does anybody know if there is a cheap 1000 watt home theater system?
Question by Liz S: does anybody know if there is a cheap 1000 watt home theater system?
Best answer:
Answer by AWolf
Yes! Why do you want to know, or why do you THINK you want to know? What does “1000 watts” mean to you?
Hint: Regardless of quoted “specs,” cheap systems will give crappy results. No exceptions.
What do you think? Answer below!
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First of all, you get what you pay for, so any inexpensive system that CLAIMS to be a 1000 watt system is either lying or made with cheap parts. Either way you would be advised not to buy it.
Second, why is 1000 watts important. I suggest that a 5×50 watt (rms or continuous watts) system would be plenty powerful enough for you.
Consider that the ear does not respond linearly. Loudness is measured in decibels (dB), and a 3 dB difference is barely noticeable to the ear, BUT requires a 50% cut (-3 dB) or doubling of power (+3dB) to achieve.
This means that if a loud sound level (say 100dB) requires 100 watts, a 90 dB level requires 10 watts, an 80 dB level (still very loud) requires 1 watt, etc….
Also consider that speakers vary widely in efficiency. So, for example, a speaker that requires 1 watt to generate a 94 dB output (1 meter away) requires 1/4 the power for the same output as a speaker rated at 88 dB for 1 watt input.
From another perspective consider that power for your suggested cheap 1000 watt 5.1 system (including 250 “watts” supplied by the sub-woofer amplifier) may be 125 “dynamic” or “music” watts when one channel of a 5.1 system is driven, but if all channels are on, power output may drop to 40 watts at each channel plus maybe 50 watts on the subwoofer (total of 300 watts). And “music” or “dynamic” power watts are about half of a continuous (rms) watt, so in reality this 800 watt system MAY BE equivalent to a 150 continuous watt system — i.e. real rating.
Finally, cheap systems are often rated at unrealistic distortion levels … and at what frequency (across the audible range, or only at some mid frequency) … and into what impedence (amps often give 50% more power into a 4 ohm load, yet speakers are usually 8 ohms). Yeh, technically you get the power quoted, but the output is unlistenable. A 25-50% inflation factor is not unrealistic, so now the “1000 watt” system has dropped to a more realistic rating of about 80 watts (plus 20 for the sub) … or about 15 watts per channel.
What I’m trying to say is that power rating alone is meaningless. You need to consider what type of power, how many channels driven, the frequency response delivered at that power level, what impedence level is the power able to support, etc, etc.
You also need to understand how the ear responds and what is a meaningful difference in power that is worth worrying about. As a general rule of thumb, an amp within a model range that delivers less than 50% more power isn’t significantly different (less than 3 dB extra loudness, so you won’t hear it).
So, bottom line, look for a name brand (e.g. onkyo, yamaha, sony, pioneer) 5.1 system rated (in RMS or continuous watts) at 30-50 watts/channel or 100 watts/channel dynamic or music power THEN add a surround speaker system OR look for a Home Theatre in a Box (HTIB).
See the first 2 links for some highly rated receivers and surround sound speaker systems, or the last 2 links for suggestions re HTIB systems.
I hope this helps.
August 9th, 2012 at 1:55 amThere are lots of them – and they should all be avoided.
Get a good yamaha or Dennon based system. Something in the 80 watt-per-channel range.
These ‘honest’ systems will play louder, and more accurately than “Da Vinci” systems claiming 1,500 watts of power.
It’s easy to lie with power numbers. DO NOT buy a system where the power numbers are in huge font on the cardboard box.
August 9th, 2012 at 2:22 am