Comments on: Hi do I need " Home Audio Receiver" if I want to hook up surround sound speakers for home theater?

By: Ken H

Ken H — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:11:02 +0000

For clarification you will need a "Home Theater Receiver". A Home Audio Receiver is typically two channels only, a left and a right. A Home Theater Receiver has five to seven channels of decoding. Five channels is the minimal industry standard of surround sound.
Look for a home theater receiver that decodes both Dobly digital and DTS audio. Most in todays stores will do this.
Keep in mind that surround sound only works with DVDs and a few movies that air on premium networks and some HD channels. Most television shows are recorded in stereo which is a left and right channel only.
Once you have a home theater receiver, you will need the front left, center, right , right surround,and left surroundspeakers to consider plus a subwoofer that you will need.
After that the DVD player will round out one of the final pieces of equipment you will need other than your tv.

By: "isitme"

"isitme" — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:11:02 +0000

You will need an amplifier as well as the speakers, don’t buy Bose, far better is available for far less.

By: Paul in San Diego

Paul in San Diego — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:11:02 +0000

Don’t get the Bose system. Bose is overpriced and I personally don’t like the way they sound (muddy bass, missing midrange, and hissy treble).

For about that much money, you can get a new Klipsch Quintet system (5 speakers) and a powered SW-10 subwoofer on eBay from a factory-authorized Klipsch dealer. And, it will blow away anything Bose has to offer.

Regarding a receiver, Yamaha is about the best for inexpensive surround sound receivers. You can pick up a new Yamaha 5.1 surround sound receiver with about 70 watts per channel for about $200. And, you’ll be very pleased with that system.