While all of the components of an audio system are important, your speakers are the ones that actually deliver the sound to your ears. That's why it's so imperative to pick great speakers that are suited to your needs. Below, you'll find info on how speakers work and some of the different speaker styles out there. (For help understanding and choosing home theater speakers, you can also go on to our home theater speakers article.)

The basics

The basic technology is actually quite simple and hasn't changed much for nearly 50 years. Most speakers feature a combination of drivers and a crossover inside a cabinet. The crossover circuit divides the audio signal into various frequency bands, then sends those bands to the drivers most capable of reproducing them. This kind of precision permits highly accurate reproduction of sound.

Terms like "2-way" and "3-way" indicate how many separate frequency bands the speaker will handle. So a 2-way, full-range speaker has two drivers (a tweeter and a woofer) which handle, respectively, upper frequencies and mid-to-low frequencies. A 3-way speaker, on the other hand, might offer a tweeter to handle high frequencies, a mid-range driver to handle — you guessed it — mid-range frequencies, and a woofer to handle lower frequencies.

Of course, today's speakers sound much better than they did 50 years ago. They're engineered to reproduce lively and dynamic digital sources, and they take advantage of innovative designs to bring you detailed, powerful sound. And these days, you have an astonishing variety of speakers to choose from — everything from large floor-standing powered tower speakers to great-sounding satellites that will fit in the palm of your hand. Some speaker systems even include wireless rear speakers that eliminate the need to run speaker cable to the back of your room. Here's a quick overview of the most popular kinds of speakers:

1. Floor-standing
2. Bookshelf
3. Subwoofer/satellite systems
4. In-wall, in-ceiling, and outdoor

Floor-standing speakers give you full-range sound. (THIEL CS1.6 shown above)

1. Floor-standing speakers

Floor-standing, or tower, speakers have been around for years and in many ways remain the standard against which all other speaker types are judged. In general, they

• are larger than other types of speakers,
• reproduce a wide range of frequencies, including deep bass, and
• are usually more efficient, giving you more volume per watt of amplifier power.

Tower speakers tend to be more expensive than bookshelf speakers, but they're hard to beat for big, room-filling sound. If you're interested in towers but don't want to take up too much floor space, look for one of the many slimline models out there — several have a footprint of less than one square foot.

Save space with bookshelf speakers. (Boston Acoustics Micro 130x shown above)

2. Bookshelf speakers

If you're working with limited space (or budget), bookshelf speakers are a good alternative to floor-standing models. With bookshelf speakers, you get

• smaller speakers that you can place on stands or on shelves, and
• excellent performance in a smaller box (usually with a smaller price tag).

Bookshelf speakers are almost always 2-way. Some audio fans prefer them because, when stand-mounted, they provide tight overall sound and accurate stereo imaging. However, because of their size, they cannot produce the low bass frequencies that floor-standing models can. As a result, many folks choose to add a powered subwoofer to reinforce the deep bass, especially for home theater.

Small satellite speakers can deliver surprisingly engaging wraparound sound.(Klipsch HD Theater 1000 shown above)

3. Subwoofer/satellite systems

Looking for great speaker performance in a tiny package? Check out some of our subwoofer/satellite combination surround sound systems. Thanks to modern advances in speaker design, these satellite or "surround" speakers will often fit in the palm of your hand, and give you surprisingly big performance. You can find some prematched sub/satellite systems, or build your own system by choosing your subwoofer and surround speakers separately.

Satellites can be mounted on the wall or ceiling, or can be placed on stands or shelves. Because they're so small, they almost always handle only highs and mids. The combination of satellite speakers and a subwoofer:

• takes up little floor space,
• is easily integrated into your décor, and
• delivers rich, full sound.

The subwoofer is, of course, much bigger than the satellites. But because of the omni-directional properties of low-frequency sound waves, you can place the subwoofer in an out-of-the-way location without sacrificing performance. Check out our article on choosing a subwoofer for more information.

Wireless speakersare great if you want surround sound, but you don't want to run wires to the back of your room. Check out pre-matched systems with "wireless" rear speakers. They use wireless transmitters and receivers to send signals from your receiver to your rear speakers. This means you won't have to run cables from the front of your room to the back of the room. You will, however, have to power the speakers and pass audio signals to them. That's typically accomplished using a small amplifier placed near your rear speakers. The small amp plugs into a wall outlet and then connects to the left and right rear speakers with speaker wire. So the rear speakers aren't completely "wireless," but they're still a great solution if you're looking to run fewer wires around your room to keep your system looking neat. Check out our article on cable management for tips on hiding cables

In-wall speakers mount flush with your wall for a clean look. (Artison Sketch in-wall speakers shown above)

4. In-wall, in-ceiling, and outdoor speakers

In-wall and in-ceiling speakers work in the same way as regular speakers, but they're mounted in a frame and set into the wall (or ceiling). Instead of a separate speaker cabinet, they use the wall itself as the cabinet. Though most in-wall speakers are full-range, you'll probably want to add a powered subwoofer to your system for bass reinforcement, especially for home theater. Some manufacturers produce in-wall and in-floor subwoofers as well.

With proper installation, these speakers sound great and can blend seamlessly into your room's décor — they even have paintable grilles. Plus, you don't fill up your floor space with speakers. But keep in mind, installation is more involved than setting up traditional speakers. And you will, of course, need to run your speaker wire behind the walls. For more information, watch our video on the basics of installing in-wall and in-ceiling speakers and take a look at our comprehensive in-wall wiring guide.

Outdoor speakers are designed to stand up to the elements.(Boston Acoustics RK6T2 shown above)

Outdoor speakers are a popular way to bring your favorite music outside, without having to lug a boombox out to the patio. They are weather-resistant, so they can be placed under the eaves of your house as well as on covered porches or decks. A speaker with plenty of power handling and a wide frequency response will perform best in a large open space.

For more help selecting outdoor speakers, see our article on choosing and installing outdoor speakers, or go straight to our selection of outdoor speakers.

Key accessories

Speaker cable is an important part of your speaker setup. Very old or very cheap speaker cable can degrade sound quality. Of course, if you have a hard time believing speaker cable quality makes a difference, you're not alone — many people fear that those recommendations are just hype. Here's a suggestion: see if any of your friends or family have some good-quality cable that they can lend you. Try it out at home, comparing it to the sound you get from old, thin cables. If you don't hear a difference, just return the cables and forget about it. Many people do end up hearing a difference, of course, and decide to buy new cables. The better sound quality is especially noticeable with higher-quality speakers.

Also, consider speaker placement. Are you going to need stands or brackets? If so, it makes sense to budget for them now, so you're ready to go when your speakers get home. Watch our video on speaker placement basics, and check out our articles on home theater speaker placement, in-wall and in-ceiling speaker placement, and speaker placement for stereo music for helpful tips on positioning your speakers to get the best possible sound.