My first receiver wasn’t even surround sound! In this age of 7.1 channels of surround nirvana, stereo seems somewhat antiquated. But you have to start somewhere, right? And today, if you’re looking to start yourself a nice home theater setup, but don’t have a lot to spend, then Onkyo has a receiver you might be interested in.

This receiver has HDTV-compatible component video switching, 7.1 channels of surround sound, iPod hookup capability, and a lip-sync adjust, all for a measly $300. However, it only has one coaxial digital input, which is a real limitation in my view. It also has three optical digital inputs. Why not have 2 and 2? Hmmm….

The Onkyo includes Dolby ProLogic IIx processing, which can give you 7.1 channels of surround fun from sources that.. well.. aren’t 7.1 channel. Nifty, huh?

So if you need a 7.1 receiver, and are low on cash, and have an iPod, and… and… and… ah, just take a gander.

Onkyo TX-SR504 Entry-Level 7.1 Channel XM-Enabled Home Theater Receiver

Outlaw Audio works sells strickly over the internet. You know what that means - they pass the saving on to you! Yup, you’ve heard it many times before. Direct = better. With Outlaw Audio, however, they really seem to deliver.

Take (or buy!), for example, the Outlaw Audio Model 990 pre/pro. It’s got 7.1 channels of sounds. DVI switching. Flexible crossover control and lip-sync delay. A bevy of surround sound formats including Dolby ProLogic IIx. It upsamples audio up to 92KHZ/24bit audio resolution. It has 5 optical and 2 coaxial digital inputs. Uh… wait a sec. I could use more than just two coaxial inputs. Ah, well, I guess no product is perfect.

But this product comes very close for the very reasonable price of $1099.

Outlaw Audio Model 990 7.1 Channel Preamp/Surround Sound Processor

My friend Thuy sent me this link, and it contains some disappointing news. Remember my post about the original trilogy on DVD? Well if you’re at all interested in image quality, here’s a shocker for you:

The original theatrical versions of the films are going to be non-anamorphic (our original post on this indicated otherwise, but we have confirmed that the widescreen versions will be letterboxed only). What this likely means is that Lucasfilm has simply re-purposed the non-anamorphic transfers that were done for previous laserdisc and VHS releases of the “original” versions of the films.

Oh well. I won’t be buying it. Now I’ll cross my fingers and hope that they dig out some better source material for an HD version of the original trilogy.

Digital Bits - My Two Cents

We’ve been waiting a long time for Anthem to ship their D2 processor, and that day has finally arrived!

This thing is a beast! Its primary focus is sound quality - you can get lots of the same bells and whistles in their AVM line of processors. But man these features are nice! Take a look. It’s got four HDMI inputs, video transcoding to component and HDMI outputs, a scaler that supports up to 1080p resolution, aspect ratio conversion, and more.

If I had the money to buy any processor I wanted, my choice would be between this one and Lexicon’s MC12B.

Anthem’s Statement D2 Surround Sound Preamp/Processor Now Shipping

Surprise surprise. Bowing to public pressure, or trying to milk the same cow for the umpteenth time (whatever way you want to look at it), LucasFilm is releasing another version of the Star Wars Trilogy come September.

But this time it’s a little different. Remember how Lucas said that the original trilogy was dead (or somesuch) and that it would never see the light of day? Apparently he changed his mind:

The new two-disc sets of Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI—Return of the Jedi feature both the original and remastered film versions.

Each street Sept. 12 (prebook Aug. 16) from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment priced at $29.98 apiece and will be available only until Dec. 31.

I’m a big Star Wars fan, so I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I don’t mind that George Lucas wanted to spruce up the special effects when he released the new “improved version”. But I don’t like how he fundamentally changed Han Solo’s character by not making him shoot first. I think, though, that the latter outweighs the former, and that I’ll get the original trilogy on DVD. I only wonder if an HD DVD or BD version will be in the offing, because I don’t want to buy it yet again. My only real problem is that the original movies will be in Dolby Surround 2.0. It’s true to the theatrical release, of course, but an improved soundtrack would have been nice as an option.

Original Stars Wars return

I’ve always liked NHT speakers, and here they go and create even more speakers for me to admire. They’re called NHT’s Classic line of speakers, and they have a gloss-black finish. They are priced from $200 to $1800 per pair.

But in redesigning its Super Audio speaker line, the company went for more than just good looks by tailoring the speakers’ sound for home theaters. Baffles are twice as thick to reduce cabinet vibrations, which can distort sound. Plus, the line has more three-way models, helping the speakers handle everything a movie soundtrack throws at them.

From what I know, NHT have always been known for their detailed sound. So if you’re constantly saying “what’d he say” during a movie, maybe NHT should be on your audition list. Hey, that sounds like me!

New Product: NHT Classic Speakers