Audio systems for home: specifications, choice, installation, reviews

The market of sound equipment has always been specific and complex for ordinary people, who required knowledge of many nuances in creating acoustics. Equipping a house with such equipment is an especially important event, since it is a question of the close relationship of a person's personal space with sound. Anyway, when choosing audio systems for home, it is not enough to be guided by the basic principle of price-quality. In some cases, there is every opportunity to purchase equipment that is optimal for specific purposes for little money, and sometimes due to circumstances it is necessary to solve elementary problems by means of large investments.

Housing material and dimensions

Although manufacturers are actively promoting compact models of audio systems, the size of the speakers and resonance qualities of the case still matters. Simply put, the sound emitters of small size can not simply "pull" low frequencies. That is, high-quality home audio systems have at least average dimensions and a housing that provides optimal acoustics. The second condition, in fact, depends on the material of the shell. At once it is necessary to tell, that wood is more preferable. With all the advantages in the form of low price and practicality, plastic cases are incomparable with the natural analogue in sound quality and the same low frequency processing. For those who are hesitant because of the modest budget, it is worthwhile to propose a medium-priced option from MDF, but in this case a certain compromise with the quality of the system is expected.

Basic acoustic characteristics

Now you can go to the basic performance indicators that characterize the work of any audio system for the home, and not only. So, the optimal indicators can be as follows:

• Sensitivity of radiators (speakers). In essence, this is an indicator of the sound pressure generated by the system. For home use conditions, an acceptable level of sensitivity is 90 dB or more.
• Frequency range. This characteristic can be considered as the main one. It depends on this frequency band of sound waves, which will be able to reproduce the system. I must say that the best audio systems tend to be as close as possible to a range that is identical to the ability of the human ear. Therefore, we can safely acquire options with indicators of approximately 18-20 000 Hz.
• Number of sound strips. This is the number of satellites, that is, speakers that will work with different frequencies. The best configuration is 5.1.
• Equipment power. The higher this value, the greater the maximum volume. But it is important to consider that this limit should be at least 30% higher than the potential of the amplifier. Average power for audio systems intended for home is 50 watts.

Features of portable systems

Plus stationary speakers are that they are able to provide the best sound quality. In turn, the portable audio system is deprived of this advantage for several reasons. Firstly, its design is sharpened for mobility, and not for winning music playback, for example, because of the use of the same plastic. Secondly, the very place of operation of such devices is rarely profitable in terms of sound quality.

Either way, this type of equipment has its advantages. They are in the same mobility that allows you to take the system for a walk, dacha, office, etc. In a modern form, the portable audio system has little in common with monophonic configuration columns 1.0 with a 3.5 mm connector. In the models of companies Sven and JBL, for example, you can find good stereo devices with subwoofers of type 2.1.

Installation

Unlike other types of equipment, sound systems require a special approach in the installation process. It is necessary not only to fix the equipment and its elements reliably, but before that, more importantly, it is necessary to choose the layout correctly. Typically, ordinary users have to deal with 5.1 hardware, although more often there are systems 7.1. In both cases, the installation of audio systems assumes the location of the speakers according to the following rules:

• The rear and front radiators are located at the height of the user's ears - usually 1 m from the floor.
• The front speakers and the user's head should form an isosceles triangle with a corner angle of about 60 °.
• The distance from the radiators to the listener must correspond to the distance to the front speakers, at least approximately.

Reviews about audiosystems

At connoisseurs of high-quality sounding, there are practically no problems with choosing the right equipment. Restrictions may be due only to the amount for which the audio system is purchased. Prices vary on average from 7 to 15 thousand rubles. If we consider the average price category in which models from Sony, Samsung, Pioneer, etc. are presented, then only limited functionality can cause negative opinions. For example, this may be the lack of wireless connectivity of equipment.

Also, there are sometimes complaints about the quality of the assembly, although manufacturers of inexpensive musical equipment are especially careful in the manufacture of cases. Logically, the least amount of negative judgments are caused by Hi-End systems, supplemented with Life Style prefixes. These are the products of JVC, Bose and other companies specializing in the audio segment. Such systems are praised not only for impeccable acoustics, basic sound quality, functionality and ergonomics, but also for exclusive design. However, there is a similar equipment and minus - this is the most expensive audio systems.

Conclusion

Until recently, it was believed that it was impossible to determine how good a sound was at an amateur level. Therefore, audio systems for the home were selected, rather, not by the criteria for evaluating the sound, but by functionality, the same dimensions and beauty of design. But the situation has changed, the technologies allow to achieve such heights of purity and depth of sound reproduction that these characteristics become paramount. Accordingly, those who want to not just have a sound background at home but enjoy music, should thoroughly analyze the equipment, carefully calculating its performance.