The Top 5 Tips For Buying A Home Theater System
By Thad Pickering

If you have decided to join the rush to get into home theater you have a lot of homework to do to choose wisely, but the rewards will certainly be more than worth it. Just imagine enjoying movie theater quality sound and video right in your own home whenever you want. That's what home theater systems offer folks these days, so here are the top 5 tips for buying a home theater system:

1. Above all else, do your homework. Read some of the reviews online and get a feel for what is out there and available within your price range. You can find plenty of product reviews on Amazon and at online electronics retailers that can help you get familiar with each manufacturer and what they offer. Don't rush this part of the process as you need to be an educated consumer, and electronics equipment takes a little getting used to since they use terms and expressions that you just won't find anywhere else.

2. Before you actually go shopping, sketch out your room and try to lay out where you want everything to fit. Where do you want the entertainment center including the TV to be situated? How does that affect the seating arrangement that you want? How about the speaker system, should they be wall or ceiling mounted, or free standing? How are you going to run the wires for the speakers so that they aren't hanging out all over the place? Knowing the answers to these questions in advance can save a lot of backtracking later on.

3. Buying a home theater system should be preceded by arranging a demo for every system that you are considering. Even if you decide to buy online to get the best price, be sure to listen to the system first if you can. When you do, bring along a movie and/or CDs that you are very familiar with and represents entertainment that you like to enjoy, and use it as the demo. That will give you a more accurate feel for how well the home theater system will sound when you actually use it at home.

4. Determine how many speakers that you want to use for surround sound. These days the most common surround sound speaker setup is called 5.1 which means that you use 6 speakers including the subwoofer to create surround sound. But there are even newer formats that have been introduced called 6.1 and 7.1 and they allow you to use up to seven channels of speaker sound besides the subwoofer for low bass. This can be incredibly impressive, but also costs more and requires that you have the necessary equipment to power and decode these advanced formats.

5. Take your time and don't rush through any part of the decision making process. This equipment is not cheap and it will be difficult to undo a wrong decision, especially if you have already run speaker wires and so forth. So don't let anyone rush you or put you under pressure to buy. Shop around and find the system that stands out from the others.

If you follow the tips above it will help you learn all that you need to know to buy a home theater system that fits your budget and sounds great too.

Thad Pickering writes on many consumer related topics including audio and video. You can find out more about surround sound setup and surround sound installation by visiting our Home Theater website.

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