Peeking behind the cabinetry: audio is easily half the experience

The Home Theater Biz has changed so much over the last decade…as a matter of fact almost nothing even vaguely resembles where we were ten years ago.  VHS has become Blu-Ray and tube TVs have given way to Plasma and LCD.  The only theater component that hasn’t improved by leaps and bounds are speakers.  We still power them with amplifiers hooked via speaker cabling, they still typically consist of 3 drivers, one for high, mid, and low frequencies respectively, and other than stylistic changes to appearance, you will still find speakers delivering as they always have, based on superior materials and engineering.  There is no substitute for a well built conventional speaker.

This hasn’t stopped speakers from becoming an increasingly confusing purchase with millions spent on marketing and gimmicks.  Brands like Bose and Sony often dominate the “big box” stores, offering complete 5 speaker theater solutions in one box, usually combining a DVD player into the receiver and creating a solution that at first glance is very appealing, especially when a consumer is looking at their audio purchase as a frill or afterthought.  This guide is not for consumers who think of quality audio as an afterthought.

This quick guide is for those consumers who have experienced great sound before and want a similar cinematic and musical experience in their home.  Because most of us do truly enjoy good sound, but may not have the time to educate ourselves on all the countless brands of receivers, amplifiers, speakers, and subwoofers, I’ve put together a helpful group of tips to help serve as a cornerstone for any of you reading this technology blog who plan on making an audio purchase.  Armed with a basic understanding, you can work with your custom installer to get the most out of your home theater budget, or can go to a audio retailer and comfortably select a system you know will be a smart purchase.

1.) Speakers are only as good as their source.

Selecting a receiver that will get the most out of your speakers should always be your first consideration.  When you have decided on a budget for your home theater or your stereo system, first choose a good receiver that will power those speakers.  Make sure you choose a receiver with ample power from a brand that is known for quality sound. Nothing will make a bigger difference, period.

Yamaha is an industry leader

JD Designs Prefers: We like to stick to Yamaha receivers because they sound very good at every price point and are easy to use and reliable.  Other brands in the best bang for the buck category are Cambridge, Pioneer (Their THX certified home theater receivers sound great, though are not the easiest to use or configure), and Denon.

2.) The most important speaker in any home theater is the center channel.

Having worked in a home theater store for years I was always able to toggle different speakers in the demo room.  I could add or remove any speaker with the switchbox.  I could watch a movie from beginning to end with only a center speaker and still hear all the dialogue and catch virtually every sound.  The center channel does %80 of the work when any movie is encoded for surround sound.  All the voice usually comes from the center (with some peripheral help from your left or right speaker based on the location of the voice in the movie).  Because the center speaker is so important, I always encourage my clients to “splurge” on their center speaker.

Always make sure you have a location for this special speaker set aside from the beginning of your planning.  Do not purchase home theater furniture that does not allow space for a center channel speaker to be conveniently placed with the furniture, if that is the route you are taking.

3.) Know the basics of how surround sound actually works.

Surround sound is the last great leap in audio and happened about a decade ago.  Before surround sound, stereo (left and right speakers) was the gold standard for any listening environment.  Stereo is still fantastic for listening to music, and almost all music recordings are done in stereo.  However, it was realized that a more immersive and realistic sound environment could be created utilizing 5 speakers.

Here is how it works in a nutshell: for a movie to deliver surround sound there needs to be information in the recording for which speaker the sound will come from.  DVDs and other sources like Blu Ray, contain this information digitally, encoded in a format like DTS or Dolby Digital.

In order for a amplifier to be designated a Surround Sound Receiver it must be able to decode these signals.  Digital signals required for surround sound are sent to the receiver from your digital source with a different cable than your older technology.  Stereo uses the very familiar left (white) and right (red) connection to send a simple analog signal for each of your two stereo speakers, while surround sound sends a digital signal for all five speakers via one digital wire, either a Digital Coax or Fiber-Optic cable.

These are the ground rules of surround sound technology.  However, if you want to feel even more grounded when shopping for surround sound gear then it’s good to understand the different ways surround sound signals are encoded.  The creators of digital surround sound encoding, Dolby, came up with their standard, Dolby Digital.  This was the only way to turn your recording into a surround sound experience for the home user until competition inevitably arrived in the form of DTS Audio.  Any decent surround sound receiver today will play encoding standards from both companies, DTS and Dolby.  However, as new standards are put forth by each company (recently DTS-HD and Dolby Digital Live) its good to check your next receiver purchase to make sure they can decode these new super-high quality standards.

4.) In Wall / In Ceiling Speakers can be just as good as standard floorstanding speakers.

The single greatest advancement in speaker technology in the last twenty years has been the creation of the residential flush-mount speaker.  Not only do they completely disappear into any room that they are put in, but sound quality can match the more prominent furniture sized speakers we are used to having to deal with for exceptional sound.

Aesthetics and Quality

Several brands have led the way in high end in-wall / in-ceiling speakers.  Speakercraft, one of the originators and innovators of the flush-mount speaker, makes exceptional speakers.  Boston Acoustics DSI Series in-ceiling and in-wall haven’t really changed in years, and why should they?  In this reviewers years of selling audio gear, rarely did a speaker in any demo room stack up to Boston’s fantastic DSI speakers when comparing price/performance ratios.  Polk Audio offers their THX certified LCFX line of in-walls which, delivery extreme performance to the flush-mount speaker world.

An important point to understand when creating a sound system with flush-mount speakers is that the subwoofer becomes that much more important to the equation, since most flush-mount speakers forego anything below 80 HZ entirely, focusing on performance from the more shallow tweeter and mid-range drivers that can be fit into a wall.

Velodyne's SPL Series is compact and small, but the sound is massive and undistorted

JD Designs Prefers: Without question, Velodyne is the industry leader in quality home theater subwoofers.  We always recommend pairing any flush-mount speaker setup with Velodyne subwoofers, which will provide smooth, defined, undistorted bass to accompany the speakers.  Most of the competition offer boomy, distorted rumble that will only serve to underline a quality flush-mount speaker group.  Complete your high-end speaker set with a Velodyne subwoofer, don’t muddle quality sound with other brands unless you are pairing a very basic setup with the subwoofer that has been directly designed for those speakers.

5.)  Let Your Ears Make Your Choice.

Unfortunately many audio retailers are shutting their doors and leaving the Wal-Marts and Best Buys of the retail world in their place.  It’s much harder to find a dedicated demo room where you can spend time listening intently to different brands and making up your own mind.  That’s where your custom installer comes into play.  Established custom installers like JD Designs should have opportunities to showcase their audio solutions for your ears.  Whether it’s a dedicated listening room, or a demo theater, always try to take the time to have your custom installer demonstrate the speakers in their estimate somehow before purchasing.  Many custom installers have distributors with audio rooms available for showcase with all the different brands they carry.  Ask your custom installer, is there a showroom where you can hear these first hand and compare them against other brands in the same price category?  You will be glad you did, sometimes you will find comparable solutions for far less money, or even speakers you like more for half the price of what your custom installer offers up front.  There is no substitute for a good demo.

JD Designs Says:  We can demo all of the brands of speakers we sell at a showroom from our distributor.  You can have a seat in a variety of theater chairs (let your rear-end and back do some product sampling while your ears do the same) and spend some time one on one with a Theater Designer listening to leading brands like Infinity and Jamo.  You will be surprised what your ears tell you in a controlled environment with side by side comparisons.  There is no better way in San Diego to be absolutely positive your speaker purchase was the best than to call JD Designs and let us sit you down and demonstrate all of your options.

The last tip is by far the most important.  Let your own ears be your guide.  All the reviews in the world in the end are describing something that is only half way objective.  Everyone has different ears, everyone has different taste.  All of the text descriptions of sound (muddy, bright, clean, open, warm, etc) in the end fall flat of really describing what a speaker will sound like to your ears.  Is it a bad idea to trust a custom installer with years of experience and solid brands?  No, if you don’t have the time to micro-manage your next home theater, trust your Custom Installer, especially if he has delivered in the past.  But if you want to ensure the absolute best bang for the buck, let your ears make your audio decisions.