What makes your Home Theater system

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.

"Exertfluffer":

I too, happen to agree that going to a big local cineplex in order to see movies on the grandest of scales. Since I live in Washington, D. C., you would think that a city like Washington, a city with a lot of history to talk about would have something that is grand and elegant in Los Angeles like "Kotta" gets to experience once in a while with their "Los Angeles Wilshire Theater". But no......... what I have is a mayor who believes that tearing down something that has historical value and meaning in favor that is modern and profitable. And in the end, these newer and more modern movie houses (I don't think they deserve to be called movie "palaces" in my opinion) are something that doesn't no where near the grandular and aura of movie palaces from the days gone by. And while today's huge screens and powerful sound systems are something that is not to be ignored, I cannot help but to lured to the immediacy and intimacy of the older movie houses from the past. Even if they sound more "analog" like than today's digital counterparts. But now, if Washington, D. C. had such a historical movie house for its residents to go to and attend every once in a while, then they'll be doing something. But when I have a mayor who shuts down a public hospital and almost make it impossible for an average working resident to afford to buy a house in D. C. (from the prices of the homes themselves, right down to the property taxes residents have to pay in order to hold on to their properties, and you wonder why people are leaving the city to go live in the suburbs all the time), then I cannot fully expect him to resurrect and preserve a historical movie house in the city. But hey, that's me.

And speaking what to expect when one goes to the movies, I see that everybody fails to mention the highway robbery prices today's movie houses seem to charge, and that consumers have to pay in order for someone to enjoy a night at the movies. You got to think that a movie ticket costs almost $10.00. And if you take a date with you, you better count on pulling out a $20.00 bill just to pay for a pair of movie tickets. Because I tell you right now, taking a date for a night at the movies is going to tear the fuck out of a $20.00 bill. Then you got to think about the cost of the concessions. A bag of popcorn is about $4.00. A bag of nachos is about $6.00. A soda is about $3.00. And in the end, when you add up all of that, then you're talking about $40.00 or $50.00 just for a night at the movies. And for that same $50.00, then the average joe can go to Best Buy and buy themselves a Toshiba DVD Player for about $60.00 or so. And you wonder why people buy DVD's now instead of going to the movies. It's highway robbery.

With that said then, unless it's movie that I just got to see right away, and one that I am absolutely crazy about. Or one that my girlfriend would want to see, I have gotten to the point that I don't even go out for the movies anymore. If it is a movie that I think I am going to be crazy about, I would just prefer to wait for it to come out on DVD. Because if it doesn't do well at the box office, but yet, it is one that I am crazy about, then it will be out on DVD within four months after its thearactrical release. And when that happens, Best Buy will put it on sale for about $16.00 or $17.00 for the whole week it is released on DVD. And that way, I can look at it as many times as like to. Or if it something that I want to see, but don't care to own, then I put my "Netflix" account to work. I have a "Netflix" account too.

What makes my home theater special to me is the small and intimate space that it is placed in (which is my bedroom). I like the fact that since I live alone, then there aren't any others to intervine or to interupt me when I am getting into a flick. And just like "Albertporter" has also said, I also don't like it when other people are talking during a movie. Crying babies also seem to get under my skin as well. And cell phones are a DEFINITE pet peeve of mine (when you are in a public movie theater............. turn that GODDAMN cell phone off.......... PLEASE (!!!!!!)). So, those are definite advantages.

As for the room (I didn't put too much into setting it up since this is also a place where I retire for the day, and sleep at night), it is a squared shaped room that has wall-to-wall carpeting (which should go a long way toward softening the punch that I should get from a subwoofer when I finally install a home theater speaker system to my home theater) that is fully furnished with a bedroom suite. So, I guess that should go a long way toward influencing the acoustics of the room as well.

And my equipment is as follow:

Television/Monitor: Panasonic CT-27SF37 27" Television/Monitor

DVD Player: Pioneer Elite DV-37 Progressive Scan DVD/CD Player (internal DAC's are bypassed. The DAC's in the Harman/Kardon AVR-210 Receiver take care of all of the processing)

Audio/Video Receiver: Harman/Kardon AVR-210 Audio/Video Receiver

Headphones: Sennheiser HD-580 Headphones (these do home theater surprisingly well.......... you really need to try these with your home theater sometimes......... you're going to be astonished.......... I guarantee it)

But what I wouldn't do to have a home theater's like Albert Porter's. I guess when I hit the lottery, a home theater like that (except that I would prefer a solid-state version of that system) would be something for me to strive towards, wouldn't it????

--Charles--