To help with your purchase decision, here are some key aspects to consider.

What impedance speakers do you need?

This depends on the amplifier. The lower the impedance (usually either 4 ohm or 8 ohm), the more difficult the speaker is to drive. Many amplifiers are only suitable to drive 8 ohm speakers. This is often the case with AV receivers. In that case, 4 ohm speakers should not be chosen, or amplifier damage is possible. Many amplifiers specify the minimum impedance
near the speaker terminals.

What is your room like?

In a bedroom-sized room, many people prefer smaller stand mount speakers, not only for the practical aspect and size, but also due to avoiding problems with boomy bass that can build up in a small room. In a living room most of our kits will work well. It's also worth bearing in mind that rooms that are very solid, with both concrete floors and masonry walls, the bass can become boomy. This is most easily avoided by using speakers with less bass - typically stand mounts. Of course, the ideal solution is to take steps to improve the acoustics of your room, but where this is not an option, smaller speakers would be the first ones to consider.

In typical Australian living rooms, which tend to be lightly constructed with an envelope that lets the bass out, floorstanders are generally the best choice. They have more bass and handle it better when the volume goes up.

To discuss this further, you may like to visit our forum

Should you buy a subwoofer?

In a home theatre system, the answer is always an emphatic YES! Even in a bedroom, the home theatre experience isn't quite the same without a dedicated subwoofer.

In a system that is used primarily for music, the question is not quite so simple. On the upside, many genres of music are better served by a subwoofer than even large floorstanding speakers. The ability to set the bass level where you prefer it is ideal. Further, you can place the subwoofer where it works best with room acoustics, and some people choose multiple subwoofers to improve the room interaction even more and get a more even bass response around the room. In fact, most people find that when set up correctly, both music and home theatre sounds much more satisfying with a sub. The downside is that integration can sometimes prove tricky and some rooms have difficult acoustics.

To discuss this further, you may like to visit our forum

Kit Comparison Chart

A brief rundown on all of our kits in comparison.

Still unsure? Ask on our customer forum or contact us