| Cinema Cynergy September 2002
Home Theater on a Budget
You have just decided to purchase a
home-theater system, but you don’t have a lot of money to spend. Many of the reviews
that you have read are for systems that cost many thousands of dollars. You don’t
have that much disposable income, and you might not spend that much on a home-theater
system anyway.
While you might think that your choices are limited in the
lower price ranges, if you pick your components wisely and match them carefully in terms
of performance, a very satisfying system can be assembled for only a couple of thousand
dollars or even less.
The most important thing to consider when assembling a
budget system, or any system, is to match the components so that you are getting a similar
level of performance from each of the individual elements. This will optimize the overall
performance of the system. For example, having a very expensive DVD player connected to an
inexpensive "Home Theater in a Box" system does not make much sense, nor does
spending most of your budget on a widescreen television and having very little money left
to spend on the audio portion of your system.
While one excellent component can indeed make an entire
system sound or look better, there is a point of diminishing returns where some of that
money could have been more wisely spent elsewhere in the system. Remember, the key is to
have components of comparable quality that work synergistically as a team.
Televisions
You can’t have a home theater without a television,
but maybe you should bypass those big-screen TVs if you are on a budget. An inexpensive
rear-projection television (RPTV) will invariably be of poor quality. You are much better
off getting a smaller, higher-quality direct-view (tube) television set. There has been a
lot of talk recently about HDTV and digital video, progressive-scan video signals, and
other high-resolution video formats. But remember, we are on a strict budget here. A
good-quality conventional direct-view television will garner excellent performance.
The larger tubes have really come down in price recently,
and there is no reason why you can’t have a great experience with a 27" TV or
something even a little bit smaller if your room is not too large. In fact, you may
already have a television such as this, and you can save some money by using your existing
TV in your new home theater. Nearly every major television manufacturer has good-quality
27" models in the $300 to $400 range that will do nicely for our purposes. Features
such as twin-tuner picture-in-picture and upgraded sound are unnecessary and just add to
the price. Don’t worry if the set doesn’t have component-video inputs (although
many do), since S-video connections can provide nearly as good a picture, and composite
video connections can also be very good, depending on the quality of the implementation of
each of these inputs. You might also consider a 32" direct-view tube, which can be
purchased for an additional $200 or so. Going any larger will add significantly to the
price.
Receivers
Receivers are the obvious choice for cost-effective
home-theater systems, since they combine audio and video switching, surround processing,
volume control, and amplification in a single, convenient package. There are many fine
receivers in the sub-$500 price range. You’d be surprised at how many good-sounding
units are available.
What you typically get for around $500 is a receiver with
5.1 digital processing (Dolby Digital and DTS) with about 50Wpc to 75Wpc, S-video and
composite video switching, a few digital inputs (both coaxial and optical), and most
recently, Dolby Pro Logic II (DPL II). DPL II is the latest incarnation of the
analog-based Dolby Surround decoding algorithm, which does a much better job of spreading
out the front soundstage and making it less center-oriented than traditional Pro Logic
decoding. It also takes some of the front-channel (left and right) information and uses it
to make the surround channels directional. It is indispensable for watching Dolby
Surround-encoded VHS tapes, laserdiscs, or television shows, and although it can be
somewhat program dependent, it also works well with CDs and other stereo music sources.
DVD players
The price of DVD players has dropped dramatically in the
past couple of years, with extremely capable players now available for under $200. These
entry-level players rival some of the best DVD players from only a few years ago in terms
of both picture and sound quality. And while some DVD players function quite well as
standalone CD players, I recommend trying a digital audio connection to the receiver,
which utilizes the receiver’s internal DACs. You’ll get great sound quality and
simplicity, both of which you’ll appreciate.
Nearly any inexpensive DVD player these days will have a
striking picture when played back on a good-quality 27" direct-view television. This
is especially true if it has been calibrated with a test DVD such as AVIA Guide to Home
Theater or Video Essentials.
Speakers
As if assembling the components for a home theater
wasn’t complicated enough, the most expensive part of the system, the speakers, also
offers the most variation in design. It is also the component that will be most influenced
by personal preference. Speakers vary widely in design, size, appearance, sound quality,
and price, so you should consider your options carefully and listen to as many systems as
you can to get a sense of the strengths and weaknesses of each type of speaker before you
purchase.
Small subwoofer/satellite speaker systems offer the
advantage of requiring very little space and can provide a very big sound. The
small satellite speakers usually image very well and produce a large soundstage. Their
main disadvantage is that they cannot play extremely loud. However, when used in small
rooms where space is at a premium, and at playback levels within their limits, sub/sat
systems can sound wonderfully coherent and can provide an intimate home-theater
experience. There are many small sub/sat systems priced below $1000.
You can also assemble a speaker system based on many of the
excellent bookshelf designs that are currently available. They range in price from under
$200 per pair up to approximately $300 per pair. Many manufacturers offer matching
center-channel and surround speakers, but there is no reason why you cannot use the same
bookshelf speakers at all five positions in a surround system. These bookshelf designs
have enough bass to be used as stereo pairs for two-channel music reproduction on their
own, and some of the larger ones could even be used without a subwoofer if you don’t
require extremely deep bass.
If you are looking for a larger speaker system at a budget
price, you might think that you are out of luck, but there are some floorstanding speakers
that you can assemble a home-theater system around and still not break the bank. With the
added bass capabilities of floorstanders, used as the left and right mains, you could easily
get by without a subwoofer. Such a speaker starts in the $800 range, and you still have
the option of adding the subwoofer at a later time. If you use floorstanders as your main
speakers, you will want sizable center and surround speakers to complement them. But, do
not spend more money on improving your mains if it means that you have to compromise by
purchasing smaller, less-expensive center and surround speakers.
VHS?!!!
You probably already own a VCR, but if you are looking for
a new VCR to go along with your home-theater system, make sure that it has stereo sound so
that you can enjoy high-quality sound from rental tapes and anything that you record off
the air. If you record a lot of TV programs and picture quality is of concern to you,
consider getting a machine with S-VHS-ET technology, which will allow you to record at a
higher resolution for better picture quality than standard VHS on regular tapes. S-VHS
Hi-Fi VCRs are available starting at around $200.
What you get for $2000
For around $2000 you can assemble a system that should
provide you with a satisfying home-theater experience. Spend a little bit less, and you
can still have a good system that would be well suited to a smaller room, or will be
sufficient if you don’t require high volume levels. By choosing your components
carefully and matching them so that they are of commensurate quality, you can stretch your
home-theater budget to get excellent performance for your money.
...Roger Kanno
roger@hometheatersound.com |
