What is the purpose of the receiver?

Question

Our flatscreen tv has awful sound and we want to buy some speakers. We are on a tight budget and see some speakers for around $150 we can afford that we like. We notice though that usually people get receivers to plug into the tv then have the speakers plug into the receiver. What is the advantage of this say instead of just plugging the speakers directly into the television? What is the purpose and benefits of spending another $150+ on a receiver? What does it do? We really can't afford the extra money unless its essential.

Answer 1

The receiver is the brains and power of a home theatre system. It is the control center. A receiver will usually include an internal amplifier, the output of which is measured in Watts. The amplifier boosts the signal of the input source and sends that power to each speaker (referred to a channels).
So, if a receiver is rated at 50 Watts RMS x 5, that means you can send 50 watts of signal to each of 5 channels, which is the minimum number of channels for a home theatre system (2 front, 1 center and 2 rear channels).

The receiver also allows you to select from different input sources, such as DVD, Cable, CD, Phonograph, etc.

If you just plug speakers into the TV itself, the TV may not have enough power to drive those speakers, in which case the sound will be poor. TVs usually only put out a small amount of power for external/auxilliary speakers. If you are buying 50 watt speakers and the TV only puts out 10 watts, you are wasting money on speakers that will be too large.

Answer 2

Your receiver is the "middle man" between all of your audio and video components in the typical home theater setup. You connect your TV, VCR/DVD player, possibly your PC (for audio and/or video), your speakers obviously, and it makes everything work together to give you quality audio and video. Almost all receivers allow you to switch between inputs (IE from your DVD player to a Satellite receiver, or to a computer, etc.) My receiver has four different inputs. Also my receiver has enough power to power all 5 of my speakers (this is an older receiver, from 1995); most nowadays can power 7 or more (this assuming you're using an active subwoofer and your receiver does not power it, or you do not have a subwoofer). Basically it's job is to make life simple by replacing what would have needed multiple components to get the job done otherwise.

Answer 3

the receiver of nowadays works as an amplifier as well. it "cleans" up the signal and adds effects AND amplifies it before it goes to the speakers. TVs don't put out enough wattage to power a big system speaker set up. also, a lot of new systems sell the receiver as well as a DVD player with speakers in one kit and are very affordable. to itemize every component in a system can get expensive, very technical, and not to mention, addictive.

Answer 4

a receiver is the backbone of a good system. if you want to go cheap for now, go to walmart and get a surrouns sound system. they have some for less than $100 that i was happy with.