How to Choose Home Theater Speakers

By Chris Martens, Audio Editor, The Perfect Vision

You can have the best AVR, the greatest DVD player and interconnects, but if your speakers aren't up to par, then your investment is wasted.

Speakers, along with displays, do more to affect the quality of your home theater experience than any other type of component. So, it pays to invest time and effort in choosing speakers that are just right for your application.

But before wading into the speaker selection process, proper, it makes sense to start by thinking through some very basic system configuration questions.

In-Wall, On-Wall, or Freestanding Speakers?

In-walls: In-wall speakers have come a long way in the past few years, with today’s best models approaching the sound quality of good freestanding speakers. But are in-walls right for you and your listening space?

Questions to Ask

• How important is it that you have unobtrusive speakers?
• Does your listening space lend itself to an in-wall speaker installation?
• If you go with an in-wall system, will you want an in-wall subwoofer?
• Who will install your in-wall system?
• Do you mind having speakers in fixed locations that dictate display/furniture placement?

On-walls: Typical on-wall or “plasma speakers” feature slim-line enclosures designed to complement the dimensions of flat-panel displays. It can be difficult, however, to pull full-bodied sound from such small speakers. Most, though not all, on-walls can be mounted either on walls or stands.

Questions to Ask

• How important is it that you have speakers that complement the appearance of your flat panel display?
• Would you mount “on-wall” speakers on the walls, or use themwith stands?
• If you go with wall mounting, who will install the system?
• If you go with wall mounting, do you mind having speakers in fixed positions that dictate your display/furniture placement?

Freestanding speakers: Freestanding speakers remain the sonic “gold standard” against which all others are judged. They also give users greater freedom to rearrange their listening spaces, should the need arise. However, freestanding speakers tend to take up more space and to draw attention because of their strong visual presence within the room.

Questions to Ask

• Does your listening space lend itself to using freestanding speakers?
• Do the sonic benefits of freestanding speakers outweigh the concessions you may have to make to fit them in your room?
• Do you have a plan for routing speaker cables in a safe, visually unobtrusive way?

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