Post Six

Home Theater Madness Part Five:  The Subwoofer (and Conclusion)

For my final entry into this series on home theater I will discuss my favorite part of the system: The Subwoofer.  For guys, the subwoofer ("sub" for short) represents the end all-be all of home theater.  For girls, usually it's simply tolerated with a frown (there are, of course, exceptions).  The subwoofer handles the bass in your system, and something called LFE (Low Frequency Effects) in movies and shows that have this feature.  The LFE represents the ".1" channel; it's not really a full range channel like the left, right, center, and surrounds, but it is the most important sound channel in home theater next to the center (which handles most dialogue). 

To give you an idea of how important a good subwoofer is in a home theater take the movie trilogy "The Lord of the Rings".  When you saw these movies in a commercial theater remember how thrilled you felt when all hell was breaking loose in the Mines of Moria, during the Siege of Helm's Deep, or during the Battle of Pelennor Fields?  Most of that feeling was because theaters have multiple subwoofers producing copious amounts of LFE.  While you don't need that kind of power in a home, you DO need at least one subwoofer to properly convey the director's intent in movies like "Lord of the Rings". 

Being a very specialized speaker a subwoofer is very different from a traditional speaker design.  Usually, subwoofers are boxes that can double as an end table with drivers ranging between 10 inches and 18 inches.  Subwoofers generally weigh between 40lbs all the way up to over 100lbs.  Needless to say, subwoofers can present an, um, challenge to decor conscious spouses.  And don't think that I am recommending a one note flatulence box designed for rap music.  A good subwoofer will blend seemlessly with your other speakers, and will only be heard when called on; good subwoofers are well-behaved beasts.

Unlike other loudspeakers most subwoofers are powered; practically speaking, this feature means all you need to do is plug the subwoofer into the subwoofer/LFE input of an A/V receiver.  After that, the receiver will calibrate the subwoofer using Audyssey (discussed in a previous post), or some other automatic set-up system.  There are other settings on a sub (phase being the most important), but none are more important than sub location.  In most situations, the best place for a sub is in a corner of the room.  What this will allow is something called "corner loading' which can produce more bass.  In no way is this option always the best, and experimintation is always required.  Even experienced home theater enthusiasts have trouble with sub location, and in many cases your stuck putting the sub "there" based on other factors.  Again, the automatic setup of a receiver really is a Godsend here.   

In the end, a subwoofer is essential to a satisfying home theater expierence.  Without the low end of the soundtrack you're missing half of the movie, in my opinion.  Below are couple of excellent, affordable options that will fit the bill. 

Emotiva Ultra Sub 10 (right now: $289)
http://www.emotiva.com/

This internet direct company produces high-value components, and your not likely to do better at this price point.


Rythmik Audio F12 ($799)
http://www.rythmikaudio.com/

Yes, it's a lot of money.  It's also the last subwoofer you will ever buy.  I've had a bunch of subs in my time, and none are better (especially on music) anywhere near this price.  Honestly, this subwoofer competes with subs up to two times it's price.  Awesome!

Concluding Thoughts

So, there you have my mind poured out on silicon concerning the subject of home theater.  I will only conclude with this parting word of advice.  Don't spend your last dime on this hobby.  Home Theater can become an addiction, and it can lead to unfortunate financial decisions.  Buy components right the first time, and you will save yourself a ton of money.  Trying to keep up with advances in technology is getting harder and harder every year as electronic manufacturers try to come up with some new bell and whistle to justify another $3,000 purchase (the latest being 3D).  It's not worth it.  Buy a high-quaility, value componenent, and then stop looking for a couple of years. 

Still, this hobby IS worth it if you love movies as much as me.  Considering it can cost a family of three anywhere between $30-$50 to go see a first-run movie in a good commercial theater the cost of home theater quickly becomes justified over the long haul.  And you will never have to deal with annoying people ever again (at least not by choice). 

Happy Movie Watching!
  

Post Five

Home Theater Madness Part 4: The Receiver

In past posts I have discussed what I consider the most important aspects of a good home theater system: The Display, The Speakers, and The Source.  Now, I will move into what might be considered the "brain" of the system; The Receiver.  The Receiver is responsible for controlling all aspects of a home theater.  It is both a component selector, audio decoder, and even a video scaler all built into a heavy metal chassis.  In many ways the modern home theater receiver is a powerful computer designed as the multi-media hub.  A sort of a modern day "all roads lead to Rome" component as every single part of the home theater gets plugged into The Receiver. 

The Appian Way in Italy

A receiver is basically composed of two parts.  The first is the amplifier section.  A modern home theater receiver has amplification for at least five channels (left front, center, right front, left surround, right surround), and can have up to nine channels (though seven channels has become the most common; adding two channels for back left and right surround).  I would recommend a seven channel receiver even if your only going to use five channels.  Why?  It will give you room to expand in the future.  Always plan ahead in this hobby.  You can also use the extra two channels to bi-amp your front speakers (if they so allow) which can lead to improved sound. 

The second part of the receiver is it's "brain"; the surround/video processor.  Nearly all home theater receivers today have two powerful computer chips: the surround processor and the video processor.  The surround processor provides decoding for all the surround formats that exist on a source disc.  For example, a Blu Ray movie mastered using DTS HD-Master Audio (a superior high resolution surround sound format)  may only be played through your system if your receiver can decode that format.  Further, each receiver usually comes with many "matrixed" surround modes (the most common being Dolby Pro Logic II or IIx) which allows you to listen to your music using all of your speakers.

The second processor is for video scaling.  When you watch television through your system your receiver can be set to "upscale" the signal to the displays native resolution.  As many televisions have poor internal scalers this can be an easy way to upgrade a poor signal.  While you won't see miracles here the performance difference a good video scaler can make can be profound on poor source material.  To put this matter into perspective consider that seperate video scalers in $1,000 receivers today would cost, by themselves, at least $10,000 in the 1990's.

Faroudja 5000 Video Scaler (top): $25k in 2000

What other things should you consider when purchasing a receiver?  Probably the most important thing to consider is ease of use.  I would never recommend a receiver without an on screen display.  Many cheap receivers do not have this feature, and it can make setting up a complicated component like a receiver a nightmare even for experienced users like me.  A good on screen display can really make using your system easy to set up and change, and is absolutely a necessity for novices.

The other main thing no modern receiver should be without is room correction software.  Almost all modern receivers have some form of room correction.  Why?  Well, our rooms (unless your an extremely lucky person who has a purposefully built home theater from the ground up) acoustically stink.  Room correction software (the most common is from a company called Audyssey) will allow the receiver to compensate for these room imperfections.  It can drastically improve the sound of your system if you have an acoustically bad room (believe me, you probably do).

Here are two receivers I would recommend without hesitation.  This company has a long track record of providing outstanding bang for the buck with rock-solid reliability.  My first receiver was a Denon, and it's still going strong after over 10 years of constant use (and abuse).

Denon AVR-1611

 Denon AVR 1611 (Street Price: $400)

It doesn't get any better than this at the entry level.

Denon AVR-2311Ci

Denon AVR 2311Ci (Street Price: $850)

A major step up in every way from the 1611; more power and more inputs.  Will serve you well for many years.

Next up is my final installment in the Home Theater Madness series:  The Subwoofer

Post Four

Home Theater Madness Part Three: The Source

In previous posts I have addressed what I consider to be the two most important components of a home theater.  For video, we have the display, and for audio we have the speakers.  Today, I will go back to video and discuss The Source.  The Source, in additon to being an excellent book by James Michener, is an often overlooked component of home theater, but one I put very high on the list.  There are two parts to The Source: hardware and software.  Let's start with hardware.

Another "Source":  Read it

Source hardware, like most things in this hobby, has evolved rapidly over the years.  In the 1980's, things really took off with widespread consumer adoption of the VCR (Video Cassette Recorder).  However, for home theater, the VCR didn't really do much; it's resolution was poor, and the quality of the transfer (the process by which the studio's engineers move film to video) was universally bad.  Hobbyists needed something better, and the electronic companies responded with one of the biggest failures in the history of the electronics industry; Laserdisc.  Laserdisc, while a vast improvement over the VCR, was never accepted by the public because it was not a recordable format and was very expensive.  In many ways, Laserdisc was simply ahead of it's time, and it was quickly relegated to a niche product for hobbyists.

1980's: RCA VCR

Every hobby has a watershed moment; a time where the hobby either explodes or fizzles.  For home theater, that moment was 1997, and the event was the introduction of the DVD player.  DVD players did more than anything to spread the concept of home theater to the masses.  At first, the players were somewhat expensive (though no more than a VCR in early 1980's), and like Laserdisc, the players could not record anything.  In time, though, both of these issues were fixed.  A good DVD player could be had for about $200.00 by the early 2000's, and the move to DVR's (Digital Video Recorders) by the cable and satellite industry suddenly did away with the need for recordable hardware in the consumers audio/video system. 

1998: Pioneer DV-414 DVD Player

Now, we have moved through the looking glass with the Blu-Ray disc player.  Everyone in the hobby wanted a high-definition version of the DVD, and after a bitter format war which almost killed the idea Sony's Blu-Ray won widespread consumer adoption as the HD format to rule them all.  Players are finally down into that magical $200 price bracket, and with options like streaming movies via Netflix as de rigueur on most new players Blu-Ray is here to stay.

2009: Oppo BDP-83 Blu Ray Disc Player

Each one of these players would be useless without software, and this area, too, has seen vast changes over the years.  VHS (Video Home System) tapes, the media for the VCR, were a godsend for the masses as they could now record their favorite shows and movies.  As I mentioned before, though, the home theater hobbyist was left pretty much dissappointed by VHS.  VHS did  make a last stand offering high definition video before anyone else with JVC's D-VHS format, but it was never accepted by anyone outside of hardcore enthusiasts.

Laserdisc media was the main upgrade available to most hobbyists who wanted something better than VHS, and it did have some appeal.  Laserdiscs were actual discs (like a CD; only as large as an old record), and as such could store a lot more information than a typical VHS tape.  The video and audio were much improved over VHS, but again, problems with price and marketing pretty much killed the format.

Laserdisc (left) vs. DVD (right)

DVD media, was simply a revelation.  For the first time, hobbyists had a format that needed very little apologies in price or performance.  Many DVD's were mastered to amazing standards (the film The Fifth Element was a standard setter here), and one could really believe they were in a movie theater with the quality presented on the best discs.  Still, DVD was limited to a resolution of 480i (720 x 480 interlaced) which for really big screens was just not resolved enough.

Enter the high definition media world of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs.  In 2008, Toshiba and Sony entered an epic war for the replacement of DVD.  Since the advent of VHS, Toshiba had held the crown as King of Media as Toshiba was the purveyor of both VHS and DVD.  Consequently, every manufacturer paid a small royalty to Toshiba in order to make their machines.  Sony was determined not to let Toshiba win the HD war, and squared off with Toshiba's HD-DVD with the it's competing Blu-Ray disc.  A war ensued with HD-DVD coming to market first, and for a time it appeared Sony would lose again.  However, Sony had an ace in the hole this time around.  All of the big film studios were firmly behind Blu-Ray (over concerns about copyright protection), and once media started hitting the market in large numbers HD-DVD was doomed. 

Blu-Ray is now the de facto standard for home theater media.  At a resolution of 1080p (1980 x 1080 progressive) Blu Ray media allows the viewer to see a film in the home pretty much the same way as it was presented in the theater.  Blu-Ray is simply a marvel of modern technology, and unlike Laserdiscs, has not been relegated to niche status.  Blu-Ray movies cost between $10 and $25.00, and are worth every penny for the performance you will receive in return.

The only other source worth discussing from a home theater standpoint is the HD-DVR.  Recently, cable and satellite companies have both gone full bore with HD programming.  This development is both good and bad; while I love the number of new HD channels the tradeoff is a reduction in resolution.  Can't have your cake, and eat it, too.  Still, I love being able to record football games in high definition and fast forwarding through commercials.

Scientific Atlantic HD8300 HD-DVR 

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the company Netflix.  In the past, one had to go to your local Blockbuster (or equivalent) if you wanted to rent a movie.  Not anymore.  Netflix is an awesome alternative way for you to get your discs in the mail, and return them at your convienence (no late fees).  Instead of having to buy Blu Ray discs of movies I will watch only once I can now watch these one-timers for a very reasonable cost per month.  Even entire television series in HD are available through Netflix.  I'm not sure they have every movie and television program ever made, but it's pretty darn close.

Recommended Player:

Panasonic DMP-BD85K (available at Best Buy for $230)

Panasonic made the best mass market DVD players for years, and their Blu Ray players have followed in that tradition.  This Internet-capable player can also stream Netflix movies; a huge plus.  A no-brainer at this price.

Next, I will discuss the heart of the audio system:  The Receiver.