Home cinema system reviews: Features explained
Home cinema systems - why would you want one?
Six speakers provide cinema-quality sound
Modern cinemas use speakers placed around the walls to project sound at you from all angles and give the impression that you’re in the thick of the action. A home cinema system can recreate this experience in your living room.
The surround-sound information held on most DVDs and videos can be decoded with a suitable amplifier, and with a set of speakers located around your room you can pretend you’re at your local multiplex. A few camcorders offer surround-sound recording, so you can enjoy cinematic sound on your home videos.
The simplest and cheapest route to home cinema is with a kit that contains all you need; amp, six speakers, cables and, usually, a radio tuner and DVD player too.
Speakers
In many cases, speakers are the weakest part of home cinema systems and can limit performance. Manufacturers use cheaper speakers to keep the costs of the systems down.
But some go too far down this route; we've tested some kits where speakers can barely compete with a ghetto blaster.
Speaker systems - 2.1, 5.1, 7.1
2.1 - For the clutter conscious, these systems do away with the rear and centre speakers, leaving only the sub-woofer and 2 front speakers.
They attempt to pull off a pseudo surround-sound effect with a mixture of electronic processing and audio conjuring tricks.
However, we have yet to hear a 2.1 system that can successfully mimic a proper 5.1 sound. Instead they tend to produce a wall of sound, deep with bass.
5.1 - Refers to the number of speakers in a kit – 5 surround-sound speakers plus 1 bass speaker, known as a sub-woofer.
7.1 - This system means you can add an extra rear speakers for an enhanced effect.
| Home cinema systems: pros and cons | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| System | Number of Speakers | Pros | Cons |
| 2.1 | 3 | Only three speakers to place and wire up | Poor surround-sound effect |
| 5.1 | 6 | Good surround-sound | Six speakers to place and wire up |
| 7.1 | 8 | Slightly improved surround-sound effect | Eight speakers to place and wire up for minimal improvement in performance |
Satellite speaker
The smaller speakers placed to the rear and side of the TV.
Sub-woofer
The speaker that produces low frequency sounds – specifically the ground trembling bass. An active sub-woofer has its own power supply and amplifier and usually produces a better sound.
Wireless speakers
The downside of home cinema is the amount of speaker cable snaking round your living room. One solution is to use wireless speakers, or to buy a system with a wireless option.
Wireless kits for the most part are the same system as wired kits, but you purchase a transmitter which allows them to operate wirelessly.
Auto set-up
This extremely useful feature can take much of the pain out of getting the best sound balance out of your new home cinema system. The kit bounces sounds from each speaker to a microphone placed where you expect to sit, measuring the ideal delay and distance for each speaker.
Power output
The higher the output the louder the system can go – but bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better. Most claim 100 watts. One of our Best Buys has a power output of just 16 watts, yet boasts some of the best sound quality on test.
Receiving radio
Tuners
Best Buy: Denon DHT-1356XP
All of the surround-sound amplifiers we tested have conventional radio tuners built in. You may see them referred to as surround-sound receivers.
Most tuners are analogue, capable of receiving FM and AM broadcasts, and most feature Radio Data System (RDS), which shows the station name.
Some models are more sophisticated and will even switch to travel updates when they are broadcast on other stations.
Receiver
This is another name for an amplifier with a built-in radio or tuner. Those built for home cinema systems are called multi-channel receivers.
RDS
Radio Data System, found in many tuners, supplies additional information for display. Kits tend to only offer a simple RDS function – the display of the station name.
The RDS on separate receivers usually offer more information, such as the type of programme broadcast and scrolling text.
Connecting it all up
Digital audio inputs
Coaxial (left) and optical (right)
There are 2 types of digital audio inputs – coaxial and optical – both are capable of carrying a surround-sound signal. Most separate receivers carry both, kits usually have one or the other.
If you want to hook up your home cinema system to another surround-sound source, for example a Sky+ box, you'll need an audio digital input.
Cable length
If you're kitting out a large room, check that the length of the cables are sufficient for your needs. Cables to rear speakers, placed farthest away from the main unit, are especially important. Most separates don’t come with cables.
USB connection
Some kits can play MP3 tracks directly from a USB memory stick. Handy if you keep your music collection in digital MP3 format
Surround-sound terminology
Dolby Digital
The 5.1 multi-channel audio standard used on most DVDs and some digital broadcasts.
Dolby surround
The original analogue surround standard also known as Dolby Pro Logic.