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
3 comments:
What are you going to write about once you tell the internet world what sort of home entertainment system to have? History? Books? Politics? Only one more post and the world will know. Can't wait to know what a subwoofer is.
Heh...it's a girl's nightmare. Katie is a true gem as she allows me to delve into this black art. Saves a ton of money at the theater, though.
I've given it a lot of thought. I don't know if I should, but I think I must write about working in Florida's prison system. I spent eight years dancing with devil in the pale moonlight, and I think I would like to share my thoughts on that. I don't know if anyone would like to hear about something so dark, but I think I need to do it. I'll pray on it.
I would LOVE to read about your prison system experiences, especially if I end up doing criminal law. I vote you do it. I think people can handle some darkness. That's why LOTR and Harry Potter were so popular. You've got to go there when you get the urge. It makes art real and all that jazz.
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