Basic Steps to Choosing a Home Stereo Receiver.

By Eric James


Buying a home stereo receiver can be confusing but if you take note of a few basic things your job can be made much easier. Home stereo receivers are designed mostly for listening to music which only requires two channels. Movie lovers may require more channels in a home theater system that can produce a surround sound experience.

Modern home stereo receivers are often the central hub of the entertainment system. Before making a purchase you need to take stock of what you intend to plug into it and make sure the receivers you have on your list all have the required number and type of inputs.

Upgrading your receiver when you already have your speakers will require that you check a few settings such as the sensitivity ratings to make sure that you get the best possible sound. The sensitivity rating gives you an indication of how well the speakers can convert power into volume. Larger rooms naturally require speakers that can produce more volume for a given power input.

Power for all audio equipment is measured in watts. Make sure the receiver you choose has a high enough power rating to run your speakers.

If you have the funds available you may buy all of your audio equipment in one hit. Even so, technology is always changing and improving and new gadgets are coming out all of the time. Always make sure you have plenty of inputs on your receiver to cope with expansions and additions. As you buy things like games consoles, iPods, Apple TVs and the like you may find yourself running out of output connections.

It's now quite common for many people to invest more in a higher quality unit so they can have decent audio output to multiple rooms in the house rather than invest in multiple cheaper, lower quality units. Even moderately priced receivers are being manufactured with this capability nowadays. All that's required is a bit of wiring and an extra set of speakers. You can even control them from room to room with IR repeater units.

The author likes to investigate and write about home audio equipment on his website. If you are in the market for a teriffic home stereo receiver have a look at the author's Onkyo TX-8255 review.




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