The right home theatre system can mean the difference between an average listening experience and a brilliant one.
A home theatre system gives you the joy of a cinema experience in your own home. And what enhances the experience of your music, movies or everyday TV viewing is great sound quality and. acoustics. Shopping around for the right sound system can leave you a bit confused, there are hundreds of configurations and options.
It’s likely that your first choice will be between either a 5.2 or 7.2 home theatre system. Experts such as Wavetrain can help ensure that the choice you make complements your home theatre space.
What are 5.2 and 7.2 systems?
Before you get into the benefits of each sound system, it’s essential to understand what they are. Put simply, 5.2 and 7.2 refer to the number of speaker channels each system offers and the number of subwoofers they come with.
A 5.2 system has right and left speakers in the front, with a centre channel, a pair of surround channels and two subwoofers. A 7.2 system has two additional surround speakers and two subwoofers. This makes for a lot of speakers, in addition to those that are in-built in your TV. But the truth is that TV speakers don’t really give you the output or the effect that you truly want when you have a home theatre. That is the reason you need speaker systems like the 5.2 and 7.2.
Choosing between 5.2 and 7.2 sound systems
5.2 speakers have been around for long time and work great in average-sized living rooms and even in moderately-sized home theatre spaces as well. However, as the room gets larger, the benefits of a 7.2 system can be seen.
For the purposes of a home theatre, the dimensions of a small room are considered to be a space that has a 2.4m ceiling where the speakers will be placed around 1.8m to 2.4m from the viewer. 5.2 speakers then will be able to fill in the space in a room of this size adequately, providing good quality sound. Too many speakers will be a waste here since you will have to reduce the volume so much when they are in use.
A medium room is one where the speakers are around 3m to 3.6m away from the viewer. Here too, depending on the design and shape of your space, a 5.2 speaker could still do the job. However, this is dependent on comfort levels.
A large room is one where the speakers and the viewer are separated by more than 3.6m. In such cases, the 7.2 speakers will be ideal in ensuring that the sound reaches all parts of the room. The two subwoofers will give the bass levels required to make a viewing or even a gaming experience livelier.
Choosing the right home theatre system should be done in consultation with experts who will be in a better position to assess your space and make recommendations.