The generations alive now, particularly in the West, are all au fait with speaker technology to a certain degree. Most individuals began buying music centres in the Seventies if they were old enough and that trend has continued and the technology has just got better and better.
Audio reproduction has come on in leaps and bounds since the Fifties and Sixties when most people were happy with a mono Dansette record player. My Dad was still listening to his favourite 78’s on a wind-up record player with a pin for a needle and a trumpet for a loudspeaker in the early Sixties. Then he bought a Dansette later in the Sixties.
I purchased a Sanyo music centre in the Seventies and he followed suit. The quality of acoustic reproduction on those systems was laughable in comparison with what is on the market these days.
The latest development is surround sound, which was just accessible in the cinema twenty years ago, but surround sound speakers are a lot better now than they were then and you can fit them at home without requiring a bank loan.
Frequently surround sound speakers are associated with film scores, so a surround sound speaker system could be fitted to the outline jacks on your television or home theatre system.
Home theatres are very much in vogue now that many people are having to stay in more frequently to save money. A small family that likes to go to the cinema once a week can recoup the costs of a good home theatre system inside a year.
When looking at surround sound speakers, you may think that the price is high, but do not forget that it is the surround sound speakers that transform a film into a cinematographic experience. They also last forever if not abused.
Two bits of advice: buy the best that you can afford and get speakers that will stand on the floor or can be hung on the wall.
Buy quality rather than quantity. If you can only afford two speakers of fantastic quality, so be it, You can buy a new one later. With surround sound, the main rule is: the more speakers the better.
Three is the absolute minimum, seven is fine, but eight is much better. The more speakers that you have, the less volume you will have to drive through them so the longer they will last.
The above configurations will be stated as: 2:1 (stereo plus a sub-woofer); 6:1 (front and back stereo speakers, a front central channel and a rear sub-woofer); 7:1 will add a rear central channel.
A good thing concerning this sort of surround speaker system is that you can easily upgrade it, but you have to start properly by buying a recognized marque that will allow you to add speakers throughout the years.
One of the best speaker systems you can buy are Bose, but they are expensive, but they are also the envy of any sound enthusiast too. If you would like the best, but do not have the capital take your time building a system of Bose surround sound speakers.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a number of topics, but is now involved with Bose IE2 Headphones. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Bose Digital Radio.