Building Your Dream Sound System
What are the audio components needed to build the ideal custom sound system for your home, car or home theater?
While many different elements are involved, which we will talk about here, amazing speakers are a key component to creating that perfect system that will rock your world.
There are many different types of speaker systems that you can select. One of the most important things to know is that the higher the watt and ohm of the speaker, the greater the sound you get. Speaker can be evaluated based on its production of frequency, the higher the frequency is, the higher the quality of the sound produced. With a high frequency speaker, you can expect the sound to travel far, in some cases, the sound produced can be hear at 200 meter away.
The amplifier - if you need the audio system to produce a sound output which is greater, you will need an amplifier. The louder the sound you want the system to produce, the more powerful the amplifier you should have.
If you're starting from the ground up in designing your custom system, choosing the subwoofer is a great place to start. A subwoofer is a speaker that is designed to reproduce very low bass frequencies (usually those between 20 Hz and 125 Hz). Even normal consumer-grade subwoofers are often capable of generating exceptionally high levels in home theaters or cars. There are many models to choose from and many price ranges to fit any budget.
The overall performance of home audio products, such as speakers, subwoofers, and amplifiers is determined using RMS and Peak power ratings. What is the difference between these two types or ratings?
RMS Power refers to Root-Means-Square power. The RMS power rating is a measure of continuous power measured in watts and the higher the RMS power means the device is either able to provide or accept the specified power over a significant length of time without fail. PEAK POWER ratings on the othe hand is a measure of how much power can be generated or handled for a very short period of time.
Speakers, subwoofers and amplifiers should be compared using the RMS power ratings to ensure that the right product is chosen for the application in question. For example, a speaker that has a RMS wattage rating of 100 watts should be a good match for an amplifier that has a RMS wattage rating of 100 watts resulting in optimum performance from both products.
Since there are so many choices in the market with regard to each of these components, what should you consider before buying? Here are 3 tips that should be considered:
- 1. Your Budget: This is probably the most important factor that influences the purchase. Given the wide range of speakers and pricing in the market, you need to make the best choice for your budget.
- 2. Your requirements: Everyone has different requirements and since you're customizing a sound system to your own tastes and preferences, make a list of required features that you absolutely need to have, then your wishes/nice to haves. This list will come in handy when you're out there shopping and evaluating specific products so that you are not too easily swayed by sales people in the stores.
- 3. Specific Makes and models: Get an idea of the various models and makes of the that fit your budget and matches you desired requirements. Reading customer and product reviews is invaluable in this regard - see what others have to say about the sound quality, warranties, and overall performance of different models and makes of these audio components.
