9. A quick shopping plan that'll save you hours of frustration
Speakers first
The best place to start your home theatre shopping is by listening to speakers. That's because speakers will have the biggest impact on your home theatre experience. Once you've sorted your speakers, everything else will fall into place.
Every brand of speaker has a distinctive sound. Some will appeal to you, others won't. You really need to audition speakers in a space that resembles your room at home because they just won't sound the same in the wide open space of a retail store. At Eastern Hi-Fi we have the next best thing to your room at home with dedicated sound rooms set-up with systems and speakers ready-to-play that will give you a good idea of the performance you can expect at home.
Don't forget all the tips from our Picking the right speaker system for you section
AV Receiver second
Once you know what speakers are right for you, you'll be able to choose an AV Receiver with enough power to drive them. Always take along your favourite music and movie discs when shopping. This way you won't have trouble comparing results and deciding on the one you like most.
Don't forget all the tips from our What to look for in an AV Receiver section
Last but not least: source components (DVD player, DVD recorder)
This is a less complicated choice because it is dictated by the other components you have already chosen and the TV or projector it will be connected to.
Why take a room sketch shopping with you?
Taking a few minutes to sketch your room with everything in it will help our consultants to make recommendations for a system that will work best in that room. Or if you're building a theatre room from scratch, bring in your plans and discuss them with us so you can be confident that you'll get the best result.
Happy shopping!