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Buying home entertainment gear
A simple questionnaire to make the process simple
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by: Athol Harrison
In the current Australian home entertainment market there are around 140 manufacturers and distributors combined, peddling more than 300 brands and literally thousands of individual products.
It's estimated that in speakers alone, there are over 800 models to choose from and, inexorably, the range grows annually. With rapid advances in technology it seems as though we need a degree in electronic engineering to made through all the techno-babble and use home entertainment equipment. And understanding what it's all about? Well, just forget about it.
It's little wonder, then, that people with little knowledge of consumer electronics (or the inclination to pursue the same) find buying a new hi-fi system, home theatre receiver or even a video camera akin to negotiating a minefield. But it needn't be that way.
Specialist stores
By making the simple decision to see and talking to the right people about those purchasing decisions or on fact finding expeditions, the process can be interesting, enjoyable and incredibly rewarding.
You see, there's a golden rule of thumb when buying home entertainment gear, and that is to buy it from a specialist re-seller whose staff members are co-operative, have a friendly, genuine attitude and offer demonstration facilities that are suitable for all areas of home entertainment - from aesthetic appreciation to hands-on operation (yes, I know it has been said before and it bears regular repeating).
Such establishments will not feature row upon row of components which wink and blink; instead they will have an appropriate range of products that offer performance and value for money.
By visiting a specialist re-seller, a lot of your shopping has already been done for you during the culling process used to chose products to stock the store.
Demonstrations
Store demonstrations should be conducted in rooms specially designed for listening (where straight hi-fi is being considered) and both listen and view (where home theatre is an option).
Any demonstration of hi-fi, video or television should be a relaxed and comfortable affair so you can listen and view in an atmosphere conducive to making the right choice of equipment for your immediate and long term needs. Don't worry about spending a lot of time with sales people, good re-sellers will spend as much time as it takes and provide as much assistance as you need to make an investment decision, rather than force a sale.
The fact is, most home entertainment sales people are music and movie lovers themselves, who are in the business because they love the business. Their passion with consumer electronics, while often infectious, benefits us in many important ways when making a purchasing decision - least of all in that they want us to have the best performance and value our dollar can buy.
If you can, make an appointment with a sales person. This way you know you will have your needs attended to for as long as needed and without interruption.
Stress buster
Before you do that though, we\ve created a simple method to take a good deal of the stress and guess work out of choosing home entertainment equipment ... the questionnaire which appears on Page 4 of this article.
This questionnaire is actually a form that's designed to be printed out so you can fill in all the relevant details to see which products and product areas you should be considering.
Use the information the questionnaire provides to assess your requirements and establish a budget prior to visiting a specialist re-seller. Show the information to the sales people who attend you; it'll provide a great start and prove you mean business.
Now fill in as many of the selection details as you can (print multiple pages so you can have a number of shots at it if you like. Make sure you're comfortable with your selections, then get out there and start visiting dealers in the field who'll treat you with respect and caring. Next page we'll cover what you should be considering under the various sections.
Negotiating the questionnaire
The questionnaire asks you some questions which appear simple on the surface, but need to be considered if you're going to make the most of any purchase process.
The idea is to personally clarify what you want to achieve with any home entertainment system, ensure you make best use of existing equipment to reduce financial outlay and then take care of any future requirements in the process. Following these steps will make much more likely that you'll make an investment in home entertainment rather than simply buy a bunch or products.
Think about your listening habits, your video movie and television viewing routine and any interaction with games by your children (or yourself). It's a good idea to consider these on a daily, weekly and monthly basis so you have an accurate indication of which products you rely one the most for entertainment ... and therefore invest more heavily in.
What are my sound preferences?
Nowadays, a CD player is more or less a mandatory inclusion in any home entertainment system. However, many people own huge LP record collections (many performances not replaceable by compact disc) and still rely on vinyl as a music source.
Cassette tape is a popular medium among younger people and for myriad portable applications. MiniDisc offers similar portability and performance that is superior to cassette tape, though much more expensive to own. Let's not forget the humble radio. A good tuner or receiver will give you outstanding hi-fi music with FM and provide for all your talk-back AM radio needs. You can also store tens of stations in the memory of newer products for instant recall.
What are my equipment needs?
Here we look at the home entertainment equipment you already own and assess its place in an upgraded system in the future. Be ruthless in determining its suitability in your new system because there's no way you will want it to be a weak link in the chain.
Generally speaking, if the products that provide your main viewing and listening preferences are up to scratch you can get away with keeping an existing product that provides secondary entertainment (such as a cassette deck).
How much do I want to budget?
The most vexed question of all and a personal one at that since only you know how far your resources will stretch and what your budget can afford.
In fact, that's why we've created this part of the questionnaire ... to help you make a pragmatic decision based on needs rather than emotion.
Our advice to you is to look for value for money in these items (another subjective consideration) but to make purchases that will satisfy your needs into the future so you won't need to go through another early upgrade process.
Last word!
Now we know you could be thinking "yeah, I've heard all this before", but we have gone a few steps further and provided a tangible method of making it all happen ... the questionnaire you'll find on the next page.
Go there, print it out and fill it in. This process will help clarify the main factors involved in purchasing home entertainment gear. Then take it to your preferred retailer. It will provide the store and you a great place to start your selection process and accurate map to follow along the way.
One last thing to consider: take the dimensions and diagrams of your listening and viewing rooms to the store. It will help match the gear to your home for maximum performance more accurately.
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