How to Buy Home Theater Rear Speakers

By eHow Electronics Editor

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Rear speakers are an important component of a home theater system, especially if you are looking for a full-blown home theater experience. Rear speakers are critical to a true surround-sound effect. There are many brand and models of rear speakers out there, but picking the right one is a relatively simple task. This article explains everything you need to know to buy the perfect rear speakers for you.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Step1

Find out how many watts-per-channel your amplifier provides. You will need to purchase speakers that have a maximum wattage of at least this much. This is the MOST IMPORTANT specification. If you get speakers that cannot handle the power your amplifier puts out, you will blow them.

Step2

Evaluate the space you have for the speakers so you buy ones that fit your living space. Rear speakers can be very small and many can be wall mounted.

Step3

Fix a budget. It’s important you know how much you want to spend. Select a price range and don’t overshoot. Your rear surround speakers do not need to be nearly as good as your front or center channel speakers, and therefore should not need to cost more than $200 for the pair.

Step4

When shopping, the most important specification besides maximum wattage is sensitivity, the higher the number the better. You should not get speakers with less than a 85db sensitivity. Also, look for rear speakers that have magnetic (video) shielding.

Step5

If you have a very big room or do not wish to run wires from your amplifier to the rear speakers, you may want to consider wireless rear speakers. However, these are usually much more expensive and the rear speakers will still need to connect to a rear amplifier using a wired connection, which in turn will need to be plugged into an electrical outlet.

Step6

Check online stores. Since online shops don’t incur too many overhead costs, they tend to offer lower price points than physical stores. An excellent source for high quality audio equipment is Crutchfield (see below).

Step7

Check the warranty. Reading these can help you decide a company’s commitment to its product and its customers. Any good speaker should carry at least a 3-year warranty. Two excellent brands that carry 5-year warranties are Infinity and Polk.

Step8

Finally, when you've narrowed it down to a few speakers that fit your setup, read some reviews about them. You can usually find reviews online. These will help insure you get a product you are satisfied with.

Tips & Warnings

Check out package deals. If you are buying a new home theater, you may want to get rear speakers that come along with the initial package. These often turn out to be the best option – cheaper and of great quality.