This page lists some of the home theater products I would like to share:
This section lists some appropriately matched sets of 5.1 surround-sound speakers that you might consider for purchase. The products are listed by price, starting with the most inexpensive. These sets have been chosen to avoid the "small speaker" problem, and each should allow a successful crossover from the subwoofer to the other speakers at 80 Hz. The less expensive systems will be more comfortable in small rooms. The over $1000 sets can better fill large rooms with quality theater-level sound.
I have developed this list based on various references and specification listings, and you must use your own ears and judgement about the suitability of any of these sets to your listening situation and budget. Prices are typically list prices taken from the manufacturer's websites. Look for deals and sales...
Information is presented in one of the following formats:
Brand/Front L&R#/Center#/Rear L&R#/Subwoofer#/List $
Brand/Set#/Subwoofer#/List $
Brand/System#/List $
This DVD is presently the best test DVD available for home theater owners who want to set-up and adjust their theaters for best performance. The test patterns, explanations, and menus are consistently excellent.
Available from Ovation Software at:
www.ovationmultimedia.comThis unit is a great solution if you have more inputs (composite or S-Video) than your TV can handle. My Toshiba Direct-View TV ( in my second theater) doesn't have quite enough inputs, and the Sony Switcher senses if there is a signal coming from the S-VHS line from the DVD, or the composite video lines from the Laserdisk or the VCR, and automatically switches to that source! It also switches the audio at the same time. (I run my audio through the TV for this system.) This piece of equipment has really simplified the operation of my smaller system, at a very reasonable cost.
Available at A/V stores, or on the web.
L-Com has been a supplier of high-quality cable and cable assemblies to industry since 1982. I have ordered their products for use at my day job, and discovered that they offer good quality A/V cable assemblies at very reasonable prices.
For example, L-Com's "Premium RCA Audio/Video Molded Cables -3 RCA's Per End" is designed for carrying both composite video and audio left and right signals. As of the first of November, 2003, a six-foot cable assembly of this type from L-Com costs $10.80. An equivalent "Gold" cable from Radio shack costs $14.99. (Radio Shack"s "premium" cable costs $39.99.) The folks at Monster Cable sell a 2 meter long cable of this type for $29.95. (The most expensive Monster Cable of this type goes for a cool $89.95!)
I recommend you consider L-Com's offerings as they deliver good quality at an excellent price.
L-Com cable assemblies to look for:
L-Com also offers all of the other cables you would need for home theater. (Except for TOSLINK) Go hunt on the L-Com web site (www.L-com.com
video/monitor > cable assemblies > RCA or S-Video or DVI
-coaxial > cable assemblies > RG-59 or Thin Line
You should be able to save enough money buying from L-Com to buy at least a
couple of DVDs or even a high-quality DVD player!
Owens-Corning offers an excellent product for absorbing sound in commercial
spaces which can readily be used for the same purpose in our home theaters: http://www.owenscorning.com/around/sound/commercial_acoustics/
black-acouboard.asp The above site is the place to go to learn about their "Select Sound" Black
Acoustic Board. I recommend the 2" thickness. A hot glue gun and some
"decorating fabric" chosen by the decorator in your household from your
local fabric store will allow you to create some beautiful yet acoustically
efficient absorbers. The board can be cut with a paring knife, and is light
and durable enough to even be usable as portable absorbers, once the one raw
face and the edges are covered with cloth. It is laughably easy to hang on vertical walls - a few long pins driven
through the board at a downward angle into the wall is all you need. If your viewing position is backed up right against a wall, place a piece of
this board against the wall behind your head to absorb the echo which
otherwise will reduce the quality of the sound you hear.
I use this product in use in my home theater. It works!!!! Belden is a MAJOR supplier of quality cable to industry, and if you are planning to run
speaker wire in the walls of your house, I recommend you check out Belden's #8473
and #8477 cables. #8473 is 14 Ga, and #8477 is 12 Ga. This is high-quality cable with
the NEC/(UL) CL3R safety rating. You should pay around $210 retail for a 500 foot spool,
which I think is a good value, at about 1/2 to 1/4 the retail cost of the fancy 12 Ga cables
sold by the A/V cable companies. The "Fancy" cables have all sorts of fancy words written
about their audio wonderfulness, but electrons seem to move just as well through this
workaday Belden cable.
www.belden.com
Bed Bath & Beyond and other such stores sell adjustable wire shelf units
which will do a fine job of holding your equipment for cheap. I combined a
"3 tier jumbo cart" and a "chrome 2 shelf stacker" to make the tall unit
shown in the picture below. These two units cost a total of $50! These units are 13"
deep, and 22" wide, and make a perfect equipment rack. The short unit is
15" deep and 27" wide, and neatly supports a 32" direct view TV. It was
necessary to add a 1/2" plywood sheet under the TV to spread this big TV's
weight evenly over the shelf. Tall Rack: Short Rack: Cost Plus and other such stores sell inexpensive screens which can be used as
flexible, portable, and inexpensive light blocks in your theater. My theater room has
two big openings to other rooms, and after draping some cheap black felt over the
screens, I place them to block the incoming light from those rooms during the day,
or when lights are on in those rooms at night. Note that the black felt should face
the inside of the theater, so light from the TV is not reflected back onto the TV
screen, or into your eyes. Owens-Corning Acoustic Board
In-Wall Speaker Cable
Inexpensive Equipment Racks
Folding Room Screens
