With all the great home theater products available, it’s tempting to just buy everything that looks the most appealing, take it  home, hook it all up, and enjoy the show!    Unfortunately, getting the best home theater system to fit YOUR particular needs is almost never that easy.    Here are some of the mistakes commonly made:

PURCHASING THE WRONG SIZE TV…   It wasn’t long ago that any TV larger than 40-50 inches was considered a “big screen TV”.    Nowadays, you would be hard pressed to find a single home theater enthusiast shopping for a screen smaller than 70″.    Nothing says SERIOUS HOME THEATER better than a ginormous TV, so go out and get the biggest you can afford, right?    No so fast, Junior!    You should take into account the size of the room and the seating location for your home theater system.    Consider those viewing angles, height of the TV,  and possible glare from room light.    If you have a relatively large room, you should consider a projection system, as it will outperform a big flat panel TV.    In many cases, the projection system will actually cost less and perform better.    Isn’t that what everyone wants?!

BUYING THE WRONG SPEAKERS…   If you’re looking for the maximum movie experience and great music reproduction, it’s important to get the right speakers for the home theater system in your room.    The goal is to have the sound wrap around you like it does in a a good theater, or set up a visual soundstage in front of you when listening to your favorite music.    A well-designed speaker system should sonically disappear into the room while flooding it with sound, even at lower volumes.    There are all type of speaker designs – floor standing, bookshelf, on-wall, in-wall, in-ceiling, etc.    Get a professional to help you make the correct choice.    You wouldn’t attempt to tailor your own suit, would you?

NOT BUYING ENOUGH RECEIVER…   When it comes to getting the most sonic value, getting great speakers go a long way.    Driving them with a high quality receiver or amplifier is imperative to allow them to perform like they should.    When was the last time you went into a stereo store to audition speakers, and the sales guy was demonstrating nice speakers, using a $300 receiver?    NEVER, because he knows he would never sell those speakers, running them with low quality gear!    Look for features like quality power transformers, quality D/A converters, large storage capacitors and heatsinks, instead of useless specs like “watts”.     You’re not shopping for a microwave oven.     Most quality receivers will include discrete amplifier components and feature optimized circuit designs, both of which will affect sound quality.     If you’re wanting to enjoy movies as the director intended, make sure you’re getting something for your home theater system with Dolby ATMOS included.    HDMI up conversion is an important feature, if you have older components that don’t use HDMI.    Get the best receiver you can afford.    Your speakers (and ears) will thank you.

GETTING A HOME THEATER IN A BOX SYSTEM AT THE DEPARTMENT STORE…   Home Theater In A Box systems have performance quality as low as their price tags and feature build quality to match.    They’re often lacking many current features, as well as the ability to expand with additional components or speakers.     Hey, if you’ve got your eye on a Home Theater System that you can buy while getting your prescriptions filled or your hair cut, it may be wise to avoid that purchase!

TAKING ADVICE FROM UNCLE CHARLIE…    Everybody has that friend or family member who seems to know about everything, including your home theater system design.     If “Uncle Charlie” or your best friend “Bob” is going to do this for you, make sure he is insured, carries full warranty on all the equipment he recommends for you, and is available to help you with any and all service calls you will encounter over the years.    The same really goes for the “dealer” that sells electronics over the internet.    Make sure that “James from Indonesia” can fully assist you in every way, just not when accepting your credit card for the purchase.    Do those scenarios not sound very tempting or advantageous to you?    Then call a professional company like GREAT CHOICE audio/video, and get it done right!