Ignorance Is Bliss!
Dear Gary: Boy am I bowled over—you guys are just over the hill in Temecula—too wild. Our dream home will be built with a true home theatre in a long, narrow room over the garage (about 19x36 feet). Would you have some idea where I would start to look for information on how best to set up a good surround system, before I start to build? I'm thinking Consumer Reports (hubby’s favorite source)—but I’ll also need installation advice, before my walls go up, preferably. You actually have Widescreen Review wear? I feel like an ostrich! If something is Dolby Digital, does that necessarily mean 5.1? I was told “yes” by a Best Buy gal last night, but I don’t think that’s entirely true. My CD player plays digital but it doesn’t have that low frequency bass separation capability. [.1 LFE] I’m also wondering how important it is for regular CDs to have to be played through a 5.1—gotta-sit-in-the-sweet-spot system—when I’m always doing something else? I never just sit and listen. If I do purchase Best Buy’s Sony DVP CX 850D it just says “5 full-range sound channels” (not 5.1?). It has a 200 CD (or DVD) changer. Would I fill that with DVDs? Should I just get a 300 CD changer for all our CDs? I am SO confused! Talk about “ignorance is bliss!,” I feel like the more I learn, the more confused I get.
Nanette, Fallbrook, California
Editor Gary Reber Comments:
I don’t think you will get much help from Consumer Reports. We have numerous back issues, particularly Issue 15, which deals with setting up a home theatre. I knew that the level of salesfloor competence is bad but this is shameful. First, Dolby® Digital is a digital codec technically known as AC-3®. That means that it can be mono, stereo, matrix 4-channel surround or discrete (4.0, 4.1, 5.0 or 5.1 channels). You will need to read the credits on the DVD releases to find out what the soundtrack format is for a particular title or check our magazine or interactive DVD Movie Guide database on our Web site at www.WidescreenReview.com CDs are strictly mono or stereo, no multichannel output, unless a CD is released in Dolby Surround, which is matrix 4-channel surround, not discrete multichannel. Only DTS® CDs are discrete multichannel, either 4.0, 4.1, 5.0 or 5.1 channels. You’ll need a CD player with a digital output and a DTS Digital Surround™ processor, available as a feature on most current receivers, to decode these CDs. They sound terrific. By year’s end you should be able to purchase new DVD Universal players which play both conventional DVD-Video discs and the new DVD-Audio discs. DVD-Audio is a high fidelity format for playing multichannel music. These new players, of course, will play your conventional CDs and DTS CDs. If are considering the choice between a DVD or CD changer, buy the DVD changer. It will play all your CDs as well as DTS CDs. Finally, I only sit in the sweet spot when I went to do serious listening. Often I just have the system playing music while I do other things.
You can E-mail Widescreen Review @ mailto:editorgary@widescreenreview.com