Your home theater speaker system consists of: 1) front stereo speakers, 2) a center channel speaker, 3) surround speakers, and 4) a powered subwoofer.

While there are many speaker brands and models that do a great job reproducing sound, it's hard to know which home theater speakers are right for you. In this article, we'll go over a few things you should consider when choosing speakers. We'll also help you figure out where to budget your money to meet your needs.

What is a home theater?
For our purposes, a home theater speaker system consists of 5 to 7 speakers and a subwoofer arranged strategically around your room to provide surround sound. You can learn about the role of each speaker in our introduction to home theater speakers. As we'll discuss later on, there are lots of small, room friendly models out there. But if you don't think a full surround sound setup will work in your room, check out our article on four ways to add sound to your TV.

Considerations

There's a wide range of speakers to fit just about any room, including floor-standing speakers (left), bookshelf speakers (center), and satellite speakers (right).

Before you start looking at different speaker brands and models, there are a few questions you should ask yourself.

1. What size room are you putting your speakers in?
   Large rooms generally need the power and the performance of floor-standing or larger bookshelf speakers to be able to fill the room with sound. On the other hand, if you're trying to get surround sound in a smaller family room or a bedroom, then smaller speakers should do the trick. You'll want to think about the size of your room and where your speakers will go early on, because where you position each speaker in your room might affect the size or type of speakers you choose. You can learn about the basics in our video on speaker placement, or find more detailed guidelines in our speaker placement article.
2. What will you use your speakers for?
   The kind of speakers you choose will also depend on what you need them to do. For example, larger bookshelf or floor-standing front speakers are a must for anyone who plans to do some critical music listening, as well as get great home theater sound. If you simply want them for the surround sound, then it might be okay to go with smaller bookshelf or on-wall speakers, as long as you get a decent center channel and subwoofer. Just be aware that in general the larger the speaker, the more spacious the sound.
3. What are your tastes?
   These days, there's a lot of choice when it comes to speaker design. For those with more modern tastes, look for speaker cabinets made of aluminum or wood with polished or gloss black finishes. For more traditional tastes, you can find speaker cabinets with a natural wood finish. Just don't expect to hide your speakers away in furniture or behind artwork. They need a little bit of room to disperse sound properly, and if you place obstacles in front of them then chances are you'll be less than impressed with their performance. If you really want to hide them away, you might want to go with in-wall or in-ceiling speakers instead. Otherwise, plan on purchasing speakers with an aesthetic that you like.

Where to spend your money

It might surprise you, but you should plan to spend more on your home theater sound system than you did (or will) spend on your HDTV. Your sound system should include your receiver, speakers, a Blu-ray or DVD player, cables, and any other components you may need. And among those items, your speakers could end up taking the lion's share.

For example, some people spend up to 70% of their budget on speakers. The reason? They consider their speakers to be an investment. Technology tends to change rather rapidly — just think of how quickly the switch was made from cassette tapes to CDs to MP3s. Chances are that you may want to replace your receiver or disc player in 5 or 10 years for a new one with better specs. Speakers, on the other hand, do their job regardless of whether they're reproducing sound from an old vinyl record or a Blu-ray Disc™ — they're designed to last for many years.

However, in some cases you could opt to spend less on your speakers and more on your receiver. This makes sense if, for example, you plan to step up to larger or nicer speakers when you move to a new house in three years. That's why it's important to figure out your needs and goals, and then set your speaker budget accordingly. From there, consider spending your budget as follows:

• about 50% on your center channel and subwoofer
• about 30% on your front speakers
• about 20% on your surrounds

Of course these are just suggestions — your actual spending will depend on your own tastes and needs. But there are good reasons why you'll want to stick relatively closely to these percents.

The center channel speaker delivers more than half of the soundtrack, including almost all of the dialogue. (Polk Audio CSi A4 shown)

The first speaker you choose should be your center channel. When you watch a movie, the center channel delivers more than 50% of the soundtrack, including almost all of the dialogue. Since its purpose is to keep sound anchored to the on-screen action, a good center channel speaker is crucial for a well-balanced home theater system. [Shop for center channel speakers.]

A subwoofer is essential for deep, rumbling lows. (Polk Audio PSW111 shown)

The front left and right speakers should be your next consideration. They produce about 25% of the total sound by creating a wide soundstage characteristic of a "movie theater" experience. In addition to reproducing the musical score, front speakers also handle the bulk of the special effects, which move back and forth between the two speakers in sync with the images on the screen.

The front speakers become more important when you plan to do a lot of music listening, too. That's because the front speakers do all the work when it comes to stereo music reproduction. Many floor-standing front speakers also do a great job at reproducing low-frequencies, and a few even include subwoofers built into the cabinet, so you may not need a separate subwoofer. [Shop for floor-standing speakers.]

If you choose not to go with large floor-standing front speakers, then you'll definitely need a powered subwoofer. The bass produced by a subwoofer accounts for another 10-15% of the total sound. It's what makes the entire soundtrack feel larger, fuller, and more lifelike — it gives special effects like thunder or explosions their window-rattling punch. [Shop for powered subwoofers.]

Surround speakers produce exciting, enveloping directional effects. (Klipsch RS-52 shown)

And finally, the surround speakers take care of the rest. They produce atmospheric, ambient sounds — such as rain drops, the rustling of leaves, or footsteps crunching on gravel. They also work with your other speakers to deliver spectacular directional effects, like a locomotive rushing by or a bullet zinging past. Although a 5.1-channel surround system, with only one pair of surround speakers, is the most common setup, most newer home theater receivers can power more than a single pair of surround speakers. Today, many people buy one or two additional speakers to use as "back surrounds" in a 6.1- or 7.1-channel system for even more immersive sound. [Shop for surround speakers.]

Don't forget to get "voice-matched" speakers
Voice-matching is key to effective home theater sound. If your speakers do not produce a similar tonal quality and share the same harmonic characteristics, the sound will be disjointed when it travels from speaker to speaker. With voice-matched speakers, the sound moves effortlessly around you, creating a seamless surround effect. The best way to ensure voice-matched speakers is to choose speakers from the same "family" of speakers, by the same brand. Be sure to check with a speaker's manufacturer, since they will frequently makes recommendations to help you find which speakers perform the best together.