Hot wired: Tiny price tags for big sound

Market forces have made it as easy as it is tempting to invest in a multi-speaker home entertainment system. Some shops currently retail complete 5.1 home theatre audio equipment packages of six speakers, amplifier and CD/DVD player for less than $1000. They start at about half that in fact; mini system packages with matchingly tiny price tags.

But beware. Such ultra-budget systems are really only designed for tiny rooms, like those modern student apartments where the kitchen is the lounge is the bedroom, and spare floorspace is absent.

While it's not a given that small speakers mean small volume, you shouldn't expect budget home-theatre combos to fill a family-sized lounge with sound.

Without getting too technical about it, speakers make sound by pulsing in and out, creating pressure, or sound waves, which our ears detect as noise. The closer we are to the sound source the louder it seems because the pressure wave hasn't dissipated. Think ripples fading as they spread over a pond surface.

It doesn't require much imagination to figure that a bigger speaker will be able to move more air, making bigger pressure waves and thus more volume.

Up close, a large and a small speaker may sound just as loud, but as you move away expect the smaller speaker to fade away more quickly. Yes, some brands specialise in making small-but-quality speakers, but you won't find them retailing for around a grand. I am talking here about budget home-theatre expectations.

Similarly with the quality of sound. Bigger speakers will generally also give a more full and rich sound as they can produce a wider range of frequencies. Buy cheap, as they say, and you will get cheap. If you enjoy music there is very little sense in surrounding yourself with poor-quality speakers. All you will do is ensure constant 360 degree dissatisfaction.

Although the last link in the audio chain, speakers are all-important in creating or destroying listening pleasure. Poor sound or inadequate volume will spoil the whole point of owning a home-theatre set-up.

We can all tell a good speaker from a weak one. Go to a specialist hi-fi retailer and ask to listen to different brands if you want to prove your own auditory skills. Compare two quality brands and they will sound different.

Compare one against a budget brand and you will be convinced it is well worth spending more to get better speakers.

While there, ask about speaker placement because that is the one no-cost way to improve a bad sound situation. (Alternatively read the installation advice again.) Make sure the centre channel speaker is immediately near your television.

The front speakers deserve a solid base to project from and need to be near ear height to the left and right of you, not just to the left and right of the screen. Same with the rear speakers, and make sure they only add to the surround sound, not dominate it.

As one honest wag has put it: with stereo you have two problems; with home theatre you have five or six!