TECH ADVISOR
Jan/Feb 2020 | Residential Tech Today 41
shared walls. Stereo speakers, which might first
be used alongside a TV, can later be moved to
the back of the room and used as rear-channel
surround speakers and enhanced with a
subwoofer, to create a more complete home
theater experience. And even before they’re
turned into “rears,” the performance of those
two speakers in the front of the room will often
outperform many soundbars.
If those two speakers and an AVR take up too
much space or are deemed too complex,
however, Jones recommends buying two
powered speakers and pairing them together.
Or, alternatively, buying a soundbar or a single,
higher quality powered speaker to do the job.
“The first thing you have to know is that you
can get more out of what you’re listening to
today, above just a basic Bluetooth speaker,”
Jones said.
If a soundbar is still the preferred solution,
Jones emphasized that there are many different
levels of soundbars from which to choose, and
to select one manufactured by a reputable audio
company. Definitive Technologies soundbars,
for instance, are benchmarked against the
company’s best speakers, rather than against
other sound bars. The upshot: find a company
that chooses tweeters, woofers, and cabinetry
that is closer to what is found inside a
set of speakers.
“You can get good performance from a
soundbar, but you just won’t get the width of the
soundstage and the future expandability that
you would get from components,” Jones noted.
Finally, he explained, be aware of the Audyssey
calibration system within certain AVRs that help
provide room optimization, making the system
less likely to disturb neighbors. Settings such as
Dynamic EQ can help modify bass and treble
levels for lower volume levels and Dynamic
Volume raises the volume of quieter elements in
a song or movie while reducing the level of the
louder effects. Lastly, more high-end AVRS also
offer Audyssey Low-Frequency Containment,
which replaces specific bass frequencies with
ones that don’t resonate so easily through walls.
What you end up with is more perceived bass in
your room without it escaping to your nextdoor
neighbor. x