Is the home theater craze over or what?

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.
I agree. I much prefer my multichannel SACDs and blu-ray concert videos where side and back channels are used for ambience. I have a SACD of the organ at Norte Dame. When compared to the stereo layer, the added ambience of the multichannel presentation is startling in a good way.

DSOTM was done well in multichannel, Hotel California not so much.
 
That's true I guess, but most people on this forum have no qualms about buying quality used gear.

Sure it makes sense a lot of times. Sometimes it doesn't, at least to me. Like, I wouldn't buy (for example) an older Oppo blu ray player just to use as a transport. To me any of the much cheaper new Sony or Samsung wifi players will do an equally good job, they just don't have any analog outs. And you get netflix and other streaming video support which is nice.

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.

Nice. I don't know that much about Anthem - I just looked them up and saw Crutchfield was asking $2500 for a 31 lb 7.2 reciever, which seemed questionable to me, given that my $450 Yamaha had an almost equivalent feature set and is only 5 pounds lighter.

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.

Yep. I know that firsthand (having a RX-V779) and found out the hard way. Went through all kinds of troubleshooting thinking cables etc. were bad before I figured it out. I was trying to connect a Nintendo Wii (only source I have that isn't native HDMI) and wound up buying a Wii to HDMI dongle for it. Maybe it loses a tad of quality but I didn't notice anything and it saves a lot of hassle when changing inputs.
 
Sometimes I buy Oscar Meyer pre-cooked bacon for the burgers I grill. 1 minute in the microwave is all a couple of slices need.
 
Don't knock it unless you've tried it. I also buy regular un-cooked OM bacon. It has a unique taste that I happen to be quite fond of. The pre-cooked tastes exactly the same as the uncooked. I don't particularly like and don't purchase any other OM products.
 
Don't knock it unless you've tried it. I also buy regular un-cooked OM bacon. It has a unique taste that I happen to be quite fond of. The pre-cooked tastes exactly the same as the uncooked. I don't particularly like and don't purchase any other OM products.

OM?
 
Yes... context says Oscar Meyer. I don't buy anything Oscar Meyer. I like the thick cut applewood smoked bacon that comes in a slab shape. I forget the brand. I make a whole package in the oven on two 1/2 sheets. It's the only way to make bacon. THE ONLY WAY. :rant:
 
For what it's worth, I own one 5.1 audio recording, "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" by The Flaming Lips. The first time I listened to it was unforgettable. Music in 5.1 is amazing. Ignoring it as a medium is short-sighted and a terrible loss on the part of the non-listener.

Also bacon or whatever. :beatnik:
 
Bacon cooked in the oven!:eek:
Oh no!
It doesn't get crispity crunchity that way.:D

BTW, I have no problem with music in 5.1. I just have no desire to be surrounded by the band. Give me some ambience and hall sound and I'm good to go.
 
For what it's worth, I own one 5.1 audio recording, "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" by The Flaming Lips. The first time I listened to it was unforgettable. Music in 5.1 is amazing. Ignoring it as a medium is short-sighted and a terrible loss on the part of the non-listener.

Totally. No one should ever ignore anything and pass judgement until they hear it for themselves.

Maybe there should be two separate categories for surround music? With and without video? Without an accompanying video presentation or a live album, all bets are off because the artist and producers can pretty much do whatever they want, but if it's a concert video, I prefer the video and audio to match up. You know what would really be neat? If there's a camera on the stage and you get a "Robert Plant's View" (to use a random band) with John Bonham's drums slamming behind your head and the crowd noise in front of you. THAT would be awesome and THAT would be a really effective use of surround that would amaze everyone from elitist snobs (apparently) like me to the MP3 millennials that spend all day listening to music on earbuds.
 
Nope, I want to hear music from the perspective of someone in the audience. I got enough of being surrounded by the band when I was playing music for a living.
 
Bacon cooked in the oven!:eek:
Oh no!
It doesn't get crispity crunchity that way.:D

BTW, I have no problem with music in 5.1. I just have no desire to be surrounded by the band. Give me some ambience and hall sound and I'm good to go.

Take the bacon and place it on a sheet pan. Preheat the oven to however high it goes, "full whack" as the Naked Chef says... then put the sheet pan in the oven and wait 15 20 minutes, keep an eye on it that last 5 minutes. Crispety crunchety bacon (and an entire package of it at that) without all the mess of making it on your stovetop.

Like multichannel music...don't knock it 'till you've tried it! :biggrin:
 
Back
Top Bottom