How To Choose Home Theater Receivers

Home theater receivers are an integral part of a home theater system, in fact they are the heart of the system and provide all the input and output connections for the different components. They are so important that without them you will not be able to play audio sounds as well as video images from a DVD player. What actually happens is that signals from the DVD player are sent to the speakers by virtue of a receiver.

Just like anything else, when purchasing home theater receivers or AV receivers as they are called, sometimes quality has to be sacrificed for budget. You won’t always have enough money to buy the home theater equipment you wish to have so making the right financial decision is important. Given your current budget, you will want to allocate enough to get a good quality receiver in order to have the best home theater you can have.

Receivers must always be able to power the system entirely. When it comes to this the receiver should manage powering a system to the point that an entire room in which the home system is housed is filled with the maximum sound possible. But under normal circumstances a 100W is sufficient.

You also want to be sure that the receiver consistently outputs at the same level. This is especially critical when comparing receiver with different wattage out put because one cold be labeled as 100 WPC but if it does not put out the full power at all times it is not as effective. To be sure you are really getting 100 WPC all the time, you need to make sure this number is measured in RMS terms – that indicates the sustained level of output over time.

Audio signals can break up when loud volume is playing or when the signals change. There is what is called distortion ratio so you want to pay attention to what your receiver is rated for in this area. The distortion rating for the receiver must at least be between 4 and five percent. Anything above that will result in distortions that make listening irritable which is obviously not a quality you want in your home theater system!

Another thing to consider is that Signal-To-Noise Ratio (S/N). This indicates the ratio of background noise and the larger the ration the better. This means that with a large ratio the music, sound effects and voice are separated from the background noise. Try to go for the largest S/N ration you can afford.

In the end, buying a home theater receiver is just like buying any other piece of equipment. You need to do your due diligence to make sure you are getting what you pay for and you want to make sure to invest in the best unit that you can afford.