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There are many decisions out there pertaining to home theater. Often, the quest to find the perfect setup can ensure finding one's own insanity, similar to working for the boss; no pun intended. Where to begin, where to end; that is the question. Like finding the perfect woman (ok we all know the perfect woman doesn't exist), but finding the perfect home theater can often feel like you're digging for gold. Whether it's a complete 5.1 or 7.1 system or even a 2-channel setup, you're in for a headache if you don't know where to start or even the right questions to ask. An amplifier or means of power should be, or rather suggested the piece of equipment you'll want to start with first. Generally, the heavier the amp, the more current or amperage it will generate to each speaker, helping the sound to come through full and clean. Often, a receiver with a built in processor and amplifier in one is usually sufficient for playing a movie and/or 2-channel music, but separates may offer a step up in sound quality. Although, separates may be pricier, they're really the way to go for obtaining the best sound, especially if the speakers you're driving on more on the larger side. Speakers are the next choice to fulfill your hoss setup. By going with the same series and type of material used for each driver will ensure the best timbre match. Regardless of 5.1 or 7.1, movies will sound more life-like when you ensure you have a good timbre match. You'll want to first start by choosing a center, then the mains, next your surround backs (4th and 5th channels), and last in the case of 7.1, a pair of speakers for side surrounds. A good choice for side surrounds are often a set of dipoles as you can disperse more sound in opposite directions of the room, creating a larger feel similar to that of a movie theater. A set of speakers for the front left and right of your TV should be the first set of speakers you invest in. This decision should be based off the fact on whether you're going to be using these speakers for movies, 2-channel music, or both. The size of room you're placing these speakers is also a big factor in terms of choosing between a tower speaker and a bookshelf. Tower are generally recommended for 2-channel music, as then you wouldn't necessarily need a sub to achieve a low end response. Having towers are also beneficial for movies, where a full and more accurate response would be created for movies. If your room is on the smaller side, bookshelves may be the way to go. The speaker often depicted, as the most important in an HT environment is the center channel, as about 60% of the information pertained in a movie comes through this channel. Having a center speaker with larger drivers and a decent-sized internal cabinet volume will prove valuable for maintaining a constant volume across all channels in your HT system, regardless of the movie. Rear speakers are the next selection for your HT system. If this system is going to be used primarily for movies, dipoles would be the way to go. However, if you want to incorporate SACD and DVD audio into this same system, going with more of a direct bookshelf or smaller tower is often recommended. With dipoles, the phase on one of the tweeter is reversed to enhance the feel of space in your listening environment with movies. Bookshelves or towers will create a fuller response due to the increased excursion present in each driver and larger internal volume of cabinet. These are suggested for rears with SACD and DVD audio to represent that of a live concert. A subwoofer is needed if your primary choice of movie type is action/adventure films. Without a sub, explosions just won't sound the same. Even better would be the existence of 2 subs; one in each corner of the room. This would provide an equal bass response or pressure, and wouldn't necessarily have to turn up one sub to its threshold, as you would then have 2 subs distributing the bass load. The most common type of sub is the port-hole design. This design allows the internal cabinet pressure generated by the driver to be released through the port hole. This allows the driver to obtain greater depths of excursion and lower frequencies. The second type of sub is the sealed enclosure design. This type of sub is most versatile and can produce tight, accurate bass for music, and also have the ability to obtain the depths for movies. The cabinet withholds the pressure produced by the driver, resulting in time-aligned bass of which can be matched with the upper frequencies in your favorite song. Here you would have the opportunity to add more bass to music without it sounding like it's unnatural or not part of the song. Another design, not quite as popular as the first two, is the passive radiator type. This design utilizes an active driver with one or more 'fake' drivers on opposite sides of the cabinet that act in a way to increase excursion of the overall subwoofer itself. This provides for an efficient method to achieve a lower frequency yet maintain a proportional cabinet design. These subs are generally used for movie settings, but can also be used for music although a delay may occur as these subs are purposely built to fulfill sub-low frequencies. Speaker wire is needed to transfer the electrons from your receiver/amplifier to each channel, where by the means of electromagnetics, these electrons are transformed to audible sound waves. The thicker the speaker wire, the higher the potential for more electrons to travel to each speaker. If you're running speaker wire longer than 25 feet, it's often recommended you have speaker wire at least 12 gauge.
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