It's a comin"

This is our second move in 15 years; and by far the most radical. The location? No, we are only moving a couple of doors down. Our concept, or rather our modus operandi  however, will be most refreshing. OK, I’ll be blunt; it will rock the Rockies.

This isn’t to say we will be abandoning our core competencies; they are why we are considered Colorado Springs best electronics store (Colorado Springs Gazette). It’s just that I feel we owe our clients so much more. After all, without them …

Client interuptus; this is why I love my job. While working on this entry, a client came in and asked to see me. He was in earlier in the week to by a pair of speakers (Era Design 4). Like most of our audio clients he brought in his own CDs. He played some Ambrosia, and we commented how much we liked them, even though you don’t hear much (except a couple of cheesy singles, which doesn’t do their style justice) from them . Well, he went out and bought me a copy; it just doesn’t get better than that. And that’s what I mean when I say our clients rule.

I love my clients

Back to the transition; that’s pretty much all I can share, for now anyway. So, as they say, stay tuned, same Bat channel, same Bat time…..

For home theater, it was once a little confusing; everyone had specific ideas where the speakers went, everyone was right, and everyone else was wrong. Of course, everyone’s layouts were different. But as the electronics evolved, formats improved and studios became more involved, we started to see the relevance of speaker placement move to the forefront. Distance from the main seating, angle and height started playing major roles in the systems performance. And with home theater, it helps envelop  and involve the viewer, making it much more satisfying.

At consultations, I look at the room with a simple goal; to make the audio sound the very best it can, and the video to look the very best it can. It may sound simplistic, but people deserve to get the most from their home entertainment investment. And room set up is critical. Have I mentioned how important it is?

A starting point, and a good one at that,  is based on the recommendation from THX; this is for a 7.1 surround set-up.

If this were a 5.1 set up, the back speakers are removed. This is where we see  many of the mistakes in client’s homes; they place the surround speakers in the back (5.1) or, and just as bad in 7.1 configurations, they will place the surround speakers on the side, but too far forward, in front of the listener. They are not side speakers (although they are mounted on the sides) they are surround speakers. Then, for a different perspective, I highly recommend reading the Dolby Labs Home Theater guide; you will notice the speaker placement differs from THX. Still, it has considerable similarities. You can download a free guide by visiting

www.dolby.com/consumer/setup/speaker-setup-guide/index.html

Next up, is the recommendation from Digital Theater Systems, or DTS. Different from THX, similar to Dolby. Our personal preference for the audio format on Blu Ray discs is DTS Master-HD, when it is offered (check the discs back cover). You can find their site at:  www.dts.com

This fits under the stairs

Now you’d think I’d be content with just getting the speakers correctly positioned. Well, it’s important, but it’s not the only thing to consider. Where you place the components needs to be evaluated as well. In many instances, people will just place them in front of the room, usually because the IR remote controls must be line of sight, and we tend to point our remotes towards the TV. But I say nay, nay. The equipment should be hidden; in fact there is no need for it to be in the same room! The problem is the lights emitting from the equipment can be quite distracting. And if we place them in an enclosed cabinet, then there is heat to contend with. Consider the majority of the equipment  doesn’t need to be touched during operation. Cable and satellite we always use remotes, and Blu Ray or DVD s are used for movies, so we load the movie and it’s hands off for the next two hours or so; with multi disc changers, they’re hands off for weeks at a time. And even the new Blu Rays let you rent videos without ever touching a disc, with streaming Netflix, Amazon, and other services.  So that big honkin’ entertainment center can be slimmed down to a sleek TV mounted on the wall, and speakers properly placed for a clean wires and components hidden look.

I recommend placing the components in your mechanical room, a closet, underneath the stairs or in a separate, less used room. Use a well ventilated rack for access and stability. To operate these “long distance”, a wireless remote such as the Control 4 system. Not only does it let you completely hide your gear, it makes operation easier than you could imagine, at a price that is unbelievably affordable. And if you do have a movie collection, the Control 4 remote control will actually organize you movie collection, so within a matter of seconds you can be watching James Bond or Jane Austin. Centrally locating your equipment will also allow for future expansion, such as whole house music, or High Definition TV anywhere in the house without “component clutter”. It also can be cost effective; instead of purchasing or renting six satellite or cable boxes, you may find you only need two. You could be listening to music in the kitchen, the kids could be watching a movie in the great room, and someone else could watch the news in the bedroom. All because we used our expertise to properly locate the equipment.

As far as the advice given, do attempt this at home. The basic principles will get you started on the road to enhancing your experience.  Of course, we can dramatically improve your listening and viewing enjoyment, having assisted thousands across the nation. And you will have the satisfaction of knowing you’re getting the most from your investment.

My apologies to the Bard; but what is this 3D all about anyway? Some say it is a fad, one of several 3D launches since the ’50s. Others believe it to be the electronic industry’s salvation after years of price erosion and diminishing profit margins. I am somewhat in the middle. Although we will provide many of our clients with 46″-60″ diagonal 3D ready flat panels from Sony, Samsung, LG and others, I truly believe the real experience will come from front projectors, especially the Sony’s. 3D takes on a whole new dimension (pardon the pun) on screens larger than 80″. And without quality surround sound, it lacks (another pun) depth.

We ask our clients to look at the big picture (OK, enough with the puns). To do 3D in a way that offers the greatest overall experience, they should take into consideration many of the finer details.

First to weigh in is obviously the TV itself. But then you will need a 3D capable source, such as a 3D Blu ray player, like the Sony BDP S570. Now this is 3D ready; it currently requires a forthcoming firmware update. Next, an HDMI 1.4 version interconnect. You will then need to purchase a set of 3D glasses for everyone planning to watch the movies with you. If you are planning on going through a surround sound receiver, it too will need to be 3D capable, such as the Yamaha RX-V567 ($480.00) scheduled to ship any day now.

Then there are the actual movies. Surprising many in the industry, the 3D blockbuster Avatar was released, get this, in non-3D. Missed opportunity, or marketing ploy? It is forecasted we will see this really start to gel late summer or  early fall; but then what? Well, I for one do hope for success. I would love to see a re-release of 1954’s Creature from the Black Lagoon (I am a sucker for the classic Universal monsters) which was shown in theaters in 3D way back when. And the LCD glasses for today’s 3D are certainly a major improvement over the red lens/blue lens glasses of yore. By the way; the first 3D movie? 1922’s The Power of Love. Like they say, nothing new here.

One caveat. While the effects of long term viewing of 3D has yet to be determined, did anyone anticipate the “rainbow effect” of single chip DLP video displays which approximately 10% of DLP TV viewers experience? A two hour movie once in a while would be no issue for most I would imagine, but a 4 hour football game two or three times a week? Probably not my cup of java. But that’s not stopping the planned ESPN3D soon to be launched. It might just be a success.

The next generation of 3D is said to be viewed without glasses. And boy, does it have a fancy-pants name;  autostereoscopic 3D . But, until then….

My first high end stereo wasn’t the belly button variety, you know, everybody’s got one. Those were the Pioneer with Advent speakers; all my friends had that set up. No, I wanted what I wanted. What truly sounded good to me. I loved music and the system had to reflect that. My first system was a Yamaha receiver      

And not just because they were made in Oklahoma...

The turntable, OK a Gerrard, was adequate. But this system still sang in the most beautiful way. My journey had indeed commenced.

Fast forward to a new millennium. Music is “enjoyed” in compressed, limited range digital formats; mp3’s, ACC, and even streamed. But can it still excite? For some it’s not about the quality, but the quantity;  iPod’s having 75,000 songs for some, is the height of their experience. But storage is becoming less expensive every day;  we can now get a terabyte for less than 100 megs cost a few years ago! New (and not so new) lossless formats let us maintain the integrity of the music, and inexpensive data storage means we can, if we choose, have our cake and eat it too. Lot’s of music with the best possible playback performance.

And this is where the fun begins. Some of us are out growing our ear plugs, longing for something much better. And boy, can we have it. First, I recommend using he highest bit rates possible or formats such as FLAC, Apple Lossless, or MPEG-4 ALS, as these will make downloaded or recorded music sound its’ best.  Then, look long and hard at your stereo gear. Sony, with the  STR-DA1500ES offers a wonderful two channel stereo receiver (I know, redundant). This is extremely musical, has an unbelievable 5 year factory warranty; with a digital media port, you can easily add a Sony iPod dock.  Dock and receiver? Under $500. Then choose a pair of speakers to compliment the receiver on one hand, and that give you pleasure on the other. For warm, rich and inexpensive, the PSB Alpha’s are tremendous value at under $300.00 a pair! Stepping up, the ERA Design 5s or the Usher  S-520, and the new kid in town, the Episode 700 Series bookshelf; great sound, excellent value, and a lifetime warranty.

Well hello there...

While the Episode’s high gloss piano black finish doesn’t lend itself well to the theaters’ with very large (84″ and above) screens because of mirror like reflectivity, as a set of two channel music speakers, or flanking a gloss black flat panel TV they are superb.

Beyond the bookshelf recommendations we get into  floor standing tower speakers; but that is a story we’ll visit later, as well as explore separate components, or separates as they are called.

Once you’ve chosen the perfect music system, proper placement is key. I believe getting the most out of your investment requires tuning, much like a high performance car (without the insurance!). I love going into my clients homes and setting up a system; of course home theater set up is critical, but we want our music to sound good too. Sometimes we have rooms tailor made for optimum musical performance. But most of the times not. So how we set up a two channel system requires every bit as much skill as even the most elaborate home theater. But don’t let that spook you; it doesn’t have to be a chore, or expensive. It just needs to be done right.

The right system, set up properly, can even make streaming music, such as Rhapsody or Pandora, sound incredibly better.  I am having a blast listening to the Surf channel (very Quentin Tarantino) via Rhapsody on an inexpensive Peachtree Audio Decco integrated amp, powering a pair of  equally inexpensive Episode 500 series book shelf speakers. Unlike their big brothers the 700 Series, these could certainly benefit from a small and musically tight subwoofer for the lower depths. But this is streaming music, and it still sounds awesome! I’ll be blowing out the Peachtree very soon, and I will be replacing it with the more powerful Sony receiver. This will be a much less expensive solution, with a little more forward sound; the Peachtree after all has a vacuum tube (wonderfully old school) front end. The Sony ES (and I stress ES) however is very much an audiophile level performer.  But that’s why I own the toy store; so I can keep on playing.

The king is dead...

I may sound biased, but this was an opinion shared by every legitimate critic and reviewer in this industry; every magazine and online resource touted it’s superiority. Yes, this unsurpassed quality came with a steep price tag, but well worth it, as nothing came close.  But these economic times are indeed tough; Pioneer will cease production of these wonderful TV’s to focus on their audio line. My analogy to that is if Mercedes decided one day to stop making cars to focus on front end loaders. Regular Pioneer audio is value-centric, and the Elite line of receivers and Blu Ray players is very good. But it was truly their video that shined. The Sony XBR series strives for that perfection, and is half the price; so at least we will still be able to offer what is now considered the best in video.  But for those with unlimited budgets, there is much to be said for the Elites.

Pioneer had decided to take the very high end approach with their Elite line by introducing a $7,000.00 receiver, unfortunately ill-timed for this economy. And many critics believe at that price point you would be better off with separate components (a pre-amplifier processor paired with a dedicated amplifier), for less money. In our market, this high end receiver just wasn’t feasible; and I suspect, from the numbers sold, few markets were able to support this approach.Now, Pioneer has released to the public their decision to eliminate the Premier line, which is their version of Elite for cars. While a letter from Pioneer has assured their dealers that for now, Elite is here to stay, there is growing concern.  I do hope for the best. But unlike Yamaha, which has pianos, motorcycles and musical instruments to keep them going, or Sony, with cameras, TVs, computers and accessories, Pioneer is an audio company. Period. So their survival will be an uphill battle, to say the least. No one really expected Kenwood to leave the home audio market, but they did.

This will be the first time in 15 years I will not be renewing my dealer agreement with Pioneer, because at the end of the day, we must serve our client’s best interests.  For now, we will take a wait and see approach (ever the optimist, I am). And although Sony ES (Sony’s version of Elite)is our go to line for audio, I will miss Pioneer’s presence in our showroom. For their innovation, their support of the high end home theater enthusiast, and performance, I raise my glass.

I

Movie lover's dream

The first thing you may notice, is the rather odd looking long vertical device on the far right, That my friends, is a planar, or ribbon tweeter. Not the conventional round dome style we’re used to seeing. The advantage to this design, and one I am especially fond of, is the ability to give crystal clear clarity to dialog. And at the same time, there isn’t the harshness, or “brightness” some would expect, rather a warmer richness that dramatically adds realism to the film’s soundtrack. And of course that means it must do music with equal aplomb. Here’s what Gary Altunian has to say about these speakers in Widescreen Review magazine:

“Overall, I found the Episode loudspeaker system very easy and enjoyable to listen to for long periods of time, with no listening fatigue. The planar magnetic drivers offer outstanding clarity with

Now the rear surrounds are a unique switchable dipole/bipole design. While THX recommends the dipole settings for rears, I prefer bipolar. The difference is with dipole, it’s more diffuse, with a less directional sound. Bipole on the other hand is more directional, a personal preference (must be from being a Mirage dealer)

Bipolar is not just a condition

I’ve had the system in my own home (and, even though they are a tremendous bargain, in my showroom’s flagship theater) for several months, and I can attest to their value, their musicality, and very important to me, their ability to enhance the cinematic experience. There are countless speakers at twice the price that quite frankly can’t hold a candle to the Episodes. Being a Klipsch dealer for many, many years, I can tell you the Episodes keep up with (and in some ways, out perform) the Klipsch THX Ultra II system that was previously in the same showroom theater they now occupy. So, what’s the big deal? The Episodes are less than half the price! Don’t get me wrong; the  THX Ultra II’s are the very best thing Klipsch has done for high-end home theaters in decades. But in today’s economy, we all need to be a little wiser, and factor value in with any purchase. And the Episodes offer the very best home theater experience for thousands and thousands less. And while we represent many speaker lines at Audio Visionaries, I can’t extol their virtues adequately enough. With the Episodes, I can design a complete 7.1 home theater, with a 1080p HD Sony SXRD projector, a 100″ fixed mount screen, a Blu Ray video player or a PS3, a Sony ES surround receiver, and still be less money than the Klipsch speakers alone! So, you could pretty much say we got values. And a system that absolutely ROCKS.

I started here, because of an article on Lee Marvin in Cinema Retro www.cinemaretro.com A wonderful magazine, both in print and online. I had it recorded on my Dish Network DVR  from HDNet Movies. The movie, about a group of mercenaries hired by a wealthy cattle baron (Ralph Bellamy) to rescue his wife (Claudia Cardinale) from Mexican revolutionaries, is just plain fun. From 1966, it holds up very well, mostly to the strong cast.

Next up, and another Robert Ryan, Burt Lancaster starrer, Micheal Winner’s “Lawman”. With a little more age on both these characters (released in ‘71), I found it to be a more somber, and quite possibly a better movie. Now this is the first movie to show off too much of the Mitsubishi’s s crystal clear HD performance. Every time Lee J. Cobb’s character was on the screen, I couldn’t get past his very hairy ears!

Finally, from Comcast and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) Beau Bridges in “The Landlord”. I loved this movie. Released in 1970 and directed by Hal Ashby, “The Landlord” captures the ugly side of bigotry while showing there is hope if we can get past our differences. This was the non-HD offering (SD) and it truly demonstrated the Silicone Optics HQV video processor’s strength in the HC6800. Beautifully up-scaling the SD picture, it certainly wasn’t HD, but it was a noticeable improvement.

Now along with these great movies, I watched football, TV (the X-Files, Millennium and La Femme Nikita on DVD) and live broadcast, both from Comcast and Dish Network. For just south of $2500.00, the Mitsubishi HC6800 is a very good value. But it’s strength lies in watching video (non-film) and sports; film was, well, not very film like. After properly calibrated, it was still  bright and very sharp, but lacked the color purity I strive for. If you are a hardcore movie buff like myself, I strongly recommend spending an extra $500.00 for the Sony VPL-HW15. Maybe it’s from owning studios, but Sony gets film reproduction in all their displays; in spades. But, for the money I still can recommend the HC6800.  And I wholeheartedly recommend all three movies.

To say that I’m blessed would be an understatement; watching your favorite movie on a 102″ diagonal screen with phenomenal audiophile clarity is nothing short of awesome. And to do it everyday, I assure you, it never gets old. I hope through this blog to share my love of movies and music, hints on how to get the very most from your system, or how with our help you can get a theater of your own. In 15 years (and a dozen years before) I have sought out the very best in home theater equipment, acoustics, and design; but, and this is key, the greatest performance while still being affordable; sure everyone has their opinions, and we’re bound to spark discussion on what really is performance.

Currently, I feel the best projectors for the money come from a company known for their outstanding video, Sony. From a sub-$3k  1080p LCoS projector to what our industry critics and reviewers  hail as the finest projector for less than $20k, The VPL  VW85 at less than $8k! Recently I watched the Blu Ray Hi-Def version of Steve McQueen’s “Bullitt” and it was incredible.

So kick back, pour a glass and enjoy…..