Robert_Gaither

I would also recommend that when shopping for any HT gear that you purchase and carry the following:

1) spl meter to match listening levels for fair comparisons.

2) video calibration disc (Video Essentials, Avia, or Ultimate Platinum) to force the processor to process a signal at a given level (some internal test tones are too short and are inaccurate to match levels accurately).

3) very familiar sources (DVDs and CDs) so you can notice if the timbre is being played to your satisfaction.

4) owner's/operater's manual (mostly for pre-amps/AVRs) since many sales staff are usually quite ignorant of the equipments capabilities or even how to calibrate sound levels and adjust speaker sizes. Most of these can be downloaded from the manufacturer's website.

Also when testing equipment do some of the following:

1) Never use a speaker switch box, most switch boxes used by most mass market stores usually has a 4 ohm resistor so the amp never sees a load that can damage a speaker (these switch boxes are usually for home installations and are designed so an amp can drive many speakers without overloading an amp into clipping). These switch boxes can affect the true sound of a speaker and all speakers should be directly wired to the AVR.

2) Compare speakers at matched levels. Pychoaccoustics phenomenon will make speakers that are played at louder levels (or those with peakish responses, not accurate) sound better to the untrained.

3) If you want to compare two speakers directly, connect one speaker to the left front speaker connector, connect the second speaker to the right front speaker connector, turn bass/treble to flat, set the AVR to the following: fronts (large), center (none), rears (small), and sub none; and calibrate levels. Play a disc now in either stereo (not direct since this will disable level matching), DPL, DD, or DTS and this will allow you to judge the vocal, bass, and timbre characteristic of the speakers you want to compare. Invert the front two speakers and repeat above to possibly see if one was reinforced/harmed by room mode.

4) Don't buy from any dealer (brick/mortar, mass market, or online) unless there is a good return policy (get it in writing if at all possibly!). A good dealer is one who is interested in making you happy with your purchase, and a bad dealer is someone not to do business with. Give most items about a week listening time and if doesn't meet your expectation or seem to improve return it.

5) Never buy on the day that you audition (yes, I know it's hard plus some places will bargain with you) let the vibe of testing wear off that day to make certain that it's not an impulse buy. If it still lingers the next day you can buy it then knowing that you're not just settling for something because of initial impression. If a particular gear interests you write down the manufacturer, model number, and price and read online reviews and also check to see what it's competitors are (you might find other gear that you don't even know about that might make you happier).

6) If you have never bought any HT gear, see if you can borrow a quality second room gear from a friend. This will help you maybe get an impression of what type of sound to expect from your own home domain.

7) Quality in this hobby is usually determined by weight and feel. Good amps are usually heavier (bigger/better power supplies) and consume more watts than cheaper gear (look at the back and check the power consumption NOT the power rating spec the manufacturers love to falsely spout). Speakers should feel heavy for their size and knocking on them should produce thud not high pitched or hollow rap (thus holds especially true for any speaker/sub expected to produce bass). Speakers should also have binding posts (for connections to higher quality/lower gauge number thick wires), removeable grills (so you can visually inspect the quality of the drivers), cabinets should look flush/fit/solid (if they cheese on this, could you imagine the parts you can't see?), and towers should have spike mount accessories (check the bottom, this should be engineered into it's basic design and simply lacking this shows that this particular manufacturer might not take accoustic coupling seriously and thus not a well engineered product). Speaker cables should have nice thick wire/jackets and look strong enough to walk your pitbull and not floss your teeth. TV should be brought into the home environment to be tested due to the uncontrolled light settings at most stores.

8) Magazine reviews for the most part should be used to get an idea of a product and visit as many forum sites as you can to get a more honest review of any concerned products. Some reviewers give favorable reviews to help sell ads and stay in good standing with companies with poor products. People at these hobby forum sites are usually far better sources from dealing with setup, reliability, and potential problems of said gear. Final assessment should always be done in the home environment with your own ears after calibrations are made.

9) Often not talked about test the night time, midnight, or DRC (dynamic range compression) processing of your AVR/pre-amp. If you have a spouse, girl friend, children, neighbors (esp apartments), or anyone else that doesn't like the sudden shift from quiet to jump loud then you most likely must test this mode.


If you want to minimize the shopping experience then I would recommend the following:

a) AVR- Outlawaudio 1050 high quality at bargain basement price.

b) speakers- buy close out models from respectable manufacturers (currently if you can find it NHTs are pretty cheap on their Super series).

c) subwoofers- if you already have a decent power amp then buy the SVS otherwise buy either the Adire Shiva RAVA or HSU VTF model if shopping under $500. Also make posts at almost any DIY forums and you might can buy someones completed product at cost (recommend them to send you a photo) since most DIYs almost always want to build another better sub that what they have (we are the ultimate in the "grass is greener on the other side" type of people).

d) TVs (assuming under $500)- most Toshiba's pass most of the video calibration tests with regards to pluge, ability to hold black (power supply), geometry, and color. You will need an ISF technician to adjust grey scale for the best picture possible. HD is nice but unless it's in your area or you're willing to subscribe to satellite service I wouldn't recommend the extra cost and to wait for this feature.

e) DVD players- I'd advise to buy one that has progressive scan (since it's not that much more, and if you end with a HD capable TV you at least have something to use with it) and an user interface that you are comfortable with.

f) interconnects- I'd advise using RG-6 with RF to RCA adapters instead of the more pricier Monsters for coax digital, component video, composite video, and analog audio connections. It maintains 75 ohm resistance which is the standard that is used for these interfaces, cheap, shielded, and definitely capable of bandwidths needed in these formats. If you like check the DIY sites and build your own with canare and belden supplies.

g) speaker wires- buy at least one guage category thicker than what's in your speaker (just simply unscrew and detach either your input wire cup or a driver). This usually will be either 16 or 14 guage since most speakers are usually wired with 16 guage or thinner wire (same with most budget amps and AVRs). Bananas should only be used if it will be hard to install the wire (some speakers require mounting first and wiring second) to either the speaker, amp, or AVR.