There are many pleasures in life and one of mine is a home theater system. I know it can turn someone into a social leper but only if you let it. It's allowed me to enjoy cinema type quality from the comfort of my own home. Being able to watch say...King Kong, with the big ape at full rage roaring through my living room and bouncing off my walls is just wonderful.

Many people overlook or put on hold purchasing a home unit because of price and it's quite understandable. I approached it from the point of view of value adding. Really, it's no different to purchasing any other major expense item. You simply work within a specified budget. Commonsense dictates that for most, purchasing a new motor car and a visual/audio set up in the same week is out of the question ( I did say for most ), so ask yourself do you need to purchase a new motor car at this time? Again, it's up to you. I'm not here to twist your arm.

Okay, you've decided to buy. Now what? The biggest mistake anyone can make is to simply rush out and purchase the first unit they see simply because some smooth talking salesperson told them it was the best value for money unit on the market. Wouldn't you kick yourself if you then travelled across town to another outlet and discovered you could have purchased it there for hundreds of dollars less. Ouch! Occasionally, outlets will reach a point of being overstocked and they need to move stock quickly. Don't sting your wallet by not doing some rigid due diligence before you buy.

Even before you leave your home and assuming you are online, the internet is a great starting point in your search. Do a search in your local area first and take notes of the models available and their price. After you've completed this exercise, and it shouldn't take too long, then do a more in-depth search on those systems that caught your fancy. Become familiar with their features and try to rate in your mind the benefits one has over the other. The reason for this is that when you walk into a store and you're confronted by a salesperson, you are armed with a knowledgebase to not only ask the important questions, but also separate the sales pitch pressure from the salespersons desire for you to have the particular unit you want. I find that being on a level of knowledge similar to the salesperson seems to give me greater leverage respect and bargaining power. Hey, it always works for me.

A home theater system is most certainly a luxury. But if you are a movie or sports nut, then I can only suggest that you try and sample one before buying. Do you know anyone who has a system set up in their home? Maybe a courtesy call to let them know you're thinking seriously of joining the club and could they give you any advice. It doesn't hurt to ask.