Choosing Speakers For Your Surround Sound System

Having a high-end audio system in your home theater can really enhance your in-home entertainment experience. While it’s extremely important to have quality components of you audio system, the speakers are responsible for delivering the sound to your ears. For this reason, it’s extremely important to select quality speakers that best fit your needs! This guide will discuss different options if you’re looking for new speakers for your home theater.

Before getting to the speakers, you’ll need to determine how many speakers you’re going to set up in your theater. There are a few different options when it comes to choosing this, there’s a 5.1 surround sound system with is made up of five speakers and one subwoofer. The speakers are normally placed with two in the front, two in the rear and one in the center. The subwoofers location will vary. Then there’s a 7.1 system which consists of a set of seven speakers and a subwoofer. The difference here is that the 7.1 system has two speakers located on the side as well as the other locations. If you’re really into bass, then the 5.2 or 7.2 option is best for you. These two options are the same as above but come with two subwoofers.

Floor standing speakers are the most traditional style speakers and to this day still remain quite popular. They’re usually on the larger size and they’re able to produce a variety of frequencies, including the low tones. These speakers will provide more volume per watt of amp power. Even though they stand tall and can take up space, they’re usually more expensive than bookshelf speakers, since they’re the best at filling up a room with quality sound.

Bookshelf speakers are the smaller option, compared to floor standing speakers. If you’re in a tight space or don’t want to spend as much money, these speakers are a great alternative. I’ve seen some great bookshelf speakers, so by no mean are they poor (typically they don’t deliver sounds like floor speakers). They can conveniently be placed in small places or on shelves.

If you don’t like the large speakers in the room, there’s always the custom option of ceiling speakers or in-wall speakers. These speakers work the same way as other speakers, but they’re placed into the ceiling or wall after mounted in a frame. These speakers are usually full-range, but adding a subwoofer is always a good idea to compliment this system. I’ve even seen in-wall or ceiling subwoofers. Most in-wall or ceiling speakers come with grills that can be painted to match your walls and blend in. In order to install these speakers, the tough part is running the wires which are usually done behind the walls or ceilings.

Many homes have even extended their sound system to their outdoor areas. Outdoor speakers are usually found on a deck or patio, under some sort of cover. They do have some protection from the weather as they’re usually weather-resistant. Since they’re outdoors and the sound can travel further than in a room, these speakers usually require more power than indoor speakers. If you’re looking to install speakers by your swimming pool, they do make speakers that will blend right into the landscape as they’re made in fake rocks. You can place these fake rock speakers by the pool so the sounds are delivered at ear level providing you with the best sound while you’re enjoying a nice swim!

Now that we’ve covered the speakers, don’t forget about the speaker wire. This is often ignored in many sound systems; however they do play a major role in the quality of sound delivered in your sound system. Old speaker wire or low quality speaker wire should be changed to get the best results. You’ll notice a major difference right off the bat.

I hope this guide has helped you understand the different options of speakers available. There are many different brands and styles of the speakers mentioned above, so be sure to shop around. Good luck!

This author has a passion for working on any high end home theater. He’s designed many sound systemsin NYC, creating the best home theater surround sound systems possible for his customers needs. More information can be found at his site, ceilingspeaker.org.