Getting The Best Home Cinema Surround Sound System For Your Needs

A home cinema surround sound system will truly bring the movies into your home and make a trip down to the movie theatre quite unnecessary. Obviously this would save you money but you will actually prefer watching your favourite flicks in the comfort of your home more than the cinema itself. The surround sound speakers actually take a bit of getting used to, with the Dolby digital sound flickering between speakers you kind of feel like you’re in the movie.

You might think of surround sound as modern technology! But did you know that it actually dates back to the 1940’s? When Walt Disney decided that he wanted the musical sound of a bumblebee to be heard flying around the audience in the ground breaking movie Fantasia!

Well, home cinema systems have come a long way since then and the choice available is huge. The most popular at present is the 5.1 DTS (digital theatre system) which basically means you will get 5 speakers and 1 sub woofer.

So, what should you look for when shopping for the home cinema surround sound package that best suits your requirements? Whereas there are many factors to be considered, the most important are cost, specifications, design and reputation of the brand.

Cost

Now you really can go all out when it comes to buying a surround sound system spending in the region of $2,200, but you can also pick up a good quality home cinema surround for as little as $200. Obviously you can spend less that this but at the end of the day you get what you pay for but it really all depends your own personal needs. Spend enough time searching and comparing prices and you should come across some great deals.

Specifications

If have a small living area you might only want two speakers and a subwoofer (2.1), but if it’s large a 7.1 digital theatre system would be more appropriate. Are you intending on connecting a satellite box, games console, blu-ray player or IPod to the surround sound? If so you’ll need to make sure it has enough hdmi, coax, audio or fibre optic ports available, so this is really important! Other key areas are volume levels or wireless speakers. Just make sure the home cinema you decide on meets all your needs before you take the plunge.

Design

Home theatre surround sound systems come in all different shapes and sizes. You should base your choice on whatever color and design would best suit your home. You may also have a limited amount of space in your home, therefore you might want a smaller home cinema system to reflect this. Or you might just want the most modern system available because your home is ultra modern, either way you’ll be spoilt for choice.

Reputation

Once you’ve done your homework and your left with a handful of possibilities, a good rule of thumb is to go with the home cinema surround sound with the best reputation. The Web will help you immensely here. Do some searches for the models of home cinema that you’ve shortlisted and see what others who already own it have to say. It won’t take long for you to realise which are best. If you are still unsure as to which surround sound system to get, you can simply ask an expert which one he/she would buy for their own home.

Here's a short video taking a brief look at the fanatastic Sony BRAVIA Theatre BDV-IT1000.