Component

by Robert Sullivan

Created on: February 24, 2009

The choice of components vs. everything-in-one-box for home theater is tantamount to asking, Which is better, buying cookware in a set or open stock? Or, Do you do your own taxes or let a professional handle that? The short answer is that any set is usually going to cost less per piece than if you bought each piece separately, but the trade-off to that is, you don't get to pick what's included in the set. In home electronics, some people understand the idea that individual components have common, standardized connections, such as RCA jacks, s-video, HDMI, coax, et cetera, and some people don't. If you buy a home theater in a box, not only do you not get to pick what's included, but you may also be paying a premium for the "convenience" of having "everything" included in one box. Also, not all home theaters are created equal. Some brands do well with, say, video, such as Sony, but less well with amplifiers and speakers, again such as Sony. You should also compare the technical specifications, such as watts per channel on the amp and distortion, of any system in a box, and be very wary if you can't get that information beforehand. If such fine distinctions escape you or make you impatient, everything in the box may be the way for you to go. On the other hand, if you do not subscribe to the idea that beer is beer, cars are cars, green is green, and painters paint, then you may want to do some research to see how much each component of what is in the box that you are considering would cost separately. Retailers, both online and the traditional brick-and-mortar, discovered a long time ago that many people simply don't have the time or patience for research, and have devised endless schemes and bundles to try to cater to this segment of the buying public. But you must understand that any time you don't do research, for whatever reason, you will be paying a premium for that luxury, which any retailer will be overjoyed to charge you.

If you do decide to pick and choose components, however, the result can be quite rewarding. Be forewarned, though, that, as with cars and virtually anything else, the cost involved can start out modestly but very quicky can end up on the moon. But again, if you are frugal, this can work to your advantage. For example, if you can't afford everything right away, you could start with just a decent amplifier and two good left and right speakers. This simple set-up will sound so much better than the speakers in your television ever will. You could, later on, add a center speaker, and then the rear surround sound speakers, and then a subwoofer, if you decided to. As far as getting the most bang for your buck goes, most of that has to do with what kind of music or movies you're going to watch or listen to and whether or not you are musician. Popular music will sound good on just about anything, and blockbuster movies like Spiderman or Star Wars aren't going to push the technical demands of a lower-priced set-up very far. On the other hand, when you start getting into anything orchestral or so-called classical, whenever the volume of what you're listening to varies greatly, which does not happen very often with popular music, or if you were trained as a singer in chorus or as a musician in piano, strings, winds, or percussion, then you need to be concerned about the distortion, which unfortunately in the lowest end of components can be quite high. This is where more money spent up front will definitely make a difference in what you get out of your home theater later on. If you need to hear it or see it in person before you buy it, you will be well served to bring your own reference CD or DVD with you, because any demo they have at the store will naturally sound good there, so if you bring something that you're familiar with, at least you will have some frame of reference. But again, keep in mind the acoustics in the store will be optimal; your home acoustics may be less so.

If I've made you weary just thinking about all this, then you know your course: the all-in-one box will make you happy. On the other hand, if you are picky by nature, you'll do what I did: I bought a Yamaha amp, two floor sized DCM speakers, a Klipsch center speaker, rear B & W speakers, and a Pioneer DVD/laser disc player, not necessarily in that order, and I love the way my home theater sounds.

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