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The Really Easy Guide
..... to choosing and using a home theatre speaker
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by: Richard Morgan
The plain truth is that to really enjoy DVD movies at home you're going to need a surround sound speaker system. It's inevitable and, like it or not, you're going to have to put the dollars and cents aside to eventually own one (assuming that this hasn't happened already).
 The reason is quite simple: one day you're going to get really jack of the grotty under-powered, under-performing speakers on your television and lust after the richness of surround sound and its amazing capacity to enhance every aspect of enjoyment when watching movies. In fact, if you're even half a DVD enthusiast, one listen to a full blown home theatre rig will hook you and keep you there until you own one for yourself.
There are five main speakers in a basic home theatre surround sound system. You can get away with less, but not if you want to extract the maximum from the Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound formats on DVD discs, or come close to enjoying movies the way their creators intended them to be seen and heard.
A pair of high-quality speakers is expensive at the best of times, but five of them can be prohibitive. If you add a subwoofer the problem is exacerbated, so many of us resort to buying a high-quality stereo pair for the front and adding lower-cost centre and surround speaker. The trouble is this can lead to disjointed performance and uneven sound characteristics.
Five matched (sometimes identical speakers) that are slightly lower in quality will more than likely work better for surround sound and home theatre. If you plan to acquire a system progressively over time as finances allow then make sure you acquire matched speakers to maintain uniformity.
Usually this means buying your speaker system from a single manufacturer and with myriad products out there this is now a cost effective reality. The rear speakers should be capable of producing full sound range so that DVD performance isn't limited now and when future electronic processing technology is introduced.
The five speakers we are referring to are: front left and right, front centre and rear surround left and right. These make up the '5' in a 5.1 channel system. The '.1' relates to the subwoofer channel. There are new surround format extensions in esoteric areas that add extra surround channels at back of the room. These are so-called 7.1 systems.
The front speakers generate the sonic spread of home theatre sound and work with the rear speakers to create directional information in special effects (helicopters travelling overhead and the like) and, naturally, produce the front loaded information in movies. If you like music they'll be the ones responsible for creating that too and because of this deserve special attention.
The centre speaker works with the front speakers to create the aforementioned spread of sound. It is the major generator of dialogue, though it shares this with the front speaker too. It disperses a great deal of information into the listening area and is generally responsible for the broadness (or otherwise) of the listening stage particularly as far as dialogue goes.
The centre speaker also takes some of the load off the front speakers by reproducing a panorama of other sonics important to surround sound. In many ways it's the most important speaker in a surround system and must be capable of handling and creating a full range of sound.
Rear speakers are historically smaller than the front speakers, though not always. They're there for the surround sound effects that make modern movie reproduction at home so sensational. Many are designed for stand or shelf mounting, though some
You can choose between different rear channel speaker designs. There are the conventional type with a single baffle onto which the drivers are mounted or you can choose a models which projects sound from drivers attached to three baffles - one pointing straight ahead, the other two projecting at around 45 degrees to both sides.
The multi-baffle type of array is designed to project a more detailed sound into the listening space over a wider area and is usually restricted to wall mount designs. The other design you'll encounter is the dipole design, which is effectively two speakers in one cabinet and features twin angled baffles directing sound into the listening area. Specially specified dipole speakers are recommended for certain systems that use the THX format of surround processing.
In home theatre systems there's no real rule that says large speakers are better at creating surround sound than smaller equivalents, but larger speakers inherently have improved bass performance and can usually create higher levels of sound for a given input. They are usually more expensive, though the stands required for some small speakers can often erode their value for money.
The questions you need to ask are can you afford larger designs and do you have space for them in your viewing room or area. On these points its over to you.
Small speakers can be medium bookshelf styles of very small designs indeed (tiny even). In almost every instance, to get the best performance from these designs you'll need to add a subwoofer so you get realistic bass sound. A subwoofer is an important inclusion in any system, but particularly so where small speakers make up your system.
One of the more vexed questions about buying speakers is how much cash should be outlayed on them. There's no real hard and fast rule here, just a suggestion of a starting point , because only you know your budgetary limitations.
So, I suggest you spend 60 per cent of your total system budget on the speakers (with 15 percent on the DVD player and 25 percent on the AV receiver - give or take a few percent. This means in a $4000 system spend around $2400 on the five speakers. Add 15 percent on top of the original funds for a subwoofer.
Some of the speakers in the system will need to be magnetically shielded: most certainly the centre channel speaker and preferably the front channel speakers.
All speakers contain magnets. These are integral to the design of drivers and are part of the engine that moves the cones or dome diaphragms and create sound waves. Unfortunately, when a magnet is brought near an active television screen the picture is adversely affected by random and unwanted colours and patterns that are generated on the screen.
The effect is immediate and can have long-term effects on the proper operation of your television once it's affected. Trust me, it's something you certainly don't want to experience.
Magnetic shielding prevents this interference and while it's not possible fully shield a speaker the centre and front speaker, shielding is vital because for the most part it prevents all manner of interference problems. It's not unusual for the rear surround speakers to be shielded too.
All the tried and tested advice in the world isn't going to help make a decision of which speakers to buy if you don't know how to judge the products and make an informed purchasing decision - an investment in home entertainment, of you like. Here's what you should keep in mind when assessing components.
Overall choose a well known name brand that operates a service outlet in close proximity to you. Most gear is very good but a bit of planning never hurt anyone.
Use DVD movies that you know, not necessarily new releases. This way you won't be distracted from evaluating and start watching (though this can be an indication that the products are doing their jobs)
You must be able to hear and understand the dialogue in the movie. Pans from side to side must be seamless and not jump from one speaker to the other. Effects off-screen must seem to be effects sounds in the distance, as they're supposed to be.
The speakers that create the sounds you're listing to should effectively be invisible while providing conventional and directional information from front-to-back movement (and vice versa). This means that you hear the sounds but are essentially unaware that they emanate from speaker boxes. The sound should stay cohesive and in place as you change viewing positions and not produce a narrow area in the room where listening is best.
Bass must be tight and clean and deep enough to add realism to the movie. Boomy bass sounds impressive, but is fatiguing and false, so always go systems that create tight and well controlled low notes.
When you shop for a television you trust what you see, so when you shop for home theatre speakers, trust what you hear. And remember, much of what you will want from a speaker system is emotional involvement, so make sure you're accepting of that type of input.
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