Do I need a receiver for my home theater speaker system? Typically we would use some kind of amplification, and the receiver is an amplifier, a preamp and a tuner all in one. When you are setting a home...
When you are setting a home theater system, there are a variety of factors that need to be included in the right installation. One of the considerations to make is in relation to how the theater speaker system will work. Often times, a receiver or another form for getting the right sound out of your home theater speaker system is an important decision to make.
Dave Tovissi, Vice President of Systems and Design Engineering for Tweeter Home Entertainment Group, has a wide variety of experience and knowledge for the proper installation of speaker systems. His definition of a receiver is an amplifier, preamp and tuner in one box. With these in place, it allows for the sound to all come from one condensed space. Through his experiences, he has found a variety of tools that can be used for a home theater speaker system to produce the desired results with sound. Each different tool, including a receiver, will produce different results in the way that the sound is heard.
While it is known that receivers are an option for a specific sound, Tovissi also makes other suggestions for the right type of speaker system installation. "Chances are we are not going to use a receiver; we will use a separate amplifier and preamp. This is because if you separate them you can get better amplification than trying to put it all into one box." Tovissi's suggestion shows that by having a variety of options available for receivers, it will allow for a better result with the home theater speaker system.
The only time it is expected to use a receiver is if the room is smaller. When this happens, the acoustics in the room will work differently. If an amplifier, preamp and tuner are used, it causes the sound to not work effectively. Instead, a receiver can be used as a way to produce compact sound. However, this will have less sound available for the proper effects of a home theater system. The only other time that it is recommended to use a receiver is when you don't want to spend as much on the home theater system.
With each theater system, there are also recommended settings for the speakers. Tovissi's recommendation is: "We would like to use something that has at least seven channels or 7.1 (the .1 is the sub-woofer channel). We would also like to have a minimum of 100 Watts per speaker. So in the case of a 7.1, it would be at least a 700 Watt receiver and / or amplifier." With these specifications, the speaker system can have the best sound quality to it and provide for the most effective entertainment with the movie theater system.
For those that are considering a home theatre system, they will also want to consider the best options for their speaker system. Knowing whether to get an amplifier or receiver is one of the important decisions to make when finding the right materials for the system. Understanding how this will affect the sound will help in deciding whether to get a receiver or a different tool for your home theatre speaker system.
