Take your viewing and listening experience to the next level with a home theater system. These all-in-one systems include DVD or Blu-ray players, receivers, and speakers.
Home cinema systems can range from a simple projector and large flat screen television with DVD player to a full surround sound system. We’ll help you find the right one for your budget and lifestyle.
Buying Guide
Home theater systems are a great way to get a more immersive cinema experience in your own home. They use high-quality hi-fi amplifiers and speakers, which provide better sound quality than the small speakers in soundbars and all-in-one systems.
The best home theater systems deliver a spine-tingling viewing and listening experience with giant screens that pull you into the story, image resolution that reveals details in costumes, sets, and special effects, and sound that envelopes your room and rattles your furniture. But not all systems are created equal.
Look for a system that connects to your TV, streaming devices, and video game consoles for a wide range of entertainment options. Many models support 4K video and HDR content, and some can access Internet-based movies and TV shows from streaming services like Netflix(r). A 7/7.1 typology has two front speakers, two back speakers, a front center speaker, and two side speakers, plus a subwoofer.
Setup
The most important thing to keep in mind when setting up a home theater system is signal flow. The HDMI output from your TV and Blu-ray player/console should go into the receiver, which then connects to the speakers.
It’s also a good idea to think about the type of cable you use and what its specifications are. The quality of the cables plays a big role in both video and audio performance.
A home theater setup can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. Start small with a soundbar and add more speakers over time to create your own personal aural enclave. Aim for an acoustic experience that’s leagues better than the standard TV in your living room. Fill the space with items that absorb rather than reflect, like curtains, furniture, and cushions, to create a more acoustically-correct environment.
Speakers
A good home theater system will have a set of speakers placed around your room for immersive surround sound. They usually connect to a receiver, which sends audio signals and plugs into an AC wall outlet for power.
Some have wireless receivers to eliminate the need for speaker wire. These systems still use a receiver, but have a transmitter to wirelessly send audio signals to the surround speakers.
This set features compact black gloss speakers for a discreet look, which match well with the receiver and subwoofer. They have high-quality drivers and an upscale finish for a premium look. It also has Bluetooth, so you can stream music into the system from your phone or tablet. It also supports Yamaha’s MusicCast multi-room audio, letting you add more wireless speakers around your house.
Subwoofers
Home theater systems can add depth to movies and music, but they’re often lacking in lower frequencies. That’s where a subwoofer comes in. They make the dinosaur footfalls in Jurassic Park or electronic kick drums sound big, but they also reproduce sounds at frequencies that aren’t audible to humans (like the roar of a storm).
They come in sealed and ported designs and can be wired or wireless. Some have built-in amplifiers while others are powered by your AV receiver’s subwoofer output.
A good subwoofer will be powerful enough to fill large rooms without becoming a visual eyesore, but they’ll be sensitive enough to preserve the integrity of the low frequencies in music. The BIC America F12 12″ Front-Ported Powered Subwoofer is a good example. Its ported design eliminates port noise while its RCA and mini-jack inputs allow you to connect it to any type of audio source.
Control
There are a wide variety of home theater control options to help you operate your system. Many of the latest Blu-ray players and 4K media players connect to the Internet, allowing you to stream movies and TV shows from services like Netflix(r) and Amazon Video on Demand (AVoda). You can also use Bluetooth to send audio wirelessly from handheld devices into your sound system — and many home cinema receivers have built-in Wi-Fi that lets them do so automatically.
You can build your own home theatre system by selecting and purchasing individual components one at a time, or you can choose an all-in-one package called a Home Theater in a Box (HTIB). These systems include a receiver with matched speakers, often with a built-in Blu-ray disc player, and you’ll need to add a TV or projector.home theater systems canada