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So now you have a general idea about how a 5.1 system works, how it’s set up and the components that make it function. Now, we move on to speakers, where the rubber meets the road, fun and necessary pieces of equipment. I should mention that if you have a H.T.I.B. this post will better serve you at a later date when you decide to upgrade. As with any part of your system it’s always advisable to get the best quality you can afford but, there are a number of other factors to take into consideration. First, is something that isn’t a huge deal because most home audio speakers fit into this category, 8 Ohm speakers. 8 Ohm refers to the speaker’s impedance but, that isn’t an important concept to grasp, it’s just important to be assured that your speakers are in fact 8 Ohms (More than likely they are). The reason this is important is because the vast majority of home theater receivers are also 8 Ohms and matching impedance of speaker with receiver is as important as matching power with speakers. Second, size of the speaker and how it will fit in your space is a huge concern because, after all, you are probably placing your speakers within the confines of your living room. If they are constantly in your way it doesn’t do much good to be tripping all over your equipment and for many of us that also means an upset spouse/significant other to contend with as well. Personally I have tower speakers for my front main speakers but honestly good bookshelf speakers will be more than enough in most setups, especially if the intended purpose is mostly movies. I could have really gone with bookshelf speakers up until recently because it does take a fair amount of power to really make tower speakers sing throughout the full range of sound. Bookshelf? Towers? What is the difference? Well, in general a tower speaker will have two or more woofers to deliver mid/bass sound, one tweeter to play high pitched frequencies and tend to be larger around three feet tall or more. Bookshelf speakers tend to have one woofer to deliver mid/bass, one tweeter for high pitched frequencies and as the name suggests the size is appropriate for a bookshelf. There are a number of great options from many speaker manufacturers at a reasonable price that will certainly do a commendable job. Is that all? No, not at all. Let’s touch back on receivers and power output, it’s not realistic to expect many AV receivers to produce more than 80-90 watts per channel with five channels driven at the same time for less than $1,000 new but one can be had for a bit less on the secondary market. That being said, there is a power rating for speakers known as RMS or continuous power to the speaker, you should select a speaker who’s power rating is as close to one hundred percent of the speaker’s RMS power handling as possible. So, with that in mind selecting a speaker around 100 watts RMS that is also very efficient it should be quite suitable to the desired goal for your system. Efficiency will be noted on a speaker company’s website or literature numerically followed by DB or decibels, a rating of 90 or so is generally pretty efficient. With all of these factors in mind find speakers that fit all of your needs, if you can afford more and want to go beyond that and be set for a longer time then I would suggest going back to the drawing board. These are all tips for those with a generally modest budget and I will cover that in a later post down the road regarding separate amplifiers and sound processors. I would also be remiss if I didn’t stress how important the front left, right and center speakers and their placement are to the overall performance of the system. Leave us any questions or comments here or on our contact page.