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The basic components for a home theatre
The heart of a home theatre system is its pre-amplifier and power amplifiers. The pre-amplifier is a device that is the "traffic controller" for all of your input and output signals. It determines where the sound is coming from and where it is going. The pre-amp also separates the incoming audio signals and channels it to the proper speakers. This is where your surround decoders are located (shown as "AC-3" in Figure 1). The power amplifiers are used to take a low-level sound signal used by the pre-amp (known as "line-level") and amplifies it so the sound can be driven by a speaker and heard by the listener (this is known as "speaker-level"). An A/V receiver is a combination of the pre-amp and power amps (along with a radio tuner) in one component. The video signals can also be channeled through an A/V receiver.
Your speakers also make up an important part of a home theatre system. They can range from 2 speakers (for basic stereo sound) to at least 6 (for Dolby sound). Of course, to see anything you need a TV. Then, you have all of your audio-only sources. These include CD players, cassette decks, MINI-disc players, turntables, and radios. Finally, your video sources (which usually contain audio as well) include VCR's, DVD players, Laserdisc (LD) players, cable/antenna/satellite service, picture viewers, and gaming consoles. Of course, there are other components that some people use including graphic equalizers and outboard surround decoders that we won't go into.
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