At home, sound is invisible, but everywhere, and it determines the mood of a room,
your experience watching TV, and it will probably determine how much your friends
enjoy your parties. Unfortunately, audio is often left off the list in the complex
processes of designing a home or planning a renovation. How many beautiful homes
have you been in to where there’s a great flat screen TV, but the sound system or
“amp’ is outdated, and is inevitably surrounded by a jumble of wires and piles of CDs,
with ugly speakers randomly placed on shelves around the room?
Understanding sound in your home – types of speakers surround sound for your TV,
music in your living and entertainment areas, internet music, radio and video
streaming, multi-room wireless audio – is daunting, but simple once you understand
your needs and unpack the options available.
Advances in sound technology, have radically changed the size, quality, performance
and even the price of speakers. Tech developments have introduced wireless
speakers, and seen homeowners operating different sound systems throughout their
homes remotely off applications on their mobile phones.
Paul Murphy from the Bose store, Sound Systems, helps us cut through the clutter
and look at the five most important criteria to consider when planning sound in your
home:
1. Understand your needs –
Would you like better sound for your TV? Do you want to set up speakers to play
music or radio in different rooms in your house and outside in your entertainment
area? Do different family members have varying audio and entertainment needs?
2. How much tech do you require?
Do you want the option to control all the audio in your house wirelessly through one
universal device or do you like using an app on your phone to control the sound in
different parts of your house? For example, Bose offers a SoundTouch app that lets
you control your system from your smartphone, tablet or computer. You can use the
app to explore internet radio, streaming music services or access your music library.
3. Survey your spaces –
The size speakers you will need are directly related to room configurations and sizes,
how open the spaces are, the flooring and furnishings. Hard surfaces are speaker
enemy number one – No matter how good the sound is coming out of a speaker, if
there are large, smooth surfaces for the sound to reflect off, it will change the quality
of what you hear. Get your needs assessed by professionals who understand how to
optimize different spaces and who will provide you with a sleek sound installation that
works.
4. Understand what’s available –
The types of speakers and what they do. Understand whether you want a discreet and
unobtrusive set-up or big surround sound with great bass punching through?
Examples of types of speakers include floor-standing, bookshelf, satellite, subwoofer,
sound bar and portable speakers – your space and needs determine the mix.
5. What is your budget?
Sound is an investment you will probably make once in ten years – choose the best
quality you can afford and look for brands with good service backup.
