Home Audio Equipment

Role Of Home Audio Receivers

An important aspect of home audio receivers is the role they play in a typical home theater system. A home theater a/v receiver and amplifier assembly actually combines several different components. Some even have a DVD or other media player built in. You can generally assemble a superior home theater system by buying the components separately, but most people buy one unit that does all these jobs because it is more cost effective.

The path of the audio and video is pretty straightforward. The source component, such as the DVD player, feeds a signal to the receiver unit. You choose which input component you want to feed to your output unit, and the preamplifier selects this signal and amplifies signal a little.

The receiver sends the video on to your television and sends the audio to the decoder. The decoder sorts out the different sound channels from the video signal, and then sends the information to amplifiers for each sound-channel output. These amplifiers are connected to the appropriate speakers.

Though there are many “all-in-one” systems out there, the best results are achieved by buying each component individually gives by far the best results. The increased quality and versatility offered by a custom built system vastly outweighs the extra time and money required to set it up. One advantage all in one systems have, however, is the sheer simplicity and speed with which they can be set up. Unlike custom systems, it is unlikely that the signals will get confused and under perform. There is nothing worse than settling in to watch a sound-effects-heavy flick with a killer 5.1-channel surround mix, then have to spend an hour trying to figure out why your receiver is only playing the stereo two-channel sound. A self-contained home theater system eliminates possible miscommunication between units.

There are a wide range of audio/video receivers available. Home audio receivers are often sold with all the speakers you need, as a complete home theater system. These systems run as low as $250 and as high as $2,500. It is important that you carefully plan out your system, taking into account the power required, and how much you are prepared to spend. A receiver is one of the most important parts of the system, so extra time and care needs to be taken when choosing the right one for you.