Top 5 Home Theater systems
The market for home theater systems is flooded with too many options. You can choose from different sizes, features, and of course, price ranges. Like most electronic goods, looking at the top 5 home theater systems is confusing because the one with the features and quality you like is inevitably going to be the costliest. Fortunately, it is not that difficult to find a home theater system that offers all the features that you need while giving the best value for money. Given below are a few suggestions that will help you to find the best home theater system without smashing your budget to bits
Brand
A brand is good but a brand is not everything. If you have always bought a particular brand then perhaps it is time to challenge this brand loyalty and look at other products without wearing brand shades. People often have this tendency to fall for their own brand loyalty. When you are looking at the top 5 home theater systems you must look at features, price, quality, and reliability. You might be surprised that an unknown brand with a good reputation can offer what you need at a much lower cost. So if a brand is unknown to you then try finding out something about it rather than dismissing it outright.
Features
There are many features that newer technology will keep offering you. What you should ask yourself is, how many times per year are you actually going to use that feature. Or is it important just so you can gloat about it? Do not fall for the "latest is best" syndrome. When you are making a note of what features you really need, look for those features in the top 5 home theater systems and ignore the side dressing that is being used for marketing purposes. If you are going to implement piped-in music then the requirements are different than the surround sound requirement of watching DVDs. Depending on the features you choose you might have to compromise on the size or not. Try to imagine the home theater system placed in your room. Is there enough space? Bigger systems will use more power, are you prepared to foot the increase in your power bill?
Ease of use
So you have a DVD player, a huge plasma screen, 4 speakers, a subwoofer, and a few other goodies to go with it. But that is not always the complete installation kit of a home theater system. People frequently underestimate the complication in installing home theater systems. If it is not easy to install then you might have to pay someone to install it for you.
HTIB (Home Theater In a Box) are very suspect when it comes to sound quality even in well-known brands. This is clearly the exception in the home theater product range where the latest technology truly is better.
Here are the top 5 home theater systems:
- Sony DAV-FR9
This is a wonderful HTIB that features 5 disc, slot-loading DVD/SACD/CD changer and receiver. The speakers are well-designed aluminum towers. Sadly though, the sound system does not feature any bass or treble controls and the disc changer is a bit on the slow side. If you are looking for the best value for money on the market then look no further, this is the home theater system for you. - Onkyo LS-V955
This HTIB has lot of style with a curvy DVD player/receiver presented with a brushed aluminum finish and neat looking speakers that have a powered subwoofer with A/B speaking switching options. The extra style comes at an extra price though and the wiring feels a bit flimsy. If you can afford the extra cost and cannot do without the style, go for this one. - Boston Acoustics Avidea 610
This is a very compact and high performance HTIB that is consistently competent at playing DVD and music CDs. The player/receiver is easy to use and the speakers are small yet powerful. The only drawback to this HTIB is that it lacks the spit and polish of the others and consequently isn't much to look at. - Panasonic SC-HT920
This HTIB is sleek. The surround sound comes through tallboy speakers and a powerful subwoofer. Unfortunately, these tall speakers are not very stable so you will have to be careful around them. HD movies and DVD audio is where this one beats the competition. - Yamaha DVX-S120
This home theater system is well designed and is one of the easiest to install. The speakers are quite compact and the subwoofer packs a solid punch. The overall sound quality is not what one would expect from Yamaha though.