NWR: Hi Fi Home Theatre

[Paradox]

Hi Gavin,

Good reviews (and quite a few Aussies there too) at:
http://www.audioenz.co.nz/
The reviews are really helpful and the forums are a good place to ask questions.

For entry into home theatre I would suggest a middle range Denon or Yamaha (RXV650-1500) amp. The Denon 1905 is a great little amp, as are its bigger brothers. But that area of the market is pretty competitive, and most of the name products are very good these days so go for where you can get the best deal.

The best value DVD player at the moment is the Pioneer 676, which also plays dvd-audio and SACD.

With regards speakers, the critical bit is to make sure the centre matches the fronts (most non-audiophiles don't notice/worry about mismatched rears - they sound fine). If you have old speakers use those as rears initially, and get 3 new matched speakers at the front, and add matched rears at a later date. You can even just buy the fronts to begin with, but phantom centre mode can be a bit dodgy, and you need to make sure you will be able to get the same model centre if you buy it later.

A sub may be unnecessary for music but is heaps of fun with movies, and really adds to the experience. Most subs can be easily integrated with any other speaker range.

Lastly, trust your ears! Take some music you know well along to a decent dealer and buy the one that sounds best in stereo. If it sounds ok with 2-channel music, it will be fine with movies (don't make buying decisons listening to receivers/systems in 5.1 mode, there's too much going - distracts you from the actual sound quality)

Rob

[Guest]

For those of you interested in home theatre the following might be of interest, its the biggest forum on the subject I have come across:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/

[PaulSheldon]

Sorry, that last post was me.

[mphatic]

I'd recommend a pair of floor standing speakers at the front - they look tidier and tend to have lower bass response.

Absolutely. Especially for good stereo sound. Little stand-mounts (expensive B&W 800series and JMLab Utopia's aside) just don't cut it.

That's particularly important if you're not getting an active sub for a while, and bass is directional, whatever they say.

That's because a $2000pair of KEFs are probably down 3dB or more at around 45Hz. That's not 'real' bass. Real base is in the 20-30Hz range with minimal distortion, and in this case directionality is less important. When you start spending more than $5000 on a sub alone to get lower than 20Hz, the directionality problem is lessened again.

Personally I wouldn't spend much on the rear speakers at all, though I can hear the HT fans gasping now.

I agree here. Though I would stress that they should share the same timbre. Go cheaper definitely, but try to stick with the same manufacturer as the fronts.