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Henning’s Home Theater Story

My Boombox

Even as a kid I was big into audio. I have to admit that my brother is the one who got me onto it, and I would spend a lot of time browsing stereo stores wishing that I could actually afford to buy something there. I listened to my music tapes on a handheld mono tape player. Then my big purchase when I was eleven was a $300 ghetto blaster. Man, I was so proud of that thing. It was an Aiwa TPR-955 (scroll down to bottom of page), and it actually sounded quite good. It also had many audio inputs on the side for connecting other sources like a record player or whatever. I used those quite a bit.

First Stereo System

When I moved out of the house after university, I went to Ottawa for my first full-time real job at Corel. Of course I had to buy a nice stereo, and I found it at Dewar’s Audio and Sound Advice. My parents had previously bought a music system comprising of Yamaha electronics and Paradigm speakers. (Of course, they did this shortly before I moved out, so I didn’t get much of a chance to enjoy it.) So I was partial to Paradigm. I bought a pair of Paradigm speakers. I forget the exact model number, but I’m pretty sure it had a 7 in it! Series 7 or something like that. I also bought a Harmon/Kardon stereo receiver from Dewar’s. They convinced me not to bother with a surround sound receiver because (duh) I didn’t have surround sound at the time.

Surround Sound, Baby!

Eventually I did move up to surround sound and a new line of speakers. I traded in my Paradigm speakers for some new Paradigm speakers! I went up to the Paradigm Reference series, buying a pair of Studio/80’s for front left and right duties, and I used a Studio LCR 450 as my center channel. These speakers all sounded much better than my previous ones - the difference was amazing. Boomy bass? Gone! Clear details? Wonderful! My surrounds continued to be Paradigm Atom speakers, because I couldn’t afford to upgrade to Studio surrounds. (This became the story of my life.) I also traded in my receiver at Dewar’s Audio for a HK AVR-20 receiver, which I later upgrade to a HK AVR-25. I had a problem with that one and they gave me an HK AVR-500 instead, which I still use to this day. This receiver is the weak link in my system right now, and I want to upgrade to better electronics one day, preferably separates. But with my funds the way the are, I don’t know how that will go.

My Pride - Linn!

Then I upgraded my speakers once again. Even though the LCR450 speakers are supposed to match the Studio/80’s, I didn’t think they matched that well. I bought myself some used Linn 5140 speakers for left and right duties, and a matching Linn 5120 for the center speaker. (There’s no way I could afford these new.) Now the front soundstage was a lot more coherent. (Though my friend who I sold my speakers to never complained. I even told him why I didn’t like my speakers, and he bought them anyway. He’s quite happy.) I later purchased some demo Linn 5110 surround speakers.

My Paradigm Atom speakers are now used in a second system (for audio only) with two zones - one B&W set of speakers and then the Atoms. So I replaced the Atoms in my home theater with Paradigm Titan speakers, and so I have 4 surround speakers, even though the two left and two right speakers each get the same signal. I did this because I have a big room and I wanted to fill in the sound behind and around me. It works to a degree, but the open-concept living space doesn’t help. Once I my basement is finished I’ll have a room with a door that I’ll optimize for my home theater experience. (More money!)

I drive my extra surround speakers with a HK PA5800 which I got a really good deal on, new. ($300US from J&R, in a closeout sale.) One of the channels don’t work, however, so I have to wonder about that deal! The amp’s other two channels I use to send music upstairs.

I’m starting to think that my approach to speakers has been all wrong. I should really have bought identical speakers all around, or especially across the front. Then the soundstage would be truly seemless. Maybe my next speaker system will be seven Paradigm Signature S2 speakers (±2 dB from 52 Hz – 22 kHz), plus a couple good subs.

Subwoofer

Speaking of subwoofers, mine is the excellent Paradigm Servo-15. I got about 20% off when purchasing this thing, and when I helped my friend Steve to buy one too, he got 25% off. So don’t let people tell you that dealers aren’t allowed to discount Paradigm speakers! Even though the sub sounds great, I do have a problem with it. When someone stands up or sits down in the chair next to it, it often makes a low crackling sound. I don’t have any cables running by the chair, so I don’t know what to do about that.

Televisions

I don’t even remember the make of my first television. It was a Hitachi or Sanyo 27″ television, I think.

I took my wife shopping for a new television, and I really had my eye on a 27″ or so Sony XBR television. She saw the 35″ version sitting there and asked “Why don’t we just get the bigger one?” Bless her heart! So we bought the Sony 35XBR48, and I have to say it’s the most wonderful television I have had or seen. It’s still in use in a spare room, but unfortunately it’s not HD. That was my next step.

Now my television is a Hitachi 57T500, which I bought late summer 2004. I did a lot of research into what the best televisions were, and it led me to the high-end lines of the Toshiba and Hitachi products. Unfortunately, both of those companies were starting to de-emphasize CRT technology and were starting to put cheaper parts into their televisions. So even though I could have got a 2005 model with newer features, I got a 2004 model with better optics. It’s quite a nice television, but I don’t like the bad internal reflections. I’ve heard internal reflections are a problem with all RPTV’s, but I’m not so sure. I talked to someone who has a Sony WEGA LCD RPTV, and he doesn’t notice any problems of this sort. I’d really like some feedback in this area. Also, my particular television seems to have a problem with resolution. This is not a Hitachi 57T500 problem, but rather just a problem with my set. It isn’t capable of displaying a resolution it’s supposed to be able to. Which sucks.

Onward

So, what are my next steps? This fall I’ll be getting a PS3, which will give me HD gaming and movies. I’m quite excited about it and have a site about the PS3.

After that, I think I’ll have to wait until my basement is done before doing any upgrades. I’d like to upgrade my electronics, get a front projector, and get a cohesive set of speakers, in that order. It all takes a lot of money, so it’ll take a lot of time.

Need a display for your home theater? Check out the HDTV Blog for ideas.

Other posts in Stories:

Steve KJ’s Home Theater Story

Mike Says:
March 29th, 2006 at 11:07 am

Great walk through. I see in your resources section that you aspire to get a preprocessor & a 1080p. For us neophytes, what benefits does a preprocessor afford. And, as for gaming on 1080p, there is much debate about consoles working (or not) at 1080p (ie www.theinquirer.net/?article=30480). Are there consoles current/planned that do/will work @ 1080p?

henning Says:
March 29th, 2006 at 11:15 am

Hi Mike, thanks for reading and posting!

A preprocessor and amplifier together are the equivalent of a receiver. A prepro is typically more functional and higher quality than what you find in receivers. It also gives you flexibility in that you can buy whatever amplifier you choose. Steve has a Bryston amplifier mated to a Myryad MDP500 (his story is coming up so stay tuned). At any time he can buy a new prepro or a new amplifier. However, it is more expensive. But hopefully this price comes with higher quality components and better sound.

As to 1080p, the PS3 will do it, and that’s the only next-gen console that will. There is a debate about whether or not it’s worth it, but if you have a projector with a large screen, it definitely will be. (Otherwise the screen will be too small for you to notice the difference.) If you have a smaller HDTV it probably won’t. Personally I plan to own a front projector one day, so I am glad the PS3 has this capability.

Steve Says:
April 3rd, 2006 at 11:22 am

One of the reasons I chose to go the preamp/processor (usually abbreviated pre/pro, to distinguish it from a preprocessor, which is a term generally used in software (i.e. “cpp”)) and separate power amplifier route is this: when designing these components separately, the designers do not have to make compromises in each section due to the requirements of the other section. So the power amplifier has more room for large transistors and heat sinks when it doesn’t need to concede any space for the pre/pro electronics, and the pre/pro doesn’t need to worry about supplying large amounts of power to the power amplifier section, along with the corresponding shielding and filtering. So it makes a lot of sense to split the low-voltage, low-current processing from the high-powered muscle. The only disadvantage from a technical standpoint is that the signal path from the pre/pro to the power amplifier gets a little bit longer, but this is easy to overcome with good quality cabling.

As Henning mentioned, the other advantage to the separates is that you can spend as much or (almost) as little as you want on each section, depending on how much each is worth to you (and then upgrade them later, independently). This is in contrast to a receiver, where you are forced to take the manufacturer’s choice of tradeoffs between clean power amplification and high-quality preamplification and digital signal processing.

I think the primary reason that separates tend to be more expensive than integrated units is the choice of target market. Audiophiles almost invariably choose separates whenever they can afford it, so these devices tend to contain better components with better designs aimed towards audiophiles. Receivers, on the other hand, are aimed at the general audience who needs some sort of A/V solution, without necessarily being too fussy about exactly how good it sounds. So the choice of design and components will reflect this. That’s not to say you can’t get a good, expensive receiver, or a cheap and dodgy pre/pro or power amp, but the general trend is the opposite.

This philosophy of separates is the same reason that most computers do not contain integrated monitors, with the notable exception of the low-end Macs. The design requirements of monitors are very different from that of motherboards, and people frequently want to locate the two pieces separately as well. One also typically outlives the other by a wide margin, as is true with power amplifiers relative to pre/pro’s (especially with the recent barrage of surround sound formats).