Have a good home theater system it’s easier than ever. We have a multitude of options available around us with different types of devices for all types of budgets, rooms and preferences, which can sometimes raise doubts about which one is more convenient for us.
This is usually the case when choosing between the so-called systems of home cinema kit or modular systems: what options do they offer us, what are the advantages and disadvantages compared to a traditional system?
Kit home cinema systems: main advantages
Sets of home theater kit They are an option that has been growing in possibilities in recent years. They are integrated sound systems that usually include everything you need to start enjoying our content right out of the box. They include speakers, AV amplifiers or receivers, often wireless subwoofers, and sometimes even a Media player.
If we do not have much knowledge about this type of equipment, they are usually a very good option since their installation is very simple and all the necessary accessories and elements are included (even in many cases the connection cables to the speakers). We just have to follow a few brief instructions to assemble and install them and in a few minutes we will have it working.
It is common for electronics to bring color-marked connectors or even in different ways for each of the speakers that are included, or that these can communicate wirelessly pressing a synchronization button further simplifying the installation of the set.
If we get one of these kits we will also be sure that the speakers will work perfectly with the amplifier. There will be no impedance problems or excess power, since all the elements have been preselected by the manufacturer or distributor.
Also, in general they are usually cheaper than modular equipment when scale factors come into play or even special discounts on certain kits with elements from previous years that distributors put on sale with the arrival of new models.
Kit home cinema systems: main drawbacks
Home cinema kits often feature two main problems that many times put back the most expert users, but that may not be a problem if what we want is to start in the world of home cinema.
The first is related to the possibility of reuse of its components, which is usually made difficult many times on purpose by the manufacturer itself so that we cannot or it is not immediate use a kit item on another system home theater.
For example, the ease of connection, which in principle is a clear advantage, in the long run implies that by using proprietary connectors or own wireless protocols we will not be able to reuse the speakers and components with future movie or music systems.
This may not matter to us in the short term, but after a couple of years we may want to expand or improve the equipment with new speakers, put a more powerful subwoofer or simply an additional one to balance more the bass in the room, but we will not be able to do it, being forced to buy back all items and speakers from scratch.
The other main problem is related to the balance in the quality of the components, since it is usual that some of them are not up to the rest. If we buy a modular set we can make sure that each component (speaker, amplifier, subwoofer, etc.) is of the quality we are looking for or meets certain standards.
In kits this is much more difficult, since often in order to offer lower prices the manufacturer cut into any of the elements as for example in the real amplification power, in the capacity for room acoustic correction or especially in the capacities of the satellite speakers, often low-end with poor quality plastic cases and drivers.
This makes the equipment seem to behave wonderfully for low and medium volumes, but as soon as we start asking decibels for one or more of the elements they start to distort worsening the final quality of the perceived audio.