Family room:
Sony KP57WV700 57 inch widescreen HD RPTV
Yamaha HTR 5560 6.1 receiver
Boston Accoustics surround sound subwoofer and speakers
Replay TV unit
HDTV cable box
Panasonic CP72 5-disc DVD changer
Panasonic E80 DVD burner
Samsung 931 DVI-output upscaling 1080i DVD player
JVC Super VHS VCR
Bedroom:
Samsung 30 inch widescreen HDTV direct-view TV
Panasonic SA HT700 5-disc DVD changer/surround sound receiver w/subwoofer and 5 speakers
HDTV cable box
Panasonic HS2 DVD burner
JVC Super VHS VCR
I love it… and have been very happy with it…
I was flipping around with either the Denon or a Sony 4ES…
I wanted the Multi Source output… and I think the Sony’s output was more limited than the Denon.
I was talking about my decision with a few sales people from different stores… and they all said to go with the Denon becasue it is better quality… They were the same price at the time… maybe they get a better comission off the Denon or something… but it has worked out really well for me…
My stereo receiver component is a Denon and it’s terrific. Handles all three CD jukes, tape deck, CD burner, etc. without breaking a sweat. Good product.
You know, to each his (or her) own, I guess.
I think some of you guys have spent waaay too much money, without getting anything substantial in return.
I have the Pioneer DV300 with the matching receiver. Two Dali front speakers and two Jamo for the back, mainly chosen to be descreet. No sub, no center. And a cheap Samsung 32". For hooking everything up, I used standard electrical cord. It works fine and is inexpensive as hell. I’ve checked out better equipment and while I could get something noticably much better for five times the money, twice the money wouldn’t really make a dif.
My Dali speakers, which used to be hooked up to a great old Nad 312 work very well. The bass is very distinct and that rumbling from the sub is more annoying than enhancing. The back speakers are mostly there to give a sense of space anyway, so there’s no reason to spend a lot of money on those.
A lot of DVDs aren’t all that impressive either.
I can’t help but get the impression that home theatres are the new way of comparing dick sizes, as have been done for so many years with cars. The bigger, the better.
And if someone is happy about that, well fine for them. I’d rather spend my money on buying movies.
I went with Adcom products (these are all over 8 years old and they still sound fantastic):
GFA 535II (only a 60 watt amp - but rated in continuous play)
GSP 560 (only 5.1 surround, but in its day…)
GTP 400 (still one of the better tuners out there)
GCD 600 (very clean, mechanics made by Denon, I believe)
Sony DVP NS315 (It was all I could afford at the time)
Magnavox 27" dinosaur (I know, I know)
Paradigm and Mirage speakers
I was initially just into just music, so the video is to be upgraded soon. I have been quite pleased with my Adcom products and would encourage anyone in the market to look into them. And no I don’t work for them.
32" Sony TV ~ 6 years old
Sony DA555ES receiver
Panasonic * mumble, mumble * DVD Player
Sony POS VCR
NHT Super Zeros with SW2 subwoofer for fronts
Radio Shack bookshelf speakers (decent stuff) for the center and rear
zip cord and regular patch cables for pretty much the works
I really dig this setup, the NHTs sound great for music, very detailed and clean, and blend nicely with the sub. The Shack speakers are solid and do a good enough job a surrounds, though I might want to upgrade my center channel. The Sony receiver was one of their top models when I got it 4 years ago, and still sounds great. The only thing I don’t like is that the DVD player won’t play CD-Rs even ones made off of a music CD recorder on ‘music’ CD-Rs
Typical statement by someone trying to defend their choice of purchase by attacking others. If you are happy with what you have, that’s all that’s important. There’s no need to try to disparage others personally simply because they have decided to buy more expensive equipment than you. It shows insecurity on your part, not on theirs.
Oh and BTW, you make a false dichotomy between buying equipment and buying movies. I personally have over 250 DVDs…so obviously having higher-end equipment ENCOURAGES you to buy more movies rather than the reverse.
What are people’s thoughts on HDTV? In particular, with respect to broadcast, DVDs, and value?
Personally, I do all of my broadcast TV watching through Tivo, which doesn’t support HDTV at all. So it would only be for DVD watching… and HDTVs still seem to me to be in that early phase of a new technology where the price drops 50% every year…
Sony 27"TV (almost 4 years old)
Kenwood Reciever DD/DTS and the 5.1 speakers to go with it(3 years old)
Sharp crappy old VCR, pretty much never used
Magnavox DVD player (2 days old)
I’m, for the most part, happy with the set up. In a year or 2 we are going to get a 16:8 TV of some flavor. We really want one now, and we could afford one if we really wanted, but its pretty stupid to upgrade expensive toys when you already have adequate stuff.
There is a huge difference between watching a newer movie on DVD with a 480i display and a 480p output. It’s really like night and day. The most bang for the buck in HDTVs are RPTVs right now, and it will be that way for a while, until other technologies start to come down in price.
I don’t watch broadcast tv on my home theater. It would indeed be a huge waste of money for that purpose. I have a separate more basic setup in the living room for that.
My home theater is for movies–I watch 6-8 a week–and playing videogames. By far the best are the cable HD channels. I currently get only Showtime and HBO East and West feeds and DiscoveryHD (which is absolutely gorgeous but a complete waste for anything other than a demo). Movies that are prepared for HDTV delivery (1080i) look utterly fantastic, and they come with 5.1 surround sound, so they sound great, too.
A step down in picture quality are dvd’s. The best ones (the 5th element, Toy Story, Citizen Kane, Seven Samurai, Purple Noon, Diabolique, etc.) look almost as good as true HD despite being only 480p. The medocre ones still look light years better than any vhs or SD broadcast. The poor ones (which are rare) are still noticably better than vhs.
Bottom line: If you watch mostly broadcast tv, HD is a waste of money. If you have a cable company that has a good number of HD channels, it might be worth it, but I don’t thing many cities have a good HD lineup yet. If you spend a lot of time watching dvd’s, and are the kind of person who buys five or six a month and has a Netflix membership (guess who I’m talking about here), and have the disposable income to afford it, it’s well worth the expense.
The Gaspode: Who are you to determine what is a “substantial return” for other people’s disposable income? Each piece of my home theater was thoroughly researched and compared to other available equipment for price and quality. I consider the $2400 I spent on my speakers a bargain when compared to others of similar quality. The thorough enjoyment I get nearly daily from my set-up makes it worth every cent I’ve spend on it. If I were to buy a pool for my back yard, that would be a waste of money because I would almost never use it, but for many, it would be well worth the expense and work required to maintain it. Taking personal shots at others merely because they’ve spent a lot of money on something you wouldn’t have is childish.
But now I’m pretty much sold off everything since I moved to Japan (the Primare’s are stored in a warehouse, because they don’t make em anymore and they simply RULE
So, here I am in Japan and I’m thinking of basing my system on my computer as a DVD player and receiver. The only con is that it makes a lot of noise. Thing is I’ve not got so much space for lots of stuff here, so I have to (although I hate it) sacrifice quality/quantity for size… Helpful hints greatly appreciated.
For hardware, I have an NEC LT-150 projector, a dedicated home theater PC for image scaling and progressive-scan movie playback (plus it’s the controller for my whole-house audio system).
Speakers are Paradigm Titans with a D-box David subwoofer. When the theater is finished, the speakers will be replaced with a Paradigm reference series home theater system.
The amp is a Sony Dolby pro-logic amp that’s about 10 years old - to be replaced when the theater is done, probably with a Denon or Onkyo receiver.
If you have the room for it, and can block out all ambient light, I highly recommend a front projection system. An 8’ wide screen is a totally different viewing experience than watching even the biggest rear projection screen. It’s the difference between watching a big TV, and watching a movie in a theater. And it’s surprisingly affordable. You can buy a decent projector now for under $2000 (used, under $1000 probably), and build a screen for $60. And, the whole setup weighs maybe 10 lbs and can be moved around at will.
If you want to see how these theaters are built, here’s a link to the Yaussy Home Theater, which is very similar to the one I’m building.
That sounds wonderful Sam. I certainly would have gone that route if I could conquer the light problem, but alas that is not to be, as we have no basement and no room for expansion. Besides, my wife allowed me to take over the “formal living room” for my home theater, so further concessions are not to be soon in coming.
In any case, at 8’ from a 65" screen (where I sit for watching dvd’s), you get a 33.6 degree viewing angle, which is well within the SMPTE and THX recommendations. It’s approximately the same viewing angle as the middle row in a theater, or just a bit back from there. For true HDTV, I could get as close as 6 and get a 45 degree angle, but that’s a bit overwhelming for me, so I stick with the 8’. It’s still a very immersive experience.
You’re right - if you can sit only 8ft back from a 65" screen, and darken the room to improve the illusion, you’ll get the same experience. Most people sit back about 10-12 ft, and even most RPTV’s are only in the 40-50 inch range.
Yeah, the theater will be nice - if I ever finish it. After I framed it and did the electrical, I made the big mistake of hanging the projector and screen so I could watch movies, and since then I haven’t done any work! (-: I hope to have it finished this winter.
Oh, I have argued the Marantz 8200 down to $1800 CDN and the Denon 3803 down to $1900 CDN. The 3803 retails new for $2200 list and the Marantz listed for $2800 new last year.
GE 36" tube TV
Harmon Kardon AVR 720 recciever
Paradigm Monitor series speakers (Towers in front, book shelves in back, big honkin’ center channel and subwoofer)
Currently using a PS2 for DVDs (use optical cable to hook it up to the AVR - worth every penny)
300+ DVDs
Digital cable with all the goodies
First - Rik, your reasoning about having more expensive leading to buying more movies is equally false. There is no connection between what equipment you have and how many movies you own. I merely stated that I (having a limited budget) prefer to have a good, inexpensive setup, to have more money to spend on movies. Those that can afford both are lucky, but having a super-duper home theatre or a crappy one bears no relationship on how many movies one buys.
Secondly, and more important. I’ve worked with sound for over 20 years. I can flatly state that most people will here little or no change with a CD/DVD being played on a setup costing $1000 or $2000. Even dedicated audiophiles have problems hearing the dif between speaker cables. It is my firm belief that most of the things are psychological. A lot of people spend a lot of money on expensive speakers and receivers, but do nothing with the room, where they place it all. And even if a home theatres does enhance the experience of watching a DVD at home, the technology behind DTS, Dolby Surround and all that, is simply still inferior to good old HiFi and playing the music from a 1/4" tape at high speed. Most modern DVDs and CDs are good at cranking out loud noices that sound impressive. A sub under the couch to rumble one’s behind while watching the latest Jerry Bruckheimer megaflick, is of course cool. But when we come to dynamics in sound, it’s simply not good enough.
If you’re happy with what you have and don’t mind spending the money, who am I to argue. But as with arguing about Porsche over Ferraris and comparing to a Chevy truck, I still think it’s all more in the mind than in the ears (for sound). Each vehicle will take you where you want to go. No one really needs a Ferrari. It’s really a stupid car, from a logical POV. But some people just want to have them. It’s not just about getting you somewhere, it’s something else.
And in that, I think it’s the same with home theatre systems. For some people, it’s just not about the sound, it’s a hobby and a passion.
