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How to choose the best home audio receiver

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Introduction

In order to enhance your music and home theater experience, the audio receivers are very essential components. These receivers not only offer good sound quality but are used for multipurpose, meaning the audio receivers are being designed to handle multiple tasks. It lets you alter the sound of your system suiting your preferences and provide the decoding through which you can enjoy TV shows, movies, music, and even video games. The latest audio receivers even provide additional entertainment source to the system like music files on your computer, music players, radio etc.

To comprehend better the complexity levels while choosing the best audio receiver, go through this article, which gives you step by step instructions to choose what is best suited for your home.

Complexity level:

A home theater or a stereo receiver?

The first thing is for you to decide on whether you need a home theater system or a stereo receiver. If it is for your drawing room, you would be tempted to look for a surround sound system, in which case you would need a home theater receiver; but in rooms like your bedroom for example, a good stereo receiver is the choice.

Secondly, if listening to music is your first priority, then you can choose a home theater receiver. These receivers offer Digital processing modes that let you transform stereo music. Automatic speaker calibration is offered by most of the audio receiver models allowing the receiver to automatically adjust and analyze the sound of the loudspeakers.

Time required:

Check the surround sound

Surround sound is another important factor you should keep in mind before buying an audio receiver. Most of the latest home theater receivers let you enjoy movies, music, TV programs and even video games in an enveloping surround sound. With Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks, you can even experience minimum of 5.1 surround sound produced by the five channels of amplification.

These home theater receivers deliver additional surround choices with up to seven channels of power. Also, the processing needed is more for three-dimensional sound.

Estimated cost:

Evaluate the power ratings

It is important to evaluate power ratings of your audio receivers. To experience a more dynamic and detailed sound, use of receivers with more wattage is much better than a receiver with less wattage. As all watts are not created equally, one should always compare the power rating of the two receivers.

The full bandwidth power rating indicates quality amplification. The Total Harmonic Distortion indicates how accurately a receiver can amplify movie and music sound. When the THD measurement falls below 1%, it makes the ratings almost indistinguishable from each other in the first glance. The audio receivers with a clean amplification will usually have THD levels below 0.1%.

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The dynamic peaks which imposes intense short-term demands on a receiver, helps to make music and movie soundtracks more exciting. Some models with high current power are well-equipped in reproducing dramatic surges of sound and greater fluidity than other receivers of similar wattage ratings.

Resources required:

Connectivity

The variety and number of inputs and outputs offered by a receiver is another important consideration which one should keep in mind before selecting a receiver. Choose the model that offers sufficient inputs to handle all video and audio components. The latest receivers includes more audio or video inputs but there are few of them which offers only two or three audio-only inputs.

Digital audio outputs are great for the purpose of recording especially for CD burner. For maximum fidelity recordings, Digital audio outputs allows a direct digital connection between the source component and the recorder.

Video conversions

Video conversion helps to maintain the best possible quality in a single connection.The common types of video conversion include:

  • Composite-to-S-video conversion

  • HDMI video conversion

  • Component video conversion

Along with video conversion, some receivers even offer video up-conversion. Through Video up-conversion the receiver can process or even upgrade any non-HD video source to a higher-resolution video signal that is somewhat similar to the features of an HDTV. This gives your DVDs and other video sources a more detailed look.

Frequently asked questions:

Which brand to buy?

A good market research would help you to get as much information as you want and you can select the best by comparing prices, and also by checking the warranty offered on them. The maximum warranty your audio speakers get the more durable they are.

How to place the speakers to get that sound quality?

To create that surround sound effect the mount ceiling is the best place to put the receivers. From there the sound echos that enhances your audio/video experience.

How to check the energy efficiency?

Checking out the power rating is one good way to measure energy efficiency.

How to choose the best?

Before a market survey always go through the online details about the price, quality, features and attachments of the receiver. This is the best way for a better choice.

Quick Tips to choose the perfect receiver for your home:

> A little market research would help you collect good information about the product.

> Budget is something one should keep in mind.

> Always specify the TV you are connecting your audio receiver to the seller.

> Make sure you are placing the receivers at the right place( mount ceiling)to get that sound quality.

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