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The Which? reviews of Home Cinema systems tell you all you need to know about buying the best models, cutting through the jargon so that you select the one that suits your needs.
Home cinema systems bring the world of surround sound to your living room. We’re used to experiencing surround sound in our local multiplex but a good home cinema system that’s properly set-up can recreate that experience at home.
But there are several different types of system available and not all systems perform well – some offer much better sound quality and better surround sound effects that others.
Features to look for
Home cinema systems use different numbers of speakers to create their effect and some also have extra features that are worth looking out for.
2.1, 5.1 and 7.1 systems
These figures refer to the number of speakers used and the table below summarises the pros and cons
of each type of system.
Satellite speaker
The satellite speakers are the speakers placed to the rear of the listeners and to the front in the centre and to the left and right sides of the TV. These can be quite small in size as the deeper bass notes are dealt with by the much larger subwoofer.
Subwoofer
The speaker that produces low-frequency sounds – specifically the ground-trembling bass. An active sub-woofer has its own power supply and amplifier and usually produces a better sound.
Auto set-up
This extremely useful feature can take much of the pain out of getting the best sound balance from your new home cinema system. The kit bounces sounds from each speaker to a microphone placed where you expect to sit, measuring the ideal delay and distance for each speaker.
Power output
The higher the output the louder the system can go – but bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better. Many claim as much as 100 watts, but you don’t need this much in a normal-sized living room - one of our Which? Best Buys has a power output of just 16 watts, yet boasts some of the best sound quality on test.
Radio tuner
Many of the surround-sound amplifiers we see in our Which? tests have conventional radio tuners built in. You may see them referred to as surround-sound receivers.
Most tuners are analogue, capable of receiving FM and AM broadcasts, and most feature Radio Data System (RDS), which shows the station name. Some models are more sophisticated and will even switch to travel updates when they are broadcast on other stations. Surprisingly few home cinema kits come with a digital DAB radio tuner, possibly because this type of radio transmission is not widely used throughout the world.
Digital audio inputs
There are two types of digital audio inputs – coaxial and optical – both are capable of carrying a surround-sound signal. More sophisticated separate home-cinema amplifiers carry both, but those in kits usually have one or the other.If you want to hook up your home cinema system to another surround-sound source, for example a Sky+ box, you'll need an audio digital input. Check that your kit has the correct type for the box you wish to connect it to.
USB connection
Some kits can play MP3 tracks directly from a USB memory stick, which is handy if you keep your music collection in digital MP3 format.
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