Follow These Guidelines Towards BIG Savings While Building Your Dream System
Audioholicsreaders often ask how to go about building their dream audio system or hometheater. It’s a complex topic with a multitude of factors to consider, and it’seasy to understand why it might feel overwhelming. My colleague Theo Nikolakis,who has years of experience under his belt, has put together a reallythoughtful video to help guide the ambitious AV enthusiast down the path towardhome audio happiness. I highly suggest giving it a watch, but if you prefer todigest your AV knowledge in written form, read on to learn what Theo had to sayand how his insights can help you on your audio journey.
1. What’syour Motivation?
Thefirst step, before you start shortlisting gear or window-shopping for a newmust-have gadget, is to ask yourself what is driving your desire to build asystem in the first place. Are you moved by music? Is high fidelity stereoplayback your main goal? And if so, are you trying to recreate the experienceof a live performance, or relive memories captured in the grooves of a vinylrecord? Think about the kind of experience you want to have, and how you wantto feel when firing up your new system. Or perhaps you’re more intohigh-performance home theater. Do you want to bring the cinema experience home,with a focus on high SPLs and room-rattling bass? Or are you more interested inthe subtle details, spatial cues, and total immersion that you’d find in aworld-class mixing studio? (And yes, you can have both if your budget allows.)To help answer these questions, consider whether the system is primarily foryou, or whether the goal is to share experiences with friends and family. Iknow some folks who use their home theaters more for entertaining than fortheir own enjoyment, and that’s a valid goal too. Those shared experiences canbe worth their undefinable weight in gold. The idea is to understand your truemotivation for building an audio system or home theater before you dive intothe deep end. Keep your motivation and values in mind throughout the process,and you’ll be more likely to end up with the right system for you.
2. IdentifyingWhat You Like (And Don't Like!)
Dependingon your level of experience, you may or may not know what you like and what youdon’t like when it comes to sound quality, speaker technologies, or evensoftware interfaces. Figuring out your personal preferences can be acomplicated and even confusing process, but if you’re an enthusiast, it’s alsoa big part of the fun. Because these are matters of taste, there’s no right orwrong answer, and you can’t rely entirely on recommendations from friends orexperts. You can start with big-picture questions, like whether you tend toenjoy stereo demos or multi-channel demos. Do you prefer the “disappearing act”of a small two-way speaker, or the chest-thumping authority of big towers? Thisis also where things like aesthetics and industrial design come into play. Onlyyou (and perhaps, the people you live with) can say what looks good in yourspace. Read AV magazines and websites (especially Audioholics.com), visit locals dealers, and maybe even attenda few audio shows. Soon you’ll begin to understand what appeals to you most.
Onceyou have a basic idea of your tastes and preferences, then you can focus onmore technical considerations, like loudspeaker design and driver technologies.There are numerous speaker types out there, and they all have their pros andcons. With some experience, you’ll be able to align these pros and cons withyour sonic tastes. The most common design is that of a traditional speaker withcone woofers and dome tweeters in a box-like cabinet, but even within thiscategory, there is a huge variety. Perhaps you’ll discover that you like thesound of Air Motion Transformer tweeters, as you’d find in speakers from MartinLogan, Legacyand RBH Sound, or that you’re willing to pay big bucks for a really quiet,inert cabinet, such as those made by Magico and Rockport. Maybe you’ll beattracted to the customization offered by active speakers with built-in DSP(such as RBH Sound),or maybe you’ll find that you like the old-school sound of speakers withrelatively thin, rectangular wooden cabinets, such as Harbeths. Big hornspeakers with compression drivers deliver an immediacy and dynamic livelinessthat draw some audiophiles to brands like Klipsch, Tannoy, and JBL, whileothers are willing to sacrifice some of that scale and snap for a sound withmore refinement in the high frequencies. Electrostatic speakers, such as thosefrom MartinLogan or Quad, can deliver detail in spades, thanks in part to thelow mass of their drivers and the lack of cabinet-born coloration. But theytend to have narrow sweet-spots, making them less ideal for those who like tohost listening parties, and they can struggle to deliver the wide dynamicswings of a similarly-priced traditional speaker.
Planar-magnetic speakers,such as those made by Magnepan and Diptyque,offer a huge, holographic soundstage. Personally, I love the way they can makemusic seem to magically appear within every molecule of air in the room.
But ifyou want deep bass and dynamic slam, you’d be much better off with a big Focalor Perlistentower speaker. Spend some time familiarizing yourself with the options. Notonly can it be entertaining and educational, it will also prove to be time wellspent when it comes time to make a purchase.
Onceyou’ve figured out what kind of speaker technology you like, you can determinethe shape and size of the speakers you’re after. (This will also be dictated toa certain extent by the size of your room.) Do you want a full-range speakerwith true bass capabilities, or do you want a smaller bookshelf speaker thatmore effectively “disappears,” both visually and sonically? Are you looking forfreestanding speakers that you can position carefully in the room, or do youneed in-wall and in-ceiling speakers that draw little attention when the systemis off? Do you plan to use subwoofers, and if so, do you want big beastly subslike the RBH Sound 21-SF/R, or tiny, discreet designs like the KEF KC92?Again, many of these considerations will depend on the size and layout of yourlistening room. Is it a dedicated home theater, where hulking speakers andmonster-truck subwoofers have free rein to visually dominate the space, or isit a multi-use family room where functionality and aesthetics will factor in?The room itself also plays a big part in the sound that reaches your ears. Doyou have the option to acoustically treat the room, and if so, to what extent?The interaction between the speakers and the room is, in my opinion, the mostimportant factor in determining sound quality. That’s why room correction technology has become so important,especially in the home theater world, but also in some stereo products like theNAD M66streaming pre-amp or Cambridge Audio EVO 150.
3. Pick Your RoomCorrection
Roomcorrection technology has become an essential part of system-building strategyfor many audiophiles. These tools have become so powerful that they can have animmense impact on the sound quality you can achieve without changing corecomponents like loudspeakers, amplifiers, and room acoustics. Some audiophilesare so impressed by a certain technology that they will only consider buying aproduct if it supports their preferred room correction solution. We’ve beenable to achieve good results with various solutions, and there’s no one bestsystem for everyone. At the high end of the spectrum, the StormAudio processorin the Audioholics Smart Home uses the latest Dirac Live Active Room Treatmentsoftware. Dirac is generally neck-and-neck with the home-grown room correctioninside the pricey Trinnov processors. These days, some versions of Dirac arealso available in more affordable gear from the likes of Denon, Marantz, andOnkyo. Audyssey room correction also comes in various forms, with more granularadjustments available in higher-end products. Anthem’s Arc Genesis is not onlyeffective, it’s also a bit more beginner-friendly than some of the otheroptions out there.
RoomPerfect is another impressive solution available on someelectronics from McIntosh and Steinway Lyngdorf. At the end of the day, room correction is an importantfeature to consider when buying electronics, but it shouldn’t be the onlyconsideration. In all cases, less tech-savvy buyers have the option of seekinghelp from a dealer or a professional calibrator to make sure that their systemis delivering its best.
4. Choosing Electronics
Speakingof electronics, it all starts with source components. You probably know whetheryou’re into digital audio or vinyl (or both). You can of course stream musicfrom Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz, and so on, or you can curate your own collection ofdigital rips and downloads using a music server solution like Roon. Similarly,on the home theater side, you can get by with a $50 Roku stick if you’re OKwith streaming-quality picture and sound, or you can pony up tens of thousandsfor a high-end movie server like the Kaleidescape Terra Prime. Most folks will split the differencewith a UHD Blu-ray player, which can provide lossless sound andreference-quality picture for folks with real-world budgets — as long asthey’re willing to buy and organize discs. Once you have your sources and yourspeaker layout sorted, it’s easier to figure out what electronics you need tofill the gap in the signal chain. Do you need an analog stereo integrated amp,or a Dolby Atmos AVR capable of handling 16 channels of audio? Do you need electronicsthat fit into a certain software ecosystem, like Roon, Apple AirPlay,Chromecast, Spotify Connect, or Tidal Connect? Do you want to buy the wholesystem at once, or start small and build the system over time?
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5. Seta Plan and Long-Term Goals
Thisleads us to one of Theo’s most important topics: making a long-term plan foryour system. Some folks want an entire home theater system immediately, andwill choose to buy all the gear and all the speakers in one fell swoop, even ifbudgetary limitations require some compromises in the level of performance theycan expect. What they want is functionality, and they want it now. Others arewilling to temporarily compromise on functionality in order to avoidcompromises in quality. Maybe they’ll start with a really good 5.1-channelsystem, and then add height channels and an additional subwoofer (or three) astheir budget allows. Again, there’s no wrong approach — you simply need tothink about which method best suits your goals and your space. Whatever yourbudget, you might find yourself trying to decide how to allocate your funds toget the best bang for your buck. In the context of a home theater, Theosuggests focusing on your front-stage loudspeakers. That means spending more onyour main left, right, and center loudspeakers than on anything else. In astereo system, I’d follow the same logic and spend more on the speakers than onany other component. (My friend Bryce wanted really high-quality sound from hishome theater, but only had the budget for a 3.0-channel system to start with.He added more speakers and subwoofers every year for a few years, and was happyat every stage of the development.) If you do invest in high-quality speakersfor your front stage, it might be worth investing in an external amp just forthose speakers, even if you use an AVR’s built-in amps to power the rest of thechannels. This strategy can yield a terrific bang-for-buck ratio. Focus yourbudget on the most important channels — both for speakers and for amplification— and compromise elsewhere as needed.
6. Factors ToThink About When BuyingAudio Gear
We’vejust touched upon the idea of using an AVR in tandem with a 3-channel amp tomaximize your performance-per-dollar, but this is, of course, just one ofseveral options. Some high-end receivers, such as the Denon AVR-A1H, Marantz Cinema 30, and Anthem MRX 1140, might have more than enough power to handle your wholesystem. On the other hand, if your speakers are especially demanding, or if youwant the very best performance possible, you’ll want to go the separates route,combining an AV processor with separate power amplifiers. There are benefits toboth approaches. The main advantage of an AV receiver is price. By combiningeverything into one component, you aren’t paying for multiple chassis, multiplepower supplies, and the considerable amount of cabling necessary to connect anAV processor to outboard amps. But buying separate components does have somebenefits beyond superior performance. AV processors and AV receivers containloads of internal technology that changes every few years. Things like HDMIfeatures, audio format support, room correction options, and even the userinterface can make an older component feel out-of-date after a relatively shortperiod of time. Meanwhile, power amplifiers (and quality loudspeakers) can lastfor decades. If you have separates, you can keep your whole theatercutting-edge just by upgrading your processor. If you use a receiver, you’repaying for new amplification every time you want or need a technologicalupgrade. Keep an eye out for components that support both hardware and softwareupgrades — these tend to cost more up front, but can save you money in the longrun, if you always want to have the latest and greatest at your fingertips.
7. PurchasingStrategies
Theotouches on several important purchasing strategies to consider. The mostimportant of these is to make sure, when buying new gear, that you’re buyingfrom an authorized retailer, or directly from the manufacturer. Do not betempted by the discounts offered by disreputable, unauthorized onlineresellers. So-called “grey market” resellers might be offloading B-stock,damaged gear, used gear, or knockoff products. Furthermore, most manufacturerswill NOT honor a warranty if the product in question was purchased from anunauthorized dealer. If the price seems to good to be true, it probably is.(Many years ago, I ordered an AVR from a random seller on eBay, before theonline auction site had protections in place for buyers. The price was so good,and I didn’t know better. I never received the receiver, and it took me monthsto get my money back.) If you see a great price advertised, always check themanufacturer’s website (or shoot them an email) to make sure that the seller isan authorized dealer.
Note: Audioholics has two channel partners we work closely with and trust you can choose from including Audio Advice and Dreamedia.
8. SmartWays to Save
Ifyou are looking for a deal, there are some smarter ways to go about saving somedough without taking ill-advised risks. Many reputable manufacturers, likeDenon and Parasound, sell refurbished products either directly on theirwebsites or through authorized dealers. These products have been certified atthe factory to work like new, and they come with a warranty from themanufacturer (sometimes it’s a full warranty, sometimes it’s for a shorterperiod than a warranty on a new item). Another option is to buy demo gear froma local authorized dealer. Demo items might be floor samples used in the store,items returned by other customers, or even brand-new items used in a photoshoot. Sometimes they’re flawless, but sometimes they have small cosmetic dingsand scratches. Either way, any authorized dealer will be transparent about whatyou’re getting, and these items should also come with a manufacturer’swarranty. Just make sure to buy these items from a dealer you trust. Finally,you might be able to save money by shopping during sales like Black Friday or Prime Day. These sales tend to focus on consumer-levelgear, so high-end companies might not offer any discounts at all. But itdoesn’t hurt to check. We’ve seen great deals from companies like SVS, Sony,JBL, Revel, and more. Finally, you might just get a great deal by buying usedgear. I’ve seen really cool gear advertised at US Audio Mart (www.usaudiomart.com). If you buy directly from anindividual, there is a certain level of risk, though this can be mitigated byshopping through a site like eBay or AudiogoN, where sellers have reviews andthere are protections in place for the buyer. I highly recommend an onlinestore called The Music Room (https://tmraudio.com), which does a great job testing gearand ensuring quality.
Trade-inor Trade-up Programs
Somedealers and manufacturers offer trade-in programs, which essentially buy yourold gear from you in exchange for a significant discount on the purchase of newgear. Some dealers offer trade-up programs, which are slightly different.Basically, you can buy a new piece of gear from the dealer, and then if youdecide to upgrade within a certain period of time (often 1 year), you returnthe item to the dealer. The dealer then applies the full purchase price of theoriginal item toward the new more-expensive item. It’s a great way to enjoy apiece of gear now, while you save up the extra cash needed for something evenbetter. Unlike selling gear on the used market, these trade-up programs don’tforce you to take a loss in order to upgrade. And if there’s one thing thataudiophiles love, it’s upgrading to something bigger, better, and newer. Theseprograms also foster good relationships between local dealers and customers.
FinalThoughts
Theprocess of putting together a system can be complicated, and there’s noguarantee that you’ll enjoy years of listening pleasure without a few missteps.Whatever you do, try to have fun and remember that this is not life-or-death —it’s a hobby, and one that we’re lucky to participate in at any level.Personally, I’ve never had the necessary coin to build my dream home theater,and while I’d love to have the kind of megabuck stereo system that I see ataudio shows, that’s not in the cards right now. Even with modest gear, it ispossible to get true satisfaction from the music and movies we love. If,however, you are in a position to go all out and build the system of yourdreams, I’d recommend consulting a professional, like our fearless leader Gene DellaSala or our friendly neighborhood acoustics expert, MatthewPoes. Ifyou live near a world-class dealer like AudioAdvice or wish to pursue online options like Dreamedia, that’s a great place to start aswell. What would your dream system look like? Do you have any tips or horrorstories to share from your own audio journey? Share your thoughts in therelated forum thread below.
