Home Theater Receiver
The home theater receiver (or A/V receiver) is the heart and
soul of your system, so choosing the right model is crucial. In
this article, we will discuss the features of a home theater
receiver.
Decoding surround audio
You can't really compete with real cinemas in screen size, but
you can completely recreate the astonishing surround audio in
your living room! The main task of a home theatre receiver is to
supply power for the speakers, and to give them the appropriate
audio signal from the surround sound mix that comes from the
source. Our source for this surround sound is usually a DVD disc
(we will discuss this later). Surround sound can be encoded in
several formats. You should look for a home theater receiver
that can decode at least the following formats:
* Dolby Digital 5.1: This is the standard surround audio format
nowadays, and can be found on most DVDs. It has five discrete
channels (left, right, center, rear left, rear right), and a
subwoofer channel, that's why it's called "5.1". * DTS: DTS is
very much like DD5.1. This format has the same channels, but
it's encoded in higher bitrates, so it gives a better sound
quality. Unfortunately, few DVDs contain a DTS mix. * Doly
Pro-Logic: This is an older format, it was used on VHS. It has
only three channels, but none of them are discrete.
More modern home theater receivers can also decode DD5.1 EX, and
DTS-ES. These are "6.1" systems, and have a rear center channel.
There are not much DVD movies containing these formats yet.
Processing and amplification
The surround sound signal has to be processed and amplified in
order to be heard on our speakers. You should always check these
features when it comes to buying a home theater receiver:
* Frequency range: To maintain a realistic sound, the home
theater receiver must reproduce the full range of sounds that
our ears can hear. This is from 20Hz to 20,000Hz. Don't even
think about buying a home theater receiver with anything less
than this! * RMS Power: Don't be fooled by high peak power data,
that says nothing, really. We should look at continous power,
that is called RMS Power. The higher the better, but it also
depends on your needs. A small room require about 80-100W, 120W
is needed for a medium-sized room, and really large rooms
require about 200W of power.
THX Certifications
If you were looking at home theater receivers, you should have
seen the phrases "THX Select" and "THX Ultra". If a receiver has
one of these certifications, it guarantees that the home theater
receiver will produce a high quality sound. But that doesn't
mean that home theater receivers without these certifications
can't produce the same quality! So, if you're short on money,
don't buy one of these, it is certainly not necessary.
Audio and Video Inputs/Outputs
Everything will connect to the home theater receiver. Remember,
it's the heart of our system. Its task is to switch between
connected audio and video components. About these
inputs/outputs, and wiring the system, read our article on home
theater cables. Which one to choose?
Now we discussed the main features of a home theater receiver,
but all of the decent models have these. So you could ask "Which
home theater receiver should I buy?". Our answer: "That you
think has the best sound!". Audition is very important when it
comes to audio components, and you are able to listen to your
selected home theater receiver at your local store. Some of them
also have a 30-day return policy, so you can try it out at home
with your own speakers if you already have them (this is
important).