What makes your Home Theater system

Yeah I think there are varying levels of "involvement" and "desire" when it comes to many peoples home theater.
I tend to think I'm "really into it" when it comes putting together a quality HT system, and I've done a lot.
What I was getting at, is I've come to the conclusion over the years, that a lot of what your traditional 2 channel hi-fi system reproduces, is not necessarily what I find makes for a stellar system necessarily!...particually refering to the speaker system mainly.
I've done, been around, sold, and installed A LOT of hifi gear and HT systems in general over the last 15 years. What I find is that most typical "hi-fi" speaker systems tend to offer qualities sonically that you don't necessarily find(ok, mostly never) at the local theater, where movies were designed to play in the first place. It's simply at home where we try to "make the most of it", and or try to bring their the best we can.
I think much of the audiophile speaker systems out there are capable of some truely clear, detailed, prettty sound used in a home theater context largely. But still, I think the area's that are the most important for a speaker system to reproduce for quality HT are dyanmics, focus, dialoge inteligibility, coherence, pressence, and involvment! And it's these qualities I think you often find lacking, or playing "second, even third fiddle" to the better commercial theater speaker systems!
Bottom line, I don't think what ends up in the homes largely can "bring home the goods" the way they probably should, for best results in many cases. I just think the typical hi-fi speaker is limited in it's scope when it comes to a "big powerful demanding sound"!
I take that back, there are way's to do this stuff "right!" in the home. I just think many "miss it", and often use gear and setups that aren't so thrilling and, well, ballsy!!
I do personally tend to like better sounding high efficiency horn systems for HT dubties to be well up to the task often, in the right application, also more active speaker systems seem to be able to 'deliver the sonic goods" to do justice to DD/DTS properly. Also, other systems I like are THX basse, multi-driver, high efficiency systems. This also works for me largely.
I personally tend to stay away from the "typical audiphile speaker"(if there is such a thing..but you get my drift) when it comes to doing "full blown HT systems" I just feel robbed in the "excitement category" with these!
Yeah, there may be some "pretty sounding gear" out there, but don't plan on doing any small scale rock concerts or small commercial theater setups with em! I think they'll sound a little "pip-squeekish" IMO.
What I really need is there to be more pro-audio speaker systems that are as refined sounding as what I hear from Thiel's, Wilson's or Maggies! (I know, Avantgardes...but those drop like a rock off axis, so you gotta small sweetspot with those). So far the best I've heard for ultra high end sounding, full dyamic blasting HT speakers are from a company called "Avlar"! These offer large Two way speakers with 15" mid/woofers and a plannar/ribbon tweeter/mid! Doesn't look like they should sound great, but they do!!!!...very high end sounding "active speakers, that are about 100DB/watt sensitive, and man do they kick!!!..and very refined as well.
Anyone hunting these down should go take a listen. They're what the doctor ordered for high end HT indeed. ex

A friend of mine were at his place one evening and we got a little brave and got 119db out of his sub w/o a bit of distortion that we could hear. We had our ears right next to the sub. Man, was that loud, for a second ot two.

A big part of what makes my home theater "special" is that it's, well, mine! I get the feeling that many of us who use this forum aren't the types who are simply going to pull out the checkbook and have someone else come in and do it all for them. Anyone who is into home theater as a hobby is going to put a fair amount of their own effort and creativity into their systems to make them unique.

In my case, I've built my system slowly over time choosing components with an eye towards being as "future-proof" as possible instead of buying everything whole-hog at the beginning. It's amazing to me how many people will go out and buy a packaged system with many compromises just to get everything all at once. Or, those who replace a piece of gear before utilizing it to it's full capacity. For example, I'd venture to say many people never take advantage of the pre-outs on their receivers as an upgrade path. It's too tempting to instead replace it with a more powerful one or to get the very latest surround processing flavor-of-the-month.

When I consider buying a new piece of gear, I try to emphasize connectivity and "how it fits in this system to do the job" over brand name. I developed this attitude as a result of my experience working as a system design consultant/salesman at a high-end custom (independent) home theater company in the Bay Area a few years back (2000-2001). I was only with the company for a little over a year full-time, but learned a TON from the experience. No, I wasn't fired, we parted ways amicably because my previous career path in financial services lured me back - sometimes I regret that move! Anyway, I digress..

I actually enjoy watching most, er, "films" at home more than at the movies. I like the privacy, the quiet, and the control I have at home over the theater environment (No kids yet as of this writing!) I agree with movie critics when they say that some films simply "work" better on the smaller screen. My video monitor is a Sony 34" widescreen direct-view HDTV CRT, soon to be ISF'd by an experienced tech. It still has a terrific picture as-is using only Video Essentials to adjust it though. And that size simply works great in my room, for my tastes (Quality vs/Quantity at the price point).

For speakers, I have the Hales Revelation Two's and a Revelation Center up front and they are simply fantastic.

Oops, dinner's ready. To be continued...

To continue.. I didn't mean to "preach to the choir" above if it sounded that way. I shouldn't post here on an empty stomach! Seriously, Excertfluffer and others have started some very good threads and made some very valid points in this forum regarding the importance of proper system setup/calibration, proper bass management and the (sometimes) different system requirements for reproducing movie soundtracks vs. music, among other things. They also help to dispell myths and clarify or point out misinformation surrounding home theater. I think these types of "how to" threads are much more helpful and interesting to me compared to the "which is better, this amp or that amp" threads that come up alot.

The ability to learn new information and apply it is what "makes my home theater special". Regarding buying new gear, it makes much more sense to me to make some time and get out there and look/listen for yourself whenever possible or practical. Equipment reviews (professional or peer) can only get you so far. On the other hand, practical information can make a positive difference in ANY system whether you have an HTIB or full-blown megabuck system.

Alright, sermon's over. Let's just say I enjoy my home theater/music system a lot, I (mostly) understand it's limits (both in the equipment and the room), and try to work to minimize their negative impact on system performance. I always try to maximize every drop of performance from each component in the meantime with proper setup and to take advantage of available upgrade paths and best connections before replacing stuff whenever possible. That makes the most sense to me. JZ

A good center channel, surrounds and an accurate sub. The rears/surrounds need as much power as the fronts and center (the right amplification for the speakers being used). The system has to be properly setup for the room and the seating positioned correctly. The TV needs to be the right size for the room and seating distance. A good balanced power unit or two will help with both picture quality and system dynamics. That is my quick and dirty. It doesn't take a lot of money to have a really nice home theater. Setup is key. I have found two channel to really be the money pit. Home theater of course can cost $$$$$$ if you go all out.