There’s nothing like bringing home a nice, new set of speakers.
And not just any speakers -- speakers that blow your friends
away. Speakers that make your friends want to come over to watch every new
movie at your house, even if they weren’t invited. Speakers that your whole
family loves, but your neighbors don’t. Speakers that are just
that
good.
After the dust has settled on the rest of your smart home
installations, there’s probably still a spot left in your heart for something
that really makes your home pop, your 4K home theater content sing, and your
vinyl and hi-fi audio really rip. That’s what new speakers are for.
But buying new speakers – especially expensive ones – can be
tricky, and it isn’t something that you want to do on a whim. To help you and
your ears out, we here at
AVB Marketing
put together some tips to guide
you through the process. It’s time to get listening!
Application -- Decide Your Needs
Before you even walk into a speaker store, you first should decide
what exactly you plan to use your speakers for. Is this a pair to hook up to
your record player in your listening room? Do you want a 7.1 surround sound
system for your home theater? Are you cramped for space and just looking for a
sound bar to get you by until you can upgrade to something bigger?
You should also figure out what hook ups your current system
has, and what else you may need to upgrade along the way. Take stock and think
before jumping the gun!
Start With Brands You Know and Love
If you’ve purchased speakers in the past or have a high-end
technology manufacturer that you already know you and like, those can be good
places to start. Of course, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t other great
brands out there that you haven’t heard of. And that’s what we are here for!
Give us a call today at
916-407-5165-999
– we’d love to chat about our
favorite brands that we offer and which ones we think will work best for your
unique home projects and needs.
Where Are They Going?
Before you decide
what type of speakers you should get, you need to decide where these new
speakers are going. Which room are you planning on putting them in? How big is
that room? What is the desired placement – are you planning on getting floor-standing,
on-wall, in-wall or in-ceiling speakers?
Your goal is to pick
speakers that can adequately fill the room with sound without you needing to
turn your amp all the way up and over powering the speakers. And placement is
important because your speakers need to fit – there’s nothing worse than
getting new speakers home and then finding out they don’t fit in your media
center or cabinet.
Decide Your Budget
As well as deciding what you need your speakers to do, you
should also come up with a rough budget of how much you are looking to spend. If
you are doing other home renovations at the same time, make sure that you are
appropriating part of that overall budget for speakers – you don’t want to get
everything else installed only to find that you didn’t leave any room for
speakers. You also need to factor in any accessories that go with your speakers;
such as cable wire, receivers, amplifies, and the like. These can also get
costly, but are very important in helping you get the best sound out of your
set up.
Deciding your budget can also help narrow down the wide
world of speakers into something a bit more manageable.
Use Your Ears
When it comes to speakers, nothing beats checking them out
in person and actually hearing what they sound like. You are the person who is
going to be listening to them, so they need to sound good to you. Trust your
ears. Different speaker brands all have their own distinct “sound,” and what
sounds amazing to one reviewer online may sound way too bright for you. Ideally,
you can try an in-home audition to test drive any speakers you are considering,
but if you can’t, that’s what experts like us are for! We take our time to get
to know you, known your room, and know how you plan use the speakers – combine
this with our years of experience helping clients and we have a great recipe
for helping you find the right speaker for your taste and budget.
Pro Tips
Make sure your audio amplifier is powerful enough to
properly drive your speakers. Under powering your speakers can damage the
amplifier, and has a negative impact on sound quality.
Also,
it’s very important to remember: Your listening experience is only as good as
the source you’re listening to. Aim for high resolution audio, uncompressed
audio, Blu-Ray, or vinyl as opposed to compressed MP3 whenever you can.
Of course, if you want other opinions on speakers, give us a
call at
916-407-5165-999
or zip on over to our
contact page
and
we’ll be glad to walk you through the different speaker options we have
available. We’re always here to lend an ear and to help you tackle your next
A/V project!