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Home Stereo Speakers Buying Guide

Home Stereo Speakers Buying Guide

This post is tagged as: home, speakers, sound, music, best, guide, stereo

The main goal of the following article is to ease your choice of the best speakers that suit your room and your music taste as well.

What's the best size of speakers?

The thing we want to accomplish here is to find the best size of the speakers which will perfectly match the room we plan to installed them to. In case you have a room with tall ceiling you may consider buying floor-standing speakers. Not only that you will be satisfied with the sound, but they will become an important visual element in your room design. A subwoofer would be an optional thing here, depending how much do you like bass.

Also, if you plan to buy speakers for a small room, some bookshelf speakers will do the job. The good thing about bookshelf speakers is that they can be installed in different ways like mounted on a wall or placed on stands. They don't have the same sound as floor standing speakers but that's OK.

If space is a problem then a pair of compact bookshelf speakers will do the job.

How do you like to listen to your music?

Before you buy your speakers think a little about how you plan to listen to music for example. Do like your music to play at the background while you do your activities at home, or you like listening to loud music from time to time and make your neighbors mention your name. After you go through all the options make the decision. By doing this you will avoid buying too powerful or too weak speakers.

What specifications should you pay attention to?

Comparing the specifications between different models is a good thing to do when you are flooded with speakers that have great reviews, price limit, and similar. The following are the main specifications you should pay attention to.

Sensitivity rating

The sensitivity rating of the speaker shows us how well the speaker converts the power into volume. If the rating is high, then the speaker will play louder if you give them more power.

Take a look at this example:

If the Sensitivity rating is 85 dB the speakers will need 100 watts of power to produce a specific volume.

If the Sensitivity rating is 88 dB the speakers will need 50 watts of power to produce a specific volume.

If the Sensitivity rating is 91 dB the speakers will need 25 watts of power to produce a specific volume.

As you can see, if you own a low watt amp, in order to get full benefit from your system you have to find speakers that have higher sensitivity rating 91 dB and more.

Speaker Frequency response

The frequency response of the speaker (measured in Hz) represents the range it is capable to produce. The first digits show how deep the bass is and how low your speaker can play. The second digits, as you may guess, shows the high frequencies or the higher limit of the speaker. What we actually need is a wide frequency response. This will give us fuller sound.

Impedance

The impedance shows the capacity of electrical resistance which is presented to the amplifier. Before you make the purchase check your amp specifications to see whether they are in harmony with the speaker you want to buy.

Power handling

Most speakers have suggested power range. This generally tells you how powerful the amp is supposed to be. The higher number shows the maximum number of watts the speaker can handle, and the lower number shows the minimum wattage needed.

Build materials

They can be made from different materials (metal, plastic, rubber and paper). All these materials have their own audio properties.

The main rule for most manufacturers is to use light weight but strong materials.

How much should you spend on speakers?

Probably the best thing when buying speakers is that you can find great ones no matter what's your budget. Whether you are on a tight budget or you can spend a small fortune there is always a bunch of speakers to choose from, all of them with great customer reviews.

However, there is one thing you shouldn't forget at this stage - plan your budget careful since you will also need an amp and cables. Just make sure you don't forget any of these when you start installing your new speakers.