One of the most important things to understand about home audio and home theater systems in general is that all of the speakers in your setup will serve a slightly different function. While there are 5.1 systems (meaning five speakers and a subwoofer), 7.1 systems (seven speakers and a subwoofer) and beyond, for the sake of argument let's use a standard JENSEN 5.1 system as an example.
With so many different speakers placed all over the room, one of them must be pulling most of the weight, right? One (or even two) of them must be more important than the others, yes? You probably think it's the subwoofer, responsible for those deep base tones that really add texture to an audio experience. Maybe you think it's the rear channels, which go a long way towards creating the "surround sound system" feel you love so much.
The answer, as it turns out, might surprise you.
Your Home Theater System: Breaking It Down
When the speakers in a 5.1 system are placed properly, they create a square-shaped sound field around your room. Three speakers are up front near the television set or projector screen, while two are positioned typically behind where you'll be sitting when watching that same TV. The subwoofer can generally be placed anywhere in the room, but somewhere close to where you'll be sitting is always ideal.
The speakers up front are typically where most of the dialogue in a film comes from. If a character on screen is speaking, chances are their audio will mainly be heard from the center channel with additional help from the left or right channel depending on where on screen they happen to be.
The rear channels are typically used to provide a sense of direction. If a helicopter starts in the deep background on screen, races towards the foreground and then swoops over the "camera," the audio in your system should reflect this. Sound starts up front with the left, right and center channels, gets louder and then suddenly hits the rear speakers - mimicking exactly what you're seeing for a deeper sense of immersion.
So Which Speaker is the Most Important? Turns Out, All of Them
At the end of the day, all of the speakers in your JENSEN home theater system are equally important - especially if you love kicking back and watching the latest Hollywood action film in the comfort of your own home. When you purchase a set of JENSEN in ceiling speakers or in wall speakers, it's important to look at them less as individual units and more as larger whole, working together to bring you an immersive experience you can't get anywhere else. There is an element of strength in numbers when it comes to speaker systems; the more speakers you have the greater the sound experience.
This is why making the decision to purchase a JENSEN speaker package that compliments your needs is so important. Each speaker comes together not as a series of individual components but as a true system, letting you feel the rich power and crystal clear audio that you wanted in the first place.