What is a good wattage I should look for in a home theater system?

Question by jennnnn: What is a good wattage I should look for in a home theater system?
I want to buy my mom some speakers to hook up to her TV for Christmas because she can barely hear her tv right now, the volume on the tv itself is just very blah. We can have it turned clear up and still barely hear it.

So what should I look for in a home system then? Not something too expensive but I don’t want it to be cheap sound quality either. I’m not quite sure what amount of wattage I should look for and what not. Any recommendations?
I am also having a hard time finding a system that doesn’t come with a DVD player; my mom already has a DVD player I am just looking for some good speakers to amplify her TV sound so she can finally hear it.

Best answer:

Answer by aamer_84
just for normal home use i would recommend a home theatree/srround sound system with aout 300-400 watts capacity.

as an alternative (since it doesnot sound that you have like a big/hdtv/plasma TV) you can also buy those shelf systems, they come with 1 unit as a recievr with 2 speakers (and sometimes a woofer too)

just make sure that if you buy the shelf systems that the reciever has an Audio input (many systems usually come with that nowadays)

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What to look for in a Home Theater System if I'm not an audiophil?

Question by achilles19282: What to look for in a Home Theater System if I’m not an audiophil?
I’m looking for an inexpensive (say < 0) and very *basic* home theater system.

Extremely fine differences in the quality of sound etc are not important to me as long as it provides surround sound etc. Given this, what other things should I look for in a home theater system?

For example – Coby's home theater is only 0 while Sony's can go as high as 00.

Best answer:

Answer by Larry L
Take a look at the Sony DAV-HDX285 Bravia Theatre System as an example. It’s 8. It upconverts DVD for your HDTV and has plenty of power to the speakers and you get a subwoofer for the bass. It even has a 5 disc changer for your DVDs or CDs.
I trust you aren’t looking for Blu-ray, as at that price point, you aren’t likely to get it.
I wouldn’t touch anything from Coby. The quality is low and falls apart after awhile unless you treat it with extreme care.
I’d stick with Sony or Samsung for what you’re looking for.

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I have Playstation 3 and want to hook up a home theater system to it for the audio. What specs do I look for?

Question by Otto: I have Playstation 3 and want to hook up a home theater system to it for the audio. What specs do I look for?
The TV is an HDTV and I have an HDMI cable that I use for the video. What kinds of specifications do I need to look for when picking? HDMI input and output? TOSLINK audio? Thanks in advance.

Best answer:

Answer by Michael L
well, if you do buy a HDMI compliant home theater reciever, make sure that it supports HDCP. They’re still a bit pricey (0.00-1,000.00) but well worth it.

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What do I want to look for when buying a home theater system?

Question by wyodad75: What do I want to look for when buying a home theater system?
I would like at least a 1000w system.

Best answer:

Answer by AM
Listen. Go to the dealer and listen to the different systems they have to offer. Do NOT pay much attention to the specs – wattage, thd, etc – it does not mean anything. I guarantee you that 50watts Krell from the 80’s will sound better and louder than most of todays “1000watts” 9 recievers.

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What home theater systems should I look at?

Question by solvo: What home theater systems should I look at?
I’m starting to look at my own home theater system for my room because I want surround sound. I don’t know what I should look at though. I want a 4.1 or 5.1….And I just want the speakers/subwoofer, no DVD or Blu-ray player with it. What I don’t understand is whether I need floor speakers or just the smaller ones for my room. And where do you position the 4 or 5 speakers if they are all small ones?

Please help, I’m very new to this.

Best answer:

Answer by R
Well, what size is your room?
If it is small – medium, then floor standers may be too much…although, they do relieve the need of a subwoofer to some extent unless you want room-shaking-bass.
Many bookshelf speakers these days are sufficient – and able to fill even a large room full of sound- you do need a sub to assist.

Usually, receivers power 5- 7 satellites… This includes a centre channel- which usually handles most of the vocals. All DVD or bluray movies are recorded in Dolby digital or dts: 5.1 or 7.1 formats… Which means that your 4.1 system option is incompatible and would have to do a conversion for it to work.
This is why 5.1 / 7.1 systems are more abundant vs. 4.1 (which I’ve only seen in computer gaming systems).

As far as positioning…
Any 5.1 or 7.1 system that is sold would give placement instructions… And some supply also an auto-calibration mic and module.

Hope this helps!

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