Do you want to always have the best possible sound quality whether you're listening to music or watching your favorite movie at home?

Then Hi-Fi speakers are for you!

What are Hi-Fi speakers?

Hi-Fi speakers are speakers that produce high-quality sound. The acronym stands for high fidelity and means high reliability. However, be careful! There is something important that you should consider, speakers usually are only part of a sound system and are not self-powered, meaning you need other devices to use them.

What is a sound system?

It is the system of devices required for sound production. It consists of 3 basic parts: the speakers, the amplifier, which powers your speakers, and the source, which carries the signal to the amplifier. That's why this guide is divided into 3 parts. In the first part, we will look at the technical specifications you need to consider for the speakers in relation to the rest of the sound system, in the second part, the types of speakers based on the space you intend to use them, and in the third part, we will take a closer look at sound quality: its quality and paths.

Part 1 | What to consider when choosing

As mentioned, Hi-Fi speakers are part of a system and like any system, in order to function, the parts from which it is composed need to be compatible with each other.
Below you will see technical specifications that you should know to ensure the best experience, in relation to the other parts.

1. Impedance (Ohms)

In simple terms, impedance in Ohms determines the amount of electrical energy that an amplifier or speaker can handle. In other words, it is the amount of current that can "pass through" the speaker. The larger the number, the smaller the amount of current that passes through the speaker. Impedance is measured in ohms. Here, you should check the specifications of the amplifier, as an amplifier that cannot produce the corresponding amount of current with the speakers will not be able to function properly with them.

2. Power (Watt)

The number of watts shows you the maximum power that the speaker can handle. The speakers should be paired with an amplifier that has the same power.

3. Sound Sensitivity

The sensitivity of a speaker shows you how efficiently it converts power (watts) into volume (dB). The higher the value, the louder the speakers will play with a given power.

A speaker with 3 dB higher sensitivity, compared to another speaker, only needs half the power for the same volume. The table below shows that just a few dB in sensitivity can make a big difference in what you hear.

So, if you already have a low-power amplifier, prefer speakers with high sensitivity (90 dB and above) to fully utilize them.

Part 2 | Speaker Placement

Searching on Skroutz for Hi-Fi speakers, besides the technical specifications that will help you find the one that suits you best, you will see that there is also a filter for speaker placement.

The main criterion for selecting speakers is the space in which you intend to place them. Additionally, many speakers can be combined with each other, for example, a central speaker with bookshelf speakers. Let's take a look at them below!

1. Floorstanding Speakers

Floorstanding speakers offer powerful, natural sound with solid bass thanks to their large acoustic chambers. They are ideal for large spaces with high ceilings. Their excellent bass response makes them an excellent choice for both music and home cinema.

2. Center Speaker

A center speaker provides a more complete sound to a sound system. Ideally, place it below or above a screen and combine it with peripheral speakers, such as bookshelf/wall speakers that we will see below.

3 & 4. Bookshelf/Wall Speakers

Peripheral speakers ( Bookshelf and Wall) offer clear and detailed sound and are usually used as part of a stereo music system. They are a good choice for a small to medium-sized room. Due to their size, they can be placed on floor or wall mounts.

Frequencies (Hz)

An important characteristic of a speaker is its frequency response, which is measured in Hertz (Hz) and indicates the range of tones it can produce. For example, you may see the range in speaker specifications: 47 - 45000 Hz. The range refers to the pitch of the sound, not its intensity. Specifically:

• The lower number indicates how low in pitch the speaker can reach and how deep its bass is.
• The higher number indicates how high the frequency it can reproduce is. Therefore, the wider the frequency range, the more comprehensive the sound that a speaker can produce.

*Bass: Low-frequency sound, usually below 150 Hz. The human ear is not as sensitive to bass as it is to other frequencies.

Based on this, each speaker is equipped with speakers that play different frequencies and are classified into 3 categories:

The Tweeter, which produces sound at high frequencies (usually above 1,000 Hz and often reaching up to 20,000 Hz),

the Woofer, which can typically produce low frequencies (from 20 Hz to 2,000 Hz),

and the Midrange, which reproduces mid-range frequencies (from 250 to 2,000 Hz).

What are speaker ways?

Depending on how frequencies are distributed, there are 1, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, or 4-way speakers. In general, the more ways a speaker has, the more accurate its performance will be in reproducing the spectrum of audio frequencies. However, this does not mean that a speaker with fewer ways cannot achieve satisfactory sound results.

To put it simply, the more ways there are, the more "specialization" there is in a speaker, which takes care of covering a part of the music (e.g., bass, tweeters, etc.).

Now that you know, choose the Hi-Fi speakers that best suit your needs, create your own top-notch audio system, and enjoy your favorite music or movie at home.

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