What can the average enthusiest do to get A+ HT?


I've read enogh posts over the years, and seen, heard, read about, installed, designed, sold, built, and experienced enough home theaters(including bassic surround systems, dedicated theaters, etc) to want to put the question out to the masses/fellow enthusiests out there. I'm currious to hear some of the more informed/experienced HT junkie's(like myself) input on to what they think they can pass on the the rest of the AV world at large would be, to help everyone truely maximize the Ht experience at home!
I've come to the conclussion from my years of experience around this stuff, that most(better than 99%) don't have a clue as to what they're dealing with, when aspiring to get even remotely approaching world class HT from their set up! Especially people experiencing this for the first, even going at it the second/third times!!!
Is it the gear? Is it the set up?..the acoustics?..the tweeks?...the calibration?...what? And if it's any and all of these things put together, can someone help spell it all out/break it all down in a realateively straight foreward manner, considering the variables people are likely dealing with/encountering (perhaps including budget/space), what options they should thus be considering, and specifics that need to be attacked/approached!?
I'm just currious if people who are serious about getting the best HT possible with-in their means/budgets(even at the ultra expensive and ambitious end) truelly want to know what it takes, and what they can do to get something truely special in their life time in respect to AV!..and that's assuming they want to mostly "go it alone", as opposed to hiring professinoals to do the job. We're talking about "home projects" and set up's here!...just to be clear.
Thanks for any input, commments, info, perspectives, etc.
exertfluffer

Showing 5 responses by unsound

IMHO, forget it. My current thinking is that I won't tackle that project until I can have a more money than the "average enthusiast" has or is willing to spend and can build a custom room from the ground up. The logistical problems and costs for A+ HT are overwhelming.
Brainwater, thanks for your reply. My response was to the quest for A+HT. I have yet to hear a HT system that was less than $70K that I'd want to take home. I'd rather spend less and have a good two or three channel system. I have no aversion to video, quite the contrary. I just think that properly setting up 2 channels is difficult enough and have found even relatively expensive multichannel systems irritatingly distracting. I suspect that the equipment and rooms as we now have them are fundamentaly flawed to such a degree as to make them near well impossible to practicaly implement.
Brainwater, thanks for your well wishes, but, I wouldn't hold your breath.
Sean, those were dealers full list prices. I'm from Brooklyn, we don't don't pay list for anything! Still I find less money spent on 2 channel (I would consider three if stuff like the Mercury recordings catch on) out perform more expensive multi channel systems. I've yet to hear a system with rear channels that weren't an annoying distraction.
Brainwater, I agree that the future may permit the promise multichannel. Perhaps it will be better media, production/engineering, electronics, room correction, omni directional speakers, cabling, cost reductions or all of the above? Let me know when we get there. As of now, I think it's too expensive, fraught with challanges and ultimately dissapointing. It's worse yet for those who try doing it on the cheap with little effort. More often than not (always?) one ends up with a room filled with junk, wasted time and money all to achieve terrible sound. Let me know when we get there.
Sean, are you saying that movie sound engineers are doing a better job than music engineers? Or is it, that when watching video, one is so emersed in the visual presentation that one is less in tune with the audio, and there fore the audio is less critcal?
Slappy, I can understand the reality that both you and Sean bring to point about video soundtrack vs. music playback, but, I don't understand the philosphy. If the recording engineers don't do their job, there is little we can do, to do it for them. If the recording engineers do their job, then our job would still be the same, whether there is video accompaniment or not. The medium is the same, the vehicle is the same, the load is the same and the desired speed is the same. The only difference I can think of is that in HT we now have the additonal challange of coordinating the sonic imaging and soundstage to placement and scale of a constant reference, the videoscape. Or visa versa, either way it seems daunting to me.