Why Do I Need A Home Theater Amplifier?

Hey Folks

Welcome back to AV Maxman.

Today I am going to talk about HT amplifiers also known as AV receivers, what they do and why we need one?

Just so you know there are tons of different amplifiers out there with many different classifications and different uses so Maxman will not even attempt to cover everything. I just want to give you an idea on why an amplifier (receiver) is required for a HT system.

When you hear the word amplifier what comes to mind? Well for me I think sound. This could be a home stereo, an electric guitar, walkman and pretty much any device that uses a speaker for producing sound My point here is that we have sound (and video) coming from a source but why do we need a receiver between the source and the speaker? (I’ve just confused the heck out of you now haven’t I?)

Yep you guessed it. It must travel through an amplifier or amp for short.

Early on we had the “Stereo” which basically provided a radio signal (AM or FM) which was amplified into two channels also known as a left speaker and right speaker.

Now fast forward to today and the modern AV Receiver still provides these two channels but it also has many many more capabilities than its predecessor.

Such as a multi channel decoder, audio and video switching as well as networking capabilities not to mention video processing like up conversion and deinterlacing.

What the Heck is a Decoder Maxman?

Remember in the early 1990’s we had Dolby Pro Logic. Well it was used in the early days of surround sound for your home movies on VHS. Your system had a decoder in it to separate the audio signal and send it to the correct speaker. This enabled you to hear sound on your right or left or even hear the sound move from right to left or vice versa.

Stay with me folks.

In the late 1990’s we got the DVD and with it came Dolby Digital (5.1 audio). This was an upgrade from the Dolby Pro Logic format in such a way that the audio signal went from an analog signal to a digital signal which gave you sound from many directions possible and this basically recreated the movie theater experience in your living room. Once again you needed a decoder in your receiver or amp to send the sound to its rightful place.

Back to Amplification

I mentioned stereo receivers earlier and they have two channels of amplification.AV Receivers today typically have a minimum 5.1 channels that is a left, right, center, left surround and right surround and more recently 7.1 which allows for two more surround channels.

Now the “1” in 5.1 or 7.1 refers to the low frequency channel which would be for a subwoofer. But does not usually provide amplification for a subwoofer as most subwoofers are what we call powered which means they have their own amplification.

Other Features

I also mention some other features which are available and sometimes standard on a lot of the Receivers today. All of these features have their place and benefits to offer you, but depending on the other types of equipment you have (or may be in the market for) you simply may not need them all if any right now.

But you do need some sort of AV Receiver/Amplifier to recreate that movie theater experience at home and the Maxman has given you a little bit of a head start today, as usual though I recommend you find something to fit your budget.

If a Receiver is out of the question for you right now but you can’t wait then a compromise may be a home theater in a box or HTIB. This usually combines the features of a DVD player and an amplifier in one component as well as a set of 5.1 speakers.

Food for thought anyway.

Maxman Out.