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Good sound puts groove back into festive parties

IT'S party time as the festive season approaches and no party can be called a party without a good sound system, whether you are enjoying leisure time at home or away.

The ideal sound is what makes a party, listening or viewing experience more enjoyable.

Speakers are an integral part of the home theatre experience.

While there are many brands and models that do a great job reproducing great sound, you would want to ensure the various speakers in your home theatre system work well as a cohesive unit.

Ryno Goosen of HFX Systems says many people make the mistake of spending all their money on the biggest television they can afford, forgetting that the sound makes up half of the home entertainment experience.

"If you want the real home theatre experience, it is essential that you invest some time and money in your selection of speakers.

Whether your surround sound system will be used for television viewing, music or watching your favourite movie, the quality of the speakers you chose will have a huge influence on your enjoyment."

Goosen provides some general tips on things to consider when selecting speakers:

  • Voice-matching: Essentially, this refers to speakers that create a similar tonal quality and that share the same harmonic characteristics. Voice-matching is essential to create a seamless surround sound effect. Without it, the sound will be disjointed when it travels from speaker to speaker. The easiest way of ensuring all your speakers are voice-matched, is to choose speakers from the same brand.
  • Strong construction: When choosing speakers make sure they are made from strong materials. The speaker cabinets should be strong and inert, made from rigid materials such as MDF or aluminium, with strong internal bracings, which will help reduce internal resonances that can muddy the sound.
  • Power is key: The more powerful the speaker's magnets and voice coils, the greater control it will offer for the creation of more detailed sound. No matter what kind of music or movies you listen to, you should be able to clearly hear every detail in the audio.
  • Imaging: Good speaker systems should give you a sense of a sound stage, and not just sound like the music is coming from a box. The centre channel speaker is arguably the most important speaker in any home theatre system, as it delivers more than 50% of the soundtrack, including almost all of the dialogue.
  • Placement: Since its role is to keep the sound anchored to the on-screen action, the centre channel speaker should sit at about ear-level, directly below your television.
  • Speaker size: Available in a variety of sizes, the size of the centre channel speaker will be determined by the size of the television, as well as the size of the other speakers. For example, subwoofer systems usually require a smaller centre channel speaker, while tower speakers require a larger centre channel speaker.
  • Front left and right speakers: These speakers broaden the soundstage that blends with the on-screen imagery to create a realistic and thrilling theatre experience. The front speakers handle the musical score, the majority of the special effects and they act as the left and right stereo speakers for listening to music.
  • Placement: These speakers need to be placed on the left and right of the screen, equidistant from one another and they should to be at the same height as the centre channel speaker.
  • Powered subwoofer: No home theatre would be complete without a subwoofer for the delivery of crucial low-frequency effect. It is the deep bass, provided by many Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks, which makes the sound feel larger, fuller and more lifelike. It is also this bass that gives large sound effects, such as explosions and lightning for example. It is also very beneficial for music listening as it gives all types of music a fuller sound - from rock, to blues, classical music and even jazz.
  • Size: Generally speaking, the larger the driver, the deeper the bass. However, there are a number of compact subwoofers that can also produce big bass too, which are great options where space is at a premium.
  • Power: Powered subwoofers are a must-have - if they boast their own amplifiers, they won't dominate the power your amplifier generates for the other speakers.

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