Audioholics lists the ten biggest mistakes of speaker and home theater shopping as:

1. You went for an all-inclusive surround sound speaker package from a big brand name manufacturer noted for electronics and TV sets.
2. You bought speakers in a rush, without listening to them with your favourite recordings, and now you’re disappointed because they sound boomy or harsh.
3. You were knocked out by the deep bass from the subwoofer and didn’t concentrate on the center channel and main left and right speakers.
4. You went for those attractive little cube speakers because they’re so tiny and unobtrusive, but when things get loud with home theatre, the sound gets strained or muddy.
5. You saved money by getting two compact speakers you thought would be just fine to fill your 25- x 20-foot cathedral-ceiling living room with high-level sound. But they sound strained and edgy when you turn up the volume.
6. You set up your subwoofer at the side of the room and you’re disappointed at the lack of deep, low bass.
7. You bought a receiver or amplifier advertised as having “200 watts total power output” and now it seems to be underpowered.
8. Two really nice guys sold you two impressively large speakers at an amazing price from the back of their truck in a supermarket parking lot. Somehow, the sound seems to be lacking something. . .
9. You bought good speakers with excellent reputations and let your spousal unit or companion persuade you to put them out of sight inside an antique armoire or entertainment unit.
10. You went for the package speaker system from the famous-name manufacturer that runs the slick advertisements everywhere you look, and spends millions on promotion and little on research and design. The sound is a disappointment.

Of course I agree with this list totally (though I thought #8 was obvious to everyone with any synapses firing). I’d just like to add a few things.

While #10 may be true, it may also just be the case that the owner of such a system just doesn’t realize what he is missing. He might set up the system and think it sounds just fine, not realizing there’s a whole world of better sound out there that he’s been curtained off from.

While it is good to audition speakers or electronics with your material of choice, it’s even better to listen to them in your home environment. Of course, you can only do this with higher-end speakers at a retailer that knows and trusts you, so that’s a rarity. But if the retailer has a listening room that’s similar in size to your room, ask to audition the speakers there. And preferably with electronics that are as close to yours as possible.

It’s worth noting that THX recommends identical speakers across the front of your home theater. It’s a worthwhile ambition, and will make for a much better sound experience. Once I get a projector and screen, I plan to do exactly that.

What are some of the mistakes I made? Hmmm. I think that my speaker array is not matched well enough. I have Linn 5140 and 5120 speakers across the front, and my surrounds are a mixture of Linn 5110 speakers and some Paradigms I had left over from my last system. That’s always been a source of annoyance for me, but I have no way of mounting more Linn 5110 speakers at the Paradigms’ location, because they require special mounting brackets.

My biggest mistake is my room. Actually, it’s not a mistake - I knew full well that what I was doing was wrong even as I did it. I just didn’t have any choice. My house is an open concept home, with the main floor being a big open space, of which the family room is a small part. That does not make for the best sound, a problem I hope to correct when I finish my basement.

What mistakes have you made in your home theater?

Ten Biggest Mistakes of Speaker and Home Theater Shopping