Though it’s tempting to spend a king’s ransom on audio components, it isn’t always necessary to buy a pricey audio receiver to get great movie sound.
Suite 101’s Bill Kallay explains that it pays to look at specifications and price when shopping for a receiver or processor.
The Core of a Home Theater System
Since the 1980s when the idea of modern home theater took root, movie watchers have plugged in their VCRs, LaserDiscs, DVD and Blu-ray players into their stereo or multi-channel stereo systems. The idea was to recreate the theatrical movie experience at home.
In the early days of home theater, sound was carried out with a simple stereo (two-channel) set-up. Modern audio formats are far more complex than their two-channel stereo ancestors, requiring a receiver or processor to decode sound formats like Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio formats. A modern receiver or decoder can handle these formats with ease.
What To Look For
Home audio buyers mostly fall into two camps: those who want the best components, even if the price is high, and those who simply want something that’s functional and inexpensive. The best bet is to go with a receiver that decodes most of the modern and older sound formats at a reasonable price.
Many inexpensive units contain the same components, features, and decoding chips as their flagship relatives. Going up the product line may get more power and so-called prestige. But when it all comes down to building a nice home theater, allocate money wisely.
Most modern receivers by Yamaha, Denon, Sony, Marantz, and Onkyo have similar power ratings and decoding features. Check their websites and compare features, then compare features found on their own base models and their flagship models. A base $299.99 model may have most of the same features as the $599.99 model, for example. But there can be differences and it can be better to buy the more expensive model.
For example, look for receiver models that contain separate paths for digital audio and analog audio. On some units it’s called pure direct. This shuts down all the video and digital audio circuitry and will offer better sound quality with CD/SACD players (using analog cables) and LPs. Some lower priced receivers digitize all audio input into their systems. Avoid this. This only makes movies and music sound unnatural.
Power is important, but when building a modest home theater, start smaller. An 80-watt receiver in a decent sized room will provide plenty of power. But keep in mind that more power is better when the room is bigger. Also consider which kind of speakers will be used. Larger and more efficient speakers should be used with more power. If it’s in the budget, consider purchasing a powerful amplifier (200-watts or more) and preamplifier.
Also check out the build quality. Some cheaper receivers will have flimsy metal construction and cheap feeling buttons on the front plate. Look for solid construction and heavier weight as well. The ones to look at and compare to less expensive models are Denon, Sony ES (Elevated Standard), and Yamaha. These are just some examples of nicely built components.
Hook Ups : Cabling and Interface Options
Most modern receivers can handle HDMI, the newest audio/video option. The beauty of HDMI allows for both high definition audio and video to be sent via one cable. Other common digital inputs are HDMI, digital TOSLINK, and digital coaxial which can be used with CD, DVD and Blu-ray players.
Blu-ray discs will play high definition audio formats like Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio via HDMI. Dolby Digital and DTS will play on either HDMI or digital TOSLINK or digital coaxial cables.
Planning on upgrading to an external amplifier and/or preamplifier? Then the receiver must have a pre-out jack on the back. This allows for the user to plug an ordinary RCA analog cable from the receiver to the preamplifier or amplifier. The more expensive receivers will have a pre-out included.
Brands and Price
Denon, Yamaha, Onkyo, Marantz, Pioneer, Pioneer Elite, Harmon Kardon, Sony, and Sony ES are essentially the biggest manufacturers of receivers. Each one has its own merits, sound quality, and fans. Listen to them in-store to see what sounds the best. Since most carry very similar specifications and carry very similar sound decoding chips, each may still have its own sound character. Choosing one over the other is a matter of preference.
Other brands include Sherwood Newcastle (which apparently supplies components to many leading receiver manufacturers), Rotel and Arcam. Be wary of off-brand receivers, as they many not sound very good and may not be built under the quality standards of name brands.
Good sound can be had from receivers under $300.00, but the trade off may be at the expense of having all audio digitized. Better to spend $550.00 or more to be able to bypass digital sound manipulation.
Try to stay away from spending hundreds extra on a receiver that may only have a little more power and extra gadgets or features. A slightly lower priced receiver will have close to 98% of what is needed. Try to avoid spending over $1200.00 on a receiver. With audio formats changing so often, it can get very expensive to upgrade at that price.
