Way OT: Home Theater Question

[mabas9395]

I know there is often overlap between the type of people who are into photo gear and the type of people who are into home theater equipment. So I'll ask my question here even though it is way off topic.

I'm looking for advice on what are the reliable sources of information I can use as I research for myself what I want to buy (receiver, speakers, etc). There are too many sites out there that don't make me feel like I am getting consumer oriented advice. Where can I go to get good information and recommendations?

Thanks.

 

[NostalgicDad]

We recently purchased a new 52" LCD and Blu-ray player as well as a new subwoofer. The information I found from folks on the AV Science forums was invaluable. Not only for the personal reviews and experiences but also for tweaking your equipment after the fact with regards to upgrading firmware, settings, etc. There seems to be a few experts as well as vendor reps on the boards there. Lots of good info!

 

[Code]

Second vote for AVS Fourm, it was invaluable back when I was buying an HD projector and building a DIY screen.

 

[JeffPoth]

I work at Best Buy in the Home Theater dept. Me and my associates are pretty big Yamaha fans for recievers. There are higher end models out there that do similar things but for the money Yamaha makes great stuff. As for speakers; Infinity, Klipsch, Polk, they are good.

 

[VVFF]

I along with being a member of avsforums and an active member in the home theater area at Anandtech have also designed and built my own speakers. Yes, I am a home theater nut and I would happily answer any questions you have.

Feel free to ask away!

 

[Angrypenguin]

I also agree with the AVS forums. Home theater and photography...could we pick more expensive hobbies?

 

[mabas9395]

Basically what I've found (and correct me if I am wrong), is that unless you are willing to spend over a couple thousand on just your sound system, there really isn't that much difference in the quality between the various receivers if you stick with the good brands (Yamaha, Denon, Harman Kardon, Onkyo, and a few others). So its better to just find a system that has all of the features you want. Now if you were willing to pay some big bucks, you might be able to find one with discernably better sound.

I read something on the AVS forum that reminded me of something I read on a photography forum, "Buy a camera body for features and glass for image quality", but on the AVS forum it was "Buy a receiver for features and speakers for sound quality". Does that sound like decent advice?

 

[deletedpenguin]

We recently purchased a new 52" LCD and Blu-ray player as well as a new subwoofer. The information I found from folks on the AV Science forums was invaluable. Not only for the personal reviews and experiences but also for tweaking your equipment after the fact with regards to upgrading firmware, settings, etc. There seems to be a few experts as well as vendor reps on the boards there. Lots of good info!

Agreed, I used this to set up my home theater when I lived in the States. Sadly, much of that information doesn't pertain to Australia. The prices are a LOT higher too.

But yeah, you can't go wrong with AVS Forum.

 

[VVFF]

Basically what I've found (and correct me if I am wrong), is that unless you are willing to spend over a couple thousand on just your sound system, there really isn't that much difference in the quality between the various receivers if you stick with the good brands (Yamaha, Denon, Harman Kardon, Onkyo, and a few others). So its better to just find a system that has all of the features you want. Now if you were willing to pay some big bucks, you might be able to find one with discernably better sound.

I read something on the AVS forum that reminded me of something I read on a photography forum, "Buy a camera body for features and glass for image quality", but on the AVS forum it was "Buy a receiver for features and speakers for sound quality". Does that sound like decent advice?

Yes that is probably the best idea. Most receivers have decent sound quality to them, but speakers are often the weak link. It's easy to spend more on the receiver because its the center of the entire system and also easy to go feature crazy. Keep in mind that its mostly the speakers that will be responsible for what you hear.

I wouldn't say all is created equal under a couple thousand though. There are some clear leaders for receivers in the features department for the best value.

 

[webshark3]

If you're just starting out, AVSForum could be a bit overwhelming.

I LOVE http://www.hometheaterspot.com/

You will find very helpful people, easy answers, and save a bunch of money. I usually head over to AVSForums when I need to get nitty gritty on technical detail.

 

[Todd_H]

You can save a ton of money by buying used. You can find some really good deals on high-end used equipment from guys who like to upgrade all the time here:
http://www.audiogon.com/

One piece of advise I will give regarding your screen choice: be sure you look hard at the contrast ratio. The higher the better, it will mean your blacks will be truly black (comparable to dynamic range in photography). I think some of the Panasonic plasma's boast a 1,000,000:1 ratio. Or, if you go with a front or rear projection system (not a projection TV, but a projector and screen), your price will jump exponentially with the quality of the unit. Runco makes good projectors.

I have an old Lexicon DC-1 processor and 2 Adcom amplifiers (a 2 ch and a 5 ch), Bowers & Wilkins speakers, and a Mitsubishi 65" CRT TV which has been running on the same bulbs for almost 5 years and still looks amazingly good. Couldn't be happier with my setup, although I will probably upgrade my processor and tv within the next 3-4 years.

 

[ssanders79]

I always check the reviews and rating in Consumer Reports. If you do not have a subscription you can get old issues at your local library.

 

[Groucho]

I'll vote for the AVS Forum again! They're actually located here in Rochester, I met with one of the guys running it and checked out his theater while planning out mine. The forum is very overwhelming, though.

It's easy to get caught up in over-the-top stuff - it's like anything else, once you go over a certain cost, you hit diminishing returns very quickly!

I also would definitely make sure to treat everything with a healthy dose of skepticism - there is a huge amount of "woo-woo" in this field, with people swearing they can tell the difference when they use ridiculous things like super high end power smoothers, very expensive speaker cable, special stands for the equipment, etc... there's lots of stuff out there that could never pass a double-blind test for actually making any difference.

When it comes time to buy, I like Visual Apex - I bought my projector from them and they were cheap and very good to deal with.

Having seen some high-end ones and having seen mine which was done "on the cheap" equipment-wise - I actually feel a little bad for people who have their designed and specced for them, where they end up with $1k+ receivers, $5k+ speakers, fancy touch screen remotes, $500+ motorized screens, etc... It's a theater, why would you ever want to hide the screen? And a fancy remote? Everything in mine is running off an HTPC I built "(home theater PC) and I put in an IR receiver, combine that with software called "Girder" and I can do anything with any remote in existence! Some cheap X10 controllers means that I can automate the lights, too.

Whoops, I'm getting off-topic. Sorry about that!

 

[seashoreCM]

I have heard much advice against buying secondhand and floor model TV sets or video projectors. These can have endured hard usage that degrades picture quality and/or shortens their life.

Plasma and CRT TV sets can have after-images of bright lines and spots permanently etched on the screen or projector tubes so as to show ghost outlines. Contrast has to be set low to minimize this.

LCD and LCOS rear projection sets and front projectors may have bleached color cellophanes inside giving faded or splotchy pictures. Replacing these is tricky.

 

[Todd_H]

I have heard much advice against buying secondhand and floor model TV sets or video projectors. These can have endured hard usage that degrades picture quality and/or shortens their life.

Plasma and CRT TV sets can have after-images of bright lines and spots permanently etched on the screen or projector tubes so as to show ghost outlines. Contrast has to be set low to minimize this.

LCD and LCOS rear projection sets and front projectors may have bleached color cellophanes inside giving faded or splotchy pictures. Replacing these is tricky.

I definitely agree to be careful about buying a second-hand TV or projector (and would never buy a floor model), but second-hand components (receivers, processors, amplifiers, and speakers) can be a good buy if they're purchased from a reputable seller with some kind of DOA warranty. I've purchased all my components (except my blu-ray player) second hand. They're all about 9 years old and still work perfectly (albeit my processor doesn't have HDMI inputs or the most current decoders, but that doesn't bother me).

I also agree with Groucho's post above to not get caught up in all the high end cables and what-not. It can get super-expensive FAST! It can even surpass the black hole expense of photography !

 

[NostalgicDad]

, very expensive speaker cable,

I also agree with Groucho's post above to not get caught up in all the high end cables and what-not. It can get super-expensive FAST! It can even surpass the black hole expense of photography !

Yep, I'm pretty sure that cables are one of the biggest rackets going!

 

[Golf4food]

I also agree with the AVS forums. Home theater and photography...could we pick more expensive hobbies?

I also play golf...

 

[webshark3]

I always check the reviews and rating in Consumer Reports. If you do not have a subscription you can get old issues at your local library.

I personally don't like Consumer Reports. At one point it rated my DVD Player as the worst of the bunch because it's shiny mirror-surface left fingerprints.

The unit was widely regarded in the industry as having a top of the line chipset found in $3000 units, and was sold for $250. It was regarded as one of the best players ever made.

Consumer Reports is okay, if your looking for broad reviews from reviewers who don't get too intimate with their products. That's why I prefer sites like:

hometheaterspot
dpreview
camcorderinfo

etc...

They do one thing, and do it well.

 

[VVFF]

I personally don't like Consumer Reports. At one point it rated my DVD Player as the worst of the bunch because it's shiny mirror-surface left fingerprints.

The unit was widely regarded in the industry as having a top of the line chipset found in $3000 units, and was sold for $250. It was regarded as one of the best players ever made.

Consumer Reports is okay, if your looking for broad reviews from reviewers who don't get too intimate with their products. That's why I prefer sites like:

hometheaterspot
dpreview
camcorderinfo

etc...

They do one thing, and do it well.

Panasonic RP-82?

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I agree with the stuff above...avsforum, don't buy expensive cables. I'll add that you should use heavy guage speaker wires for long runs. Don't run unshielded cables along side power lines. If you need a long component cable, you can make a really good one out of three strangs of RG6 coax and a few connectors from Radio Shack. A strong sub really helps for a theater. There is very, very, very little practical difference between 5.1 and 6.1 or 7.1.

This is a photography forum. Anyone want to share pictures of their HT setup? I'll post a few of mine later today.