Home Theatre

Introduction:

I just blew a wad of cash on my home theatre system. I figured it would pay off eventually if I stopped going out to movies. I did my best to find the best deals that I could. I bought some used equipment, and some new. But the outcome was the same... A great sounding system that makes me smile, and it makes my distant neighbor angry.

Overview:

Bi-Polars
Definitive

Definitive BP-10: My 5 speaker system is made up of fabulous Definitive Technlogies speakers. When I went speaker shopping, I really didn't even know what bi-polars sounded like. I found them superior sounding in the home theatre setting. Now don't get me wrong, traditional front radiating speakers sound superb for movies; I just think that front radiating speakers sound better for music and that bi-polars sound better for a theatrical sound.

I chose the BP-10's over the other bi-polars because they happened to be on sale. I guess they were trying to get rid of their oak cabinet speakers. I bought these at Bjorn's in San Antonio.

Unfortunately, I don't have a separate picture of just the BP-10 yet, so here is the entire bi-polar family from Definitive Technology.

C/R/L 1000 Definitive C/R/L 1000: The C/R/L 1000 makes a fine center channel. It matched the timbre of the rest of the speaker set so it was an easy choice once I found the left and right speakers that I wanted. The C/R/L stands for Center/Right/Left, because this unique speaker can be used as any of those channels, assuming you have a matched set. This speaker can be positioned horizontally or vertically, as shown in the picture to the right. One of the drivers in the speaker had a shielding problem. I suspect that it was thrown around during shipment. The great thing is that Definitive Technology took care of the problem by sending me a new driver to snap in place. It was all fixed up within a matter of days after receiving the speaker. Yet another great reason to stick with a smaller speaker company.
BP-2 Definitive BP-2: There's really not much to say about these surround speakers. They sound great. Unfortunately, my room doesn't allow for optimal placing of these bad boys. I chose the white version so they didn't stick out visually from my white walls. Although, sometimes I wish I had the black ones so I could see them and not hit my head!
Cabling these puppies was a big pain. But it's the same way with every surround. I chose Monster THX® Certified Surround Cable (S16-2R-CL). This cable can be found at your local Home Depot. (yes Home Depot!) I ended up running 40 ft to each speaker. Hanging from the ceiling with little hooks stabbed into the drywall. It may not be the best cable for the job, but it's better than Ripoff Shack stuff, and the best I could get for that kind of money.
PS-1200 Paradigm PS-1200: The subfoofer. Nothing too special about this one. It's a rear firing sub. 130 watts, 12" driver. It sounds excellent in my room. I'm not sure how I lived without it for so long.
KV-32XBR45 Sony KV-32XBR45: One word: WOW! This TV is simply amazing. 32 inches of pure power. I hadn't planned on getting this nice of a TV, but after getting all my other pieces to my theatre, this was the only thing left to buy to finish the system. I had to get a simular excellent TV to go with my excellent speakers, receiver, and VCR. This TV is incredible. I have not been disappointed with the picture quality. It's got features coming out of it's seams. It has a two-tuner PIP, with infared audio shooting to cordless headphones. This allows for two people to watch two completely separate shows.

The stand, shown below the TV, is sold separately. I chose that stand for lack of finding a better one. The stand is specially made for this TV. It contains foot slots so the TV can't slide around on the stand. It also has a belt-like cable on the back that clips on to the back of the TV to prevent the front-heavy tube from tipping forward. The shelving has enough room for my VCR and for a few VCR tapes. Unfortunately, it doesn't have enough room for my laserdisc collection.

RX-V990 Yamaha RX-V990: I was told this was the top selling brand and model on the market at the time. I have no doubt why. This receiver does everything I wanted, and in just the way I wanted it done. An extra special feature is the learning remote control. You just don't find learning remotes very often, and never packaged with a piece of equipment! The image is actually the RX-V890, which was the model before the 990. The only difference between the 890 and the 990 is that the 990 has AC-3 inputs. The 990 also has a black remote control instead of a dark gray one.
DDP-1
 Dolby Digital AC-3-1 Yamaha DDP-1: This is my Dolby® Digital AC-3 processor. I got this used from someone trying to a buy a unit that was designed for his receiver. We both made out, because this Yamaha DDP-1 was made for my Yamaha RX-V990. For those that don't know, the DDP-1 is an AC-3 processor. It takes input from an AC-3 device such as a LaserDisc player. It processes the data and outputs 5 separate outputs to a AC-3 ready receiver, such as my RX-V990.
Pioneer CLD-D704
 Pioneer CLD-D704: This is the pride of my collection. I did a lot of research on Laserdisc players and I decided this was the one to get. It had all the features that I wanted. So I set out to find the lowest price. Well, I found the lowest price at Camera World... Only problem was that they were out of stock. They don't even advertise them anymore. I had them back order one for me. I waited two months, and still nothing, so I decided I'd keep searching. It turns out that the 704 has just been out of make and Pioneer wasn't planning on making a 705. I called a million different places, only to hear a variety of different reasons for them being out of stock. I was getting desparate for a LD player at this point and almost bought a cheap Marantz player. I was even willing to spend a few hundred more to get the Pioneer Elite-79 model. I couldn't find that one either. Just before I was going to call and order a piece of junk player, I found one more ad on the web from All Brands Electronics. I decided to call them up (as I had hundreds of other mail order stores). They actually HAD a few in stock. I was stunned and didn't bother bargaining them down. $850 to my door step. I was relieved.

The 704 is the king of all players. It's better than most of the expensive Pioneer Elite series, except maybe the newest model of the $2000 CLD-9x series. It has superior video digital noice reduction for the finest quality image. It has digital effects, so I can pause the image of all disc formats (even CLV). It of course has the AC-3 RF output for my AC-3 processor to take care of. I would higly recommend you purchase this puppy if you can find one. Best of luck to you. Read this review if you are still intrigued: OneCall Pioneer CLD-D704 review

JVC HR-S6700U
 JVC HR-S6700U: An oldie but a goodie. This VCR is the only thing that makes video tape technology worth bothering with in a home theatre. I did a lot of research and found many references to the JVC 6700. I found out that 3 years ago, JVC made the 6700. Since then, JVC has used cheaper parts that created inferior high-end products. JVC is the leader in SVHS technology, and if they can't do it right, nobody can. I found someone selling a used 6700, and I jumped on the oppurtunity. It has S-Video inputs and outputs, flying erase heads, high quality video editing functions, and EXCELLENT quality video and sound. The only bad things I've found about it is that you have to hit the timer button to turn on the timer. It doesn't automatically turn the timer on when you power it off. I have solved this by programming my Yamaha learning remote to hit the "timer & power" buttons everytime I hit the VCR button on it. This takes care of things, and makes it act like a newer VCR. The only other problem I have with it is that it only has a capicitor backup that keeps it's programming for a maximum of 2 minutes when the power is out. I have solved this by keeping it on a UPS. I suggest everyone have their expensive home electronics on UPS's. UPS's are inexpensive compared the the lightening damage that can be done to electronics.
Any comments or questions, PLEASE email me!
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