Ask S&V

Q I plan to purchase a new AV receiver and a set of 5.1 speakers. What strategy will deliver a better all-around experience: spending more on the speakers or on the receiver? Should I splurge on speakers, with the idea that my receiver can be upgraded in a few years, or vice-versa? Simon Bolster / via e-mail

A I’d strongly recommend weighting your home theater audio budget toward the speaker side of the equation. Receivers tend to become outdated every few years as new features and capabilities get introduced. Consider all the new tech that’s been added to receivers in the past two to three years alone: Dolby Atmos, HDMI 2.0, 4K upscaling, AirPlay—the list goes on. And while the first generation of receivers touting fancy new features are often pricey, those same features usually filter down into less expensive mainstream models fairly quickly.

Speakers, on the other hand, are about as stable a product category as there is. A 5.1 speaker system bought to convey Dolby Digital soundtracks on the then-new DVD format in 1997 could easily be used today (with a few enhancements) for Dolby Atmos soundtracks on Blu-ray. Also, most speaker manufacturers’ step-up models usually provide improved sound quality over entry-level models—something that’s particularly true with subwoofers.

So yes, invest the bulk of your money in speakers. Receivers fall in and out of fashion following the latest audio trends, but your speakers will be with you for the long haul.