Is the home theater craze over or what?

In fairness it would be interesting to compare those $300-$400 Yamaha's and Denon's that you can buy at Best Buy and see how they compare.
 
If you want 1080P you DO need HDMI.

That's not true. I ran 1080p into my 65" DLP TV for years with component cables (red/blue/green) from multiple sources. I don't know if many TVs could do that, but my HP HP MD6550n could no problem. I didn't get an HDMI AV receiver until about 2012 when I had the itch to hear Dolby TrueHD/DTS-MA soundtracks from my blu-ray collection
 
In fairness it would be interesting to compare those $300-$400 Yamaha's and Denon's that you can buy at Best Buy and see how they compare.

I agree. I think you may be surprised.

That's not true. I ran 1080p into my 65" DLP TV for years with component cables (red/blue/green) from multiple sources. I don't know if many TVs could do that, but my HP HP MD6550n could no problem. I didn't get an HDMI AV receiver until about 2012 when I had the itch to hear Dolby TrueHD/DTS-MA soundtracks from my blu-ray collection

Technically it can I guess but almost nothing has component video outs anymore due to piracy concerns. So it's really kind of a moot point.

Did you think the HD blu ray audio was an improvement?
 
I agree. I think you may be surprised.



Technically it can I guess but almost nothing has component video outs anymore due to piracy concerns. So it's really kind of a moot point.

Did you think the HD blu ray audio was an improvement?

That's true I guess, but most people on this forum have no qualms about buying quality used gear.

I think HD Blue-ray audio is an improvement, but like anything it's more noticeable the better your gear is
 
That's true I guess, but most people on this forum have no qualms about buying quality used gear.

I think HD Blue-ray audio is an improvement, but like anything it's more noticeable the better your gear is

Works fine with my 11 year old Integra Pre/Pro I bought used 8 years back ...
(even has Audacity, tho I was not impressed with it's auto choices in our configuration).

The trick is to stay informed, and to buy cutting edge gear that has aged well.
The guy I bought it from took the initial devaluation hit ...
 
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As far as expensive stuff like the Anthems - I'm skeptical, to be honest. When I think of "built like a tank" I think of my old 45 pound Sony. But I guess the days of 40+ pound receivers are gone.

My Anthem pre/pro weighs just short of 30lbs. The insides are clean and neatly laid out. Five power supplies and all that stuff. It is a very nice sounding bit of kit.

Far as I know, they are the only company that promoted hardware upgrade-ability and actually delivered. They made a upgrade kit to add HDMI input and outputs with video scaling and all that. Problem is it was expensive and I think not many people took them up on it as HDMI was starting to become standard equipment at that point. If you simply wanted to upgrade to HDMI you could do it for less with some other brand receiver than the cost of the Anthem upgrade.

My "small system" Yamaha RX-V1700 receiver weighs about 40lbs.

My "big system" is Marantz AV7005 pre/pro. Dated by current standards as it doesn't have ATMOS, HDMI 2.0 w/HDCP 2.2, but it is HDMI, room correction, etc. etc. Presently the HDMI version isn't a problem for me because I'm not doing 4k.

As far as lossless codes, I select them whenever possible because I have the capability. But, if someone asks me or the discussion is opinion about it, my opinion is not worth upgrading just for that. However, today, it's largely unavoidable. You get the capability with pretty much every processor/receiver that's been built for some years now, regardless of price, AFAIK.

My change from the Anthem to the Marantz was primarily of convenience for HDMI as I was tired of the multiple switch kludge of some stuff connected to the TV and some connected to the pre/pro.
 
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My Anthem pre/pro weighs just short of 30lbs. The insides are clean and neatly laid out. Five power supplies and all that stuff. It is a very nice sounding bit of kit.

Far as I know, they are the only company that promoted hardware upgrade-ability and actually delivered. They made a upgrade kit to add HDMI input and outputs with video scaling and all that. Problem is it was expensive and I think not many people took them up on it as HDMI was starting to become standard equipment at that point. If you simply wanted to upgrade to HDMI you could do it for less with some other brand receiver than the cost of the Anthem upgrade.


My change from the Anthem to the Marantz was primarily of convenience for HDMI as I was tired of the multiple switch kludge of some stuff connected to the TV and some connected to the pre/pro.

B&K was pretty good about upgrades until they went belly-up. In fact my Reference 30 and Reference 50 are pretty much identical thanks to the firmware upgrades they made to the 30 (with the exception of the balanced connections on the 50). The 50 isn't a behemoth but it weighs 20 pounds or so, which I guess is more of a welter-weight. And as a pre/pro only I think it's pretty heavy.
 
For those saying music shouldn't be in 5.1, listen to this in 5.1 and prepare to have your socks knocked off:

 
I don't think music shouldn't be in multichannel. I was just complaining about the mixes where the producer places the instruments I am seeing on stage behind me for some inexplicable (chemically enhanced listening is the only reason I can imagine) reason.

When done right, it's a better experience than stereo because it can get pretty darn close to duplicating the venue. . And of course, for "enhanced" listening :) :) :)
 
Had a friend over last night and on a whim, I put on The Beatles-Love DVD-A on the HT system.
This is the 5.1 mashup that the late George Martin and his son did for the Cirque du Soleil Las Vegas show ...
Its been a while since I played it, and I'd forgotten what a lot of fun it is!
Highly recommended surround recording ... and just doesn't work the same when reduced to stereo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_(Beatles_album)
[The wiki article discusses the various tracks and elements mashed in to the 24 tracks of the album]
 
I think you are missing the point, the idea is to put you in the middle of the musicians, not fake but that what they probably are thinking.
As for me, I've yet to ever attend a concert of any type where that is the case. Have you?

I seek realism, not goofy effects.
 
Many Yamaha RX-Vxxx receivers have RGB inputs and output. My BOTL RX-V377 does. Of course this requires a TV with RGB inputs as the RX does not convert RGB to HDMI.
 
Just because one has never sat with the musicians does not mean that somebody might want want to.

The only time I want to be surrounded by musicians is when I'm part of the band. Like E-Stat I have no interest in "goofy effects".
 
Just because one has never sat with the musicians does not mean that somebody might want want to.

I would truly be surprised if there are that many people that would like to sit with the musicians. I'm sure a few people (as in audiophiles) like the idea, but even when I'm at a live event, no, especially when I'm at a live event, I like to sit in front of the band so I can hear the music! So the idea of being surrounded by the band aside from not being the best way to hear a band (IMO, of course) just seems like an obvious gimmick so that Joe and Jane six-pack are AWARE of surround sound technology. My guess is most audiophiles and music lovers want the same thing I do.
 
Really? That's what you got from my comment? Pretty hair trigger on being offended there BB. And putting words in my mouth is also pretty shitty I would say back to you. I said MY GUESS and MY OPINION. How is that talking down to anyone? Maybe you could do with a little lesson in how to express yourself without being intentionally offensive.
 
Really? That's what you got from my comment? Pretty hair trigger on being offended there BB. And putting words in my mouth is also pretty shitty I would say back to you. I said MY GUESS and MY OPINION. How is that talking down to anyone? Maybe you could do with a little lesson in how to express yourself without being intentionally offensive.

LOL Yep that is exactly what I got from your comment. By all means please explain what you meant by the above statement.
 
LOL Yep that is exactly what I got from your comment. By all means please explain what you meant by the above statement.

I don't think putting a spectator on stage at a concert is (IN MY OPINION) the best way to present a music concert, because if you look back at a previous post of mine, I mentioned the Eagles Laser Disc of their concert that had them placed all over the room when they were sitting on a stage in front of me as disconcerting. I and, by the way, every single person I watched it with, was baffled at why they would have thought that was a good way to present the music. I think it's reasonable to agree that the reason was to show off the technology to the average consumer "Joe and Jane Sixpack" (I didn't say "****ING MORON ASSHOLES THAT DONT KNOW SHIT...did I?) which is apparently the way you read it.

The much more subtle and accurate and (IMO) way more involving way to handle the technology is to put me in the best seat in the house and use the surround tech to mimic the reverb of the concert hall.
 
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