Choosing Your Receiver (CONT)

Since your receiver is so important, you want to definitely get one that lasts and one that can grow with your home theater system. What does that mean and how do you ensure that?

Buy your receiver keeping in mind : Price Variety of Input Types Expandability and Ability to Grow

Price is pretty self explanatory. Currently, you can get an average receiver for around $150, a decent one for about $200 and a pretty good one for $250-$500. Again, these prices are always subject to change and only eclipse receivers used in a average home theater setups. If you're going for best surround sound in your city, you could buy a receiver that costs upwards of $9000!

Aside from price, variety of input types and expandability and ability to grow are the most important aspects of a receiver. If you don't have a keen understanding of input types, feel free to visit that article here. When you're buying your receiver, the first thing you should do is swing it around to the back. That way you get a good luck at all the inputs it has available. If you take an inventory of all the stuff that you have to connect to your receiver, (DVD player, XBOX, TV, etc), you can make sure the one you're trying to buy has an input for all of them. This is important because you don't want to get a receiver with 3 inputs on the back if you have 6 things you're trying to plug into it! On a related but side note, you also want to make sure that there is an input or two on the front of the receiver because just in case you need to plug something into your system quickly, you don't want to have to wheel it around to the back when you have everything else already plugged into it!


In examining the inputs on the front in the back, you want to make sure it has plenty of good inputs and outputs. So we're talking about coaxial digital, optical, component, composite, s-video, things like that, AND PLENTY of them. Finally in examining your receiver, you want to find out what kind of surround sound formats it supports. 5.1, 6.1, 7.1....stuff like that. What does all that mean? The first number refers to the number of speakers in the surround sound setup, and the ".1" refers to a subwoofer. So for instance, 5.1 means 5 speakers, (two in the front, two in the back, one center), and a sub. 6.1 means 6 speakers, (two in front, two on the side, one back), and a sub. Finally, 7.1 means 7 speakers, (two front, two back, two side), and a sub. Look for a upcoming surround sound format article soon!

So after you're finished wheeling it around, examining the inputs, looking or asking how many speakers it can support, play around with it! If you're checking out the receiver at an electronic retailer, start pushing buttons, turnings knobs, looking at the display, just try and get a feel for it. And if you don't know how something works on it, don't be afraid to ask someone! Most receivers at stores are plugged up so you can fool with options and listen to music. But remember, you're not buying speakers, your buying a receiver. So if you find yourself saying, "WOW, this sounds great!", make sure you're saying that because it's a result of the receiver, not the quality of the speakers it's plugged into.

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