How many households have HT sound systems? (1 Viewer)

[Ken.L]

I'm somewhat suprised that most of the households I'm familiar with don't have a HT sound system. This includes friends, relatives and all the houses that I clean in (I have a carpet cleaning business). Two households have an AVR
but only have the two main speakers. I'm going to talk to the man of the house in these two cases soon and find out why the rest of the surround speakers are missing. Another two have bought a nice Sony tv but don't think they need a HT sound system. I'm trying to get them over to hear mine asap. Maybe then they'll know what they're missing and get one.
Is HT sound systems not mainstream yet? Has the majority of the population never watched a dvd on a tv with a HT sound system?
What is everyone's experience with this? Do most of the people you know have a HT system and I'm the minority here?

 

[Sami Kallio]

I think most families (I'm tempted to say women, which I just did) don't like the idea of having speakers and wires around the room. Setting up 2 speakers next to the TV is convenient and doesn't require any sacrifice on the rooms layout, or special arrangements to fit the speakers into it.

 

[Mike SJ]

Women and wires dont usually mix

 

[Brent_j]

CLASSIC!!! How true, I have some exposed wire for our HT and it drives the wife nuts!

All that whining for my sonic nirvana...... ohhhhhh yea.

Brent.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Yeah, The only people I know ith surround sound systems are myself and my brother. My friend with the 750+ DVD collection, and his other friend the independant film maker both listen to movies through the TV speakers.

They, and I'm sure most people, just don't care about surround sound.

 

[Erik.Ha]

My best friend is a film sound editor. He REFUSES to listen to TV through the TV speaker ( ) but does not have the surround speakers or subwoofer ( ) and only has a prologic receiever.

 

[Tyler Cookson]

Ha, I sell home theater (the crappy Home theater in a box systems at ccity) and the main thing is they just dont like the wires. I have been asked numerous times if we have a completely wireless surround sound system. The other one is the price. some people think its not important for the price you pay. hence HTIAB

 

[John Garcia]

You asked this question in the wrong place if you want an honest representation, since this board is dedicated to A/V enthusiasts, which means you are not going to hear from the vast community out there who do not have HT systems. That's like asking how many own a car on a car enthusiast forum...

I do think that the trend in just the last few years has been towards nicer home theaters (most not dedicated theaters), but I'd say that the majority of people out there do not have full surround setups. Of those that do, probably the glaring majority of them have spent less than $1500 on their entire system, not including dislpay or furniture. I've been evolving my HT and music systems for well over 12 years, and wouldn't have it any other way.

Of all the people I know, most are interested in HT, and most have only very basic systems, and only a very, very few have nice systems.

 

[Mike SJ]

My friend was jealous of my 5.1 and my 10' screen (I had a projector) So he went out and bought a 63" Misti and an HTIB made by Pioneer. Seems like a good first step right?

Check this out: His sub sits behind his TV so you cannot see it, but because his fiance doesnt like wires, he has all
5 little POS HTIB speakers on top of his TV. And he sets the sound to surround. I laugh and I laugh and I laugh. What sucks is that Ill probably end up getting them nice equip for their wedding and theyll still treat it the same. Although I have to be nice to him, hes got over 400 dvd movies and I own NO dvd movies.

 

[Nathan Porteous]

One of the guys i work with has no idea about ht but he knows he wants one, he figures he needs the best of everything but knows nothing about any peice of equipment that he wants. I try to steer him clear of bose and he is going with anthem pre/pro and rotel amp and paradigm sig all around and paid $700 just to have the place come in and hide all the wires. Talk about having too much money.
Damb I wish I had too much money

 

[WendyS]

EHHHHH HMMMMM???????

True......I hate the wires all over the place but it's the price you gotta pay!

I don't know anyone else with a HT......well unless you call a 300.00 box full of RCA junk a home theatre! LOL

I'm not even so much into the HT stuff. I rarely ever watch a movie other than concert DVD's. Music is my thing.

 

[Stephen Bort]

First of all, yep, wires. Retrofitting a house with wiring can be a real pain. And most houses they're building will allow you to pre-wire, but they're using lamp cord and end up putting the speakers in the worst places (surrounds are for the side, not the rear!) And with most speakers being black, they don't exactly fit in with the white walls of America.

Nextly, now that HTIB is catching on, you might see more people upgrading...but then again, they auditioned their HT at best buy with twelve other systems blaring right next to them, and they saw the $299 price tag and said "wow, listen to that boom. I'll take it!"

Finally, and honestly, it's still too confusing. When most people are out shopping for HT, they are bombarded with a dozen terms they're never heard before. We're talking about the average person who hasn't done much beyond sticking the $20 boombox in the kitchen corner next to the toaster. Most people are still confused by the TV/VCR button. People don't want to research and, even though they may want better sound, they'll just stick with TV speakers if it means they have to learn much more. Heck, I just helped my friend set up his big screen and the manual did nothing to explain animorphic. If it wasn't for me, he'd still be watching it in zoom and getting VHS resolution from a DVD.

Finally again, some people just don't care. I've got an engineer friend who runs the sound system at church, so he's a real techie. At home he's got a 27" Sony and no surround. I guess it sounds good compared to church. Like when I go in to buy tires for my car, some people just don't care.

And of the people whose houses I got to? Many have nothing, one has a $600 HTIB, another a $400 HTIB, another a DPL antique, another AC-3...most of these were bought after they heard my setup and wanted HT but didn't want to drop $5000 like I (and one other friend)

 

[Nathan Stohler]

Mike,

That reminds me of a show I saw Sunday night. It was some "extreme makeover" show where they completely redid this lady's home. They "installed" a HTIB in one room, and all the speakers (even the "bass module") were sitting in a nice row on top of the TV.

It boggles the mind...I guess I could give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they left it there temporarily for the homeowner to position to her liking.

 

[Steve Adams]

I dunno, I have 3 HT Systems in my house alone!

main theater,
Recreation Room,
Master Bedroom

 

[Mike SJ]

Wendy,

I did say USUALLY

PS - I only own concert dvd's no movies.

 

[ChrisHeflen]

My favorite is when people spend all this money on a giant tv. Then they want "surround sound" but they don't want speakers cluttering up the room It looks dumb they say. I'm like, you have a giant monolith that takes up a whole wall and you think the speakers are what makes it look dumb?
And this; "this is how much the tv you want costs", "ok we'll take it". "This is how much the "surround sound" costs", "No way that's too much".
I also love when they come to me for advice and they hear how much it might take and then they go that's too much. Yet they'll plunk down a grand on a new exhaust to make their truck sound better (from the outside).

I guess it's all relative to each person.
I guess my hobby isn't everybody elses' hobby.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

No no no... the $1000 buys the BORLA sticker on the windshield. The exhaust itself is free. Cars & trucks are only as good as the performance-part product logos on the rear window (or so I learn at car shows).

 

[Eric Eash]

^^^that's funny and true at the same time. it all comes down to what people spend there money on. HT is a hobby, just like hooking up your truck. most people don't have the money to do more than one hobby seriously, but i think in the next few years, HT will become more mainstream. i think when FP makes it mainstream, the rest of the HT components will too. most people i know have a huge TV with a HTIB or worse, b0se. on top of that, they think all HT components are the same, that plasma has the best PQ, that the smallest speakers are just as good, and recently when i bought a denon 2900 dvd player and told a few of them it cost me $700, they couldn't understand why i would pay over $89 for a dvd player. but once i get them to the house and show them my HT, they start to believe.

eric

 

[ChrisWiggles]

You mean there are people out there who DONT have a dedicated, windowless, flat black, acoustically designed room with a 200 pound CRT projector mounted on the ceiling!!!??!?!

Incredible!

 

[Bill Cowmeadow]

My wife was never a fan of the wiring and speaker placement in our HT. Then we went on a mini HT tour in LA hosted by another member here. After DTS, 5.1 and chase studio tours, she is as hooked as I always was. The biggest impression of the tour for her was sitting at the mixing board with Gary Lux listening to the Big Phat Band blasting from his board at full reference volume. That was enough to convert anyone.

If you have a chance to tour any of those places, take the wife along.

Bill