pair of surround
speakers. Many home theater enthusiasts later upgrade their
systems to two or more pairs of surround speakers to enrich
the sound experience. Richer surround sound can also be achieved
with 6.1 or 7.1-channel surround systems.
The final component of the home theater sound system is a
subwoofer. Most Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks come with
a deep bass track that is only heard through a subwoofer. These
low frequency effects (or LFE) provide the “big” feeling achieved
in movie theaters.
For an interesting twist on the subwoofer, many home theater
enthusiasts have installed ButtKickers in their seating. A
ButtKicker is a small linear motor that responds to an audio
signal sent by an amplifier. It is similar in function to a
loudspeaker. Instead of transferring sound through the air
like a loudspeaker, the ButtKicker attaches to home theater
seats and sends low frequency sound into the movie enthusiasts’
bodies.
The ButtKicker functions on the scientific principle that
we use two senses to perceive sound. We hear sound, but we
also feel low frequency sound. Normally it would take big speakers,
such as those in a movie theater or at a concert, for people
to feel low frequency sounds. What we are responding to at
concerts and the Cineplex is actually the pressure of the sound
on our bodies.
The ButtKicker reproduces that feeling in a much more efficient
way that is conducive to home use. By mounting the ButtKicker
LFEs directly under your home theater seating, you achieve
the same effect experienced in the movie theater.
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SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
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