August 2001

Theater Profile -- A High-End Home Theater

You can tell right away that Matt Nalbandian really enjoys the results of his carefully chosen home-theater system. His enthusiasm is contagious. It’s no surprise to anyone that the system sounds and looks great, as it was assembled with high-performance as the goal. Matt educated himself through the process of home-theater building and made some great choices with gear selection and set-up. Taking a high-end approach, the system can produce home theater and two-channel music equally well. From the standpoint of Home Theater & Sound, this is a true home-entertainment system, not a one-trick pony.

Building the Nalbandian theater

As most of us know, the selection of components is, at times, an arduous process. Even seasoned veterans can become perplexed with the dizzying array of choices facing them. Knowing this, Matt took his time, and his patience shows in the results. Matt explained, "My goal when building my home theater was to build a perfect system for both music and movies. Basically a hybrid system, audiophile-grade for music, especially in my preferred two-channel mode, and an excellent home-theater environment for movies. Selecting the right components was difficult -- lots of reading and comparing, lots of auditioning, and, most importantly, matching the right components. In today’s margin-conscious market, retailers and dealers are not into providing components to bring home to audition. I make it a point to do that. If that is not possible, at least have an option to return the component for refund or exchange. My component selection was an 18-month process, and I found that the speakers were the components that were upgraded (over what I previously had) the most. My most recent upgrade to the Wilson Audio WATT/Puppy 6es was what I was looking for in both music and movies."

What Matt likes most about home theater

Home theater is an involving hobby for the enthusiast, with many aspects to enjoy. It’s great to see someone that has a true passion for home entertainment in all its forms. According to Matt, "Besides enjoying the best of what the film or music industry has to offer, the joy of entertainment in your own home is certainly up there on my list. With today’s technology, a homeowner can bring the movie-theater experience home and sometimes even surpass it."

Home theater can even become interactive, like when Matt is attempting to squeeze out that last ounce of performance from his system. "I recently got introduced to that phenomenon called tweaks," Matt explained. "I believe when you reach a certain level of audio/video components, any change, be it power cords, power conditioners, or vibration eliminators, has an impact on the sound or picture. I find myself in constant search for that audio/video nirvana. Changing this or that may have a positive effect on the material you are listing too -- sometimes good and sometimes bad, but what fun!"

Exceptional performance

When asked what he finds exceptional in his theater, Matt said, "I believe it is the combination of different components. The component that had the biggest impact was my main two-channel Mark Levinson 336 solid-state amplifier. This was a very tough purchase. When auditioning amps, I looked for a wide field of imaging, almost the 3D effect that some amps can offer. I find that the 336 offers great lows and has enough juice, at 350W, to power any speaker on the market. I also really enjoyed the X350 from Pass Labs. It offered amazing smoothness, almost tube-like sound, and that very sexy blue light!"

What’s next!

We all have the urge to upgrade sooner or later, and Matt is no exception. When asked what he would improve next, he was quick to offer the following: "Although I am very happy with my Toshiba 56" RPTV, my goal is to have a front projector. I have even wired the room for a triggered screen and have provided power for the projector and screen. The projector market is in a tad of a transition, with CRT, LCD, DLP, DILA, and others. We consumers have lots of choices. CRT does offer the best picture, but DLPs are coming on strong. I have decided to wait until the fall to purchase my projector, reason being the recent announcement of the 16:9 DLPs to hit the market. As an HDTV and widescreen buff, I think this is the direction I want to take."

Favorite movies!

As always, the readers of Home Theater & Sound want to know what folks are watching. We all have our most recent favorites. Matt gives us a look at his recent home-theater adventures: "I would have to say that the big-budget movies such as The Patriot and Gladiator have been great, a real theatrical event. However, more and more, I rate movies on the picture, the sound quality, and especially on the transfer. I am amazed that some studios still release movies in non-anamorphic. Anyway, I would think the best movie that I have seen at home has been U571. I mention U571 because it had an incredible DTS soundtrack and the absolute lowest lows I had ever experienced. I call them ‘sub-lows!’"

Multichannel music

As many home-theater enthusiasts are prepared for multichannel music, the subject invariably comes up. Matt has some thoughts: "Right now, like many enthusiasts, I am trying to get my head around the different formats that have popped out. I have heard DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1, SACD and DVD-A. I have to admit the clarity of DVD-A and SACD is breathtaking, but once again, one of these formats will eventually fail, or possibly both."

He doesn’t end there. "There seems to be lots of different styles in engineering circles too that make me wonder. Some engineers depend too much on a ‘gimmicky’ approach to their recordings, especially in DTS or DD music. I am not a fan of ‘channelized’ music. An example of that would be having a balanced sound and all of a sudden having the percussions in the left-rear channel. I guess you can call me a purist; I still prefer an excellently recorded two-channel recording, especially XRCD. However, I have to admit that Alan Parsons’ DTS disc On Air and Buena Vista Social Club in DVD-A are both really well done."

A great experience 

Having a great time is what it is all about. Recalling some fond home-theater memories, Matt said, "I think one of the proudest moments I have experienced with my home theater was when I used to have an HSU Research 10V Subwoofer. This was a beautiful circular sub with a granite top, a sub that really passes the infamous spouse-acceptance factor.

"My wife and I were watching a James Bond movie, one of the more recent Bonds, in DD 5.1. We had positioned the sub beside a chair at the front right of the room. I explained to my wife that this was a double-duty sub as it also acted like a coffee table. We proceeded to place an ashtray, candleholder, etc. on the sub. When the movie started, I really enjoyed the typical ‘thump-thump-thump’ of the machine guns. There was an upcoming scene where Bond launches a missile from a MIG. Anticipation.. .here it comes...Bond launches the missile with an incredible explosion. At that exact moment, the precious stained-glass candleholder flies 3’ off the sub and smashes on the hardwood floor. A moment of terror hits me! I turn to my wife Cindy, thinking that this was it, but to my amazement, she laughed and commented that this new sub was indeed worthy of our system. A few months ago, Cindy actually said the word ‘monoblock’ when I decided to pick up my excellent Mark Levinson 336. Let’s just say that I am a lucky man."

We at Home Theater & Sound wish Matt the best of luck with his sensational home-entertainment system. It’s sure to offer many years of pleasure for him and his wife Cindy. The Nalbandian home theater is the real deal, an excellent example of a high-end home theater!

...Jeff Fritz
jeff@hometheatersound.com

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