18 IPOD MUST-HAVES FOR YOUR HOME FREE

Bonus AVI
Magazine Inside

Home
Theater
www.hometheatermag.com • January 2006

EXCLUSIVE! Star Wars Episode III:

Revenge of the Sith
DVD review inside

HDTVs
>
PIONEER Plasma
Bruce Lee
Ultimate Collection
DVD review inside

>
SONY LCD
>
PHILIPS
Plasma
>
MAXENT LCD

THE GREEN
ISSUE
> How to
Recycle Gear
> Save Money on

Electricity
> What Energy Star

Does for You

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A Tall Order
It was a tall order when Revel engineering was asked to create the most affordable
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 PREVIEW January 2006 VOLUME 13 ISSUE 1

52
features columns
GearWorks: Power!
IT’S iTIME by Geoffrey Morrison
by Adrienne Maxwell
34 How much do LCDs and plasmas

52 The A/V industry has finally

figured out that the iPod is
just too cool to ignore.
really suck?

Hook Me Up: Green Is Good

by Adrienne Maxwell 34
52
Audio Video Interiors 38 Save money, or save the planet?

107 We kick off the new DIY

Home Theater series with
budgeting and planning
advice, how to build an apartment home
Believe it or not, you can do both.

HT Talks to…
Holland/Dozier/Holland
theater, and insider tips from audio expert
Floyd Toole. by Steve Guttenberg
The songwriting team talks about

Check out our new Website! As of November 1,

46 their stream of top-ten singles and
their new boxed set. 38
we have a whole new www.hometheatermag.com.
It’s got a new look and has a ton of new content.
Log on to
Look for Web-exclusive gear reviews, video Curtain Call by Michael J. Nelson www.hometheatermag.com
game reviews, blogs, tons of DVD reviews
(old and new), and more. 146 None More Black
and sign up to receive
our new, free eNewsletter
for first-rate, up-to-the-
107 6 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
minute reporting of
everything that’s hot in
the world of home theater.
© 2005 Sharp Corporation

THE WORLD AWAITS THE NEXT GREAT STORY. WILL IT BE AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY? A CONCESSION SPEECH?
A REVOLUTIONARY MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGH? WHEN THE TIME COMES, ONE THING IS CERTAIN — THE SHARP AQUOS LIQUID
CRYSTAL TELEVISION WILL DELIVER THE MOMENT WITH TRUER COLOR, GREATER DETAIL AND INCREDIBLE SOUND. EXPERIENCE
A TRUE HD WORLD WHERE THERE’S ALWAYS MORE TO SEE. TO LEARN ABOUT AQUOS, VISIT MORETOSEE.COM
PREVIEW from the test bench p. 63
departments
Prologue by Maureen C. Jenson
12 Get the Balance Right: HT looks at sav-
ing you money and energy.

From the Staff 64 74

14 This month’s question: Where’s the
strangest place you’ve ever lost a remote?

Letters
22 18 The real scoop on dot pitch and why 1080p
DLP sets won’t accept a 1080p signal.

Premium Programming 90 94
22 Your source for the highest-quality digital
programming to check out this month. SPOTLIGHT SYSTEM

24 AV Newswire by Mark Fleischmann 64 Outlaw Audio Model 1070 A/V Receiver and
Aperion Audio Intimus 532-LR Speaker System >
Gear from the Net that demands respect.
24 From the news desk… The future of free
music and the latest on the HD-DVD/Blu-
HIGH PERFORMANCE
ray format war.

Coming Attractions 74 Pioneer PDP-5060HD Plasma HDTV >

Dipping into the black (level).

26 Want to snazz up your system?

Here’s a look at the hottest new A/V
gadgets and gear.
78 Sonus faber Domus Series Speaker System >
Body and soul.

MIDRANGE
Premiere Design
26 32 Sharp’s newest AQUOS is the world’s first
65-inch flat panel to deliver 1080p.
82 Sony KDL-V40XBR1 LCD HDTV >
Good looking from almost any angle.

Critic’s Couch:
86 Philips 42PF9630A Plasma HDTV >
Router-free multimedia TV.

Movies and Music Reviewed

131 Star Wars: Episode III, Batman
Begins, Neil Young in HD, and more.
90 Onkyo TX-NR1000 A/V Receiver >
Chairman of the boards.

ENTRY LEVEL
Dealer Locator
139 Before you run out to buy a prod-
94 Monitor Audio i-deck >
The Pod person when he’s at home.
uct we’ve reviewed, find a quality

32
dealer near you.
98 Maxent MX-26X3 LCD HD Monitor >
The little TV that could.

ON THE COVER CONVERGENCE

Action-packed fun is in store
with this gear from ADA,
Klipsch, Maxent, Monitor
Audio, Onkyo, Outlaw Audio,
102 Potpourri 2 >
Three quick glimpses into
what’s hot in the conver-
Pioneer, and Sonus faber. gence world, including
Screen images courtesy of the iPod nano.
20th Century Fox and Everett
Collection. Photography by
Cordero Studios.
Log on to www.hometheatermag.com for more info about
our ratings system, measurements, and other cool stuff.

8 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com

131
 (-3.7(" 3$#

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For the first time ever, see the beauty of the game in its purest form.
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The best
HOME
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go to:
> prologue BY
MAUREEN C. JENSON
Get the
Balance Right
HT looks at saving you money and energy.
We’re a fairly sardonic bunch that reside at the Home Theater offices. I would think a slightly
warped (yet kindhearted) sense of humor is necessary to be able to handle our workload
and still exude a sense of childlike wonder at the art of music and movies as we do. As
with most aspects of life, there is usually a yin to the yang that maintains balance.
In planning this issue, balance came in the form of looking at our planet and a sense of
responsibility that all of us in the consumer electronics industry share with all of you. This
led to some of the articles in these pages. Contributor Adrienne Maxwell did a fine and
honest job in reporting on some of the environmental issues that affect consumer electron-
ics and addressed many questions that I’ve never seen published in any other gear book.
Video editor Geoffrey Morrison used a simple device
that you too can purchase called, appropriately
Dear Readers,
enough, Watts Up? With it, he tested several com- The Audio Video Interiors section within
ponents, including a plasma TV and an LCD to Home Theater magazine has proven to
be a huge success. Thank all of you very
finally put the argument over each component’s
much who have taken the time to e-mail
power consumption to rest. Geoffrey gives you with your comments. Please continue to
some of the details on how much your gear costs send us information on your own home
in monthly electrical bills. While his initial find- theaters, regardless of whether you
ings may not seem like a king’s ransom to you, don’t
designed and constructed them your-
self. We love to see what you’ve accom-
forget that it’s the cumulative effect of all of our savings plished, and, if appropriate, we will
that will have the biggest global impact. Several years publish your endeavors in the magazine
or on the audiovideointeriors.com Website.
ago, I started shutting off my home theater system On a very related note, we are gearing
from the wall outlet before going to bed, and it did up to run your problem home theaters,
make a difference in our monthly electricity bills. I as well, and publish those complete with
also hasten to add that, when we fire up the system our expert solutions for your particular
room or system issues. Send pictures,
each evening diagrams if possible, and a brief outline
after work, we of what is wrong to HT Letters, or send
Log on to: don’t have to snail mail to Editor, Home Theater mag-
www.hometheatermag.com
to sign up for our four free monthly
eNewsletters. You’ll get exclusive
reset all of the
system func-
tions. You’ll
azine, 6420 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles,
CA 90048. Let us help turn your new
year theater into a reality.
tips, trends, news, and reviews want to check if that would be necessary with
from your favorite HT writers. your system. That would indeed be a pain, not to
mention that it would probably be confusing for
other family members. Whether your motivations are monetary or you have a conser-
vationist’s mindset, I believe Akio Morita, founder of the Sony Corporation, said it
best in his book that “mottainai” is a word of warning. It implies that all things in the
universe are gifts from God and we must not waste them. I totally agree.
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SUBSCRIPTIONS:
hometheater@palmcoastd.com > Or write to: P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235
Please include your full name, address, and phone number on any inquiries.
12 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
Two million reasons to stay in Friday night.

2,073,600 pixels are hard to resist. Behold the highest high-definition,

thanks to 1080p DLP™ technology. With twice the pixels of plasma TV,
and Plush1080p™ imaging for a perfect picture from any video source.
For a Mitsubishi retailer, visit mitsubishi-tv.com.
DLP™ and the DLP™ logo are trademarks of Texas Instruments. Highest high-definition as defined by CEA Technology
Standards: 1920 x 1080. Resolution comparison based on plasma pixel count of 1280 x 768.
 from the staff

Where’s the strangest place

you’ve ever lost a remote?

CLAIRE LLOYD, EXECUTIVE EDITOR: “I always knew that my

obsessive housecleaning would come back to bite me sooner
or later. I once found a remote in my cleaning-supplies bucket,
wedged firmly between a scrubber and a spray bottle of
Windex—after I’d tried to power up my receiver using the
sponge I’d left on the coffee table.”
Can someone put
MARK FLEISCHMANN, AUDIO EDITOR: “I was exploring the
True Theater Quality mountain country of Tibet when my caravan came to a cave
with a sign next to it that said, ‘This is a strange place.’ My
5.1 in a Headphone? native guides were terrified. I told them to stay back and
entered. Sure enough, as soon as I went in, I lost the remote.
Done! I hightailed it out of there and never went back. The expe-
rience has always haunted me. (I have never actually lost a
remote outside of the usual sofa-cushion problem. Remotes
not in heavy rotation live in a basket, and those not in use
at all live in a drawer.)”

GEOFFREY MORRISON, VIDEO EDITOR: “Our studio in Woodland

Hills is where I lost the remote. At least, that’s what I told
Philips. When the iPronto first came out, it was one of the cool-
est things ever—color LCD touchscreen, Web browser, and
remote, all in one. I didn’t want to send it back, so it became
‘lost.’ They sent me the bill for $1,700. I sent them the remote.”

CHRIS CHIARELLA, CONVERGENCE EDITOR: “Here’s why I

should never try to review DVDs before noon: Without
that third pot of coffee, I am just a zombie. Somehow, the
remote wound up in the fridge, and the carton of half-and-
half got stuck between the sofa cushions.”
Introducing the worlds first
2.4GHz Wireless NIKHIL BURMAN, COPY EDITOR: “How did my remote control
True Digital 5.1 6 Chamber end up in the garbage? That’s a fine question. Using the same
hand that was holding my remote, I picked up some trash
Surround Sound Headphones and disposed of it. I must have absentmindedly released every-
Also available thing that was in my hand into the garbage can. Luckily, it
in Digital Stereo
only took me an hour and a half to realize this.”

STEVE GUTTENBERG, CONTRIBUTOR: “Making my living as a

see us at
CES 2006
reviewer has its pluses and minuses—that’s for sure. One
Sound All Around Las Vegas
booth 25339
pitfall is living with a coffee table littered with two sets of
www.listentobelieve.com remotes—my own and my review samples’ remotes. A
couple of years ago, I shipped my remote with an Onkyo
Available at: receiver and kept the review remote. What a pain!”
www.shopltb.com
14 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
 -AKESANYTHINGYOULISTENTOMOREINTENSE
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 January 2006 Volume 13/Number 1

President: Adam Marder

Publisher: Dave Colford

Editor: Maureen C. Jenson

Executive Editor: Claire Lloyd
Audio Editor: Mark Fleischmann
Video Editor: Geoffrey Morrison
Convergence Editor: Chris Chiarella
Technical Editor, Audio: Mark J. Peterson
Editor-at-Large: Darryl Wilkinson
Copy Editor: Nikhil Burman

,%3ERIES
Senior Contributor: Michael Trei
Contributors: Gary Frisch, Aimee C. Giron, Joe Goebel, Steve Guttenberg,
Adrienne Maxwell, Michael J. Nelson, Ryan Vincent
Art Director: Heather Dickson
Contributing Designers: Irene L. Johnson, Barbara Simon
Contributing Photographers: Randall Cordero, John Martorano

Brand Manager: John Hurley

212-716-8468, john.hurley@primedia.com
Advertising Manager: Elisabeth Meyi
212-229-4846
Advertising Manager: Christina Yuin (ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, NY, MI, WI, MN)
212-716-8469, christina.yuin@primedia.com
Advertising Manager: Ed DiBenedetto (NJ, PA, MD, DE, OH, IN, IA)
212-716-8466, ed.dibenedetto@primedia.com
Advertising Manager: John Hurley (Central & Western)
212-716-8468, john.hurley@primedia.com
Central, Western & National Dealers: Laura LoVecchio, LoVecchio Associates
718-745-5025, laura_lovecchio@sbcglobal.net

Group Business Director: John Hutchins

Group Operations Director: Patricia Nolan
Financial Analyst: Iqbal Sheikh
Executive Assistant to the President: Rebecca Luna

PRIMEDIA, INC.
Chairman: Dean Nelson
President and CEO: Kelly Conlin
Vice Chairman: Beverly C. Chell

PRIMEDIA ENTHUSIAST MEDIA

Chief Creative Officer: Craig Reiss
President of Consumer Marketing: Steve Aster
4RULYEXCEPTIONAL SVP/Chief Financial Officer: Kevin Neary
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SVP, Chief Information Officer: Debra C. Robinson
ENVIRONMENTAVARIETYOFlNISHCOMBINATIONSARE VP, Human Resources: Kathleen P. Malinowski

AVAILABLE%XTRAORDINARYSOUNDlRSTCLASSCOMPONENTS
ENTHUSIAST MEDIA SUBSCRIPTION COMPANY
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Please include full name, address, and phone number on any inquiries.

COPYRIGHT 2005 BY PRIMEDIA SPECIALTY GROUP, INC.

%XPERIENCETHENEW6ENTOSERIES&ORFURTHERDETAILSCONTACTYOURLOCALDEALER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PRINTED IN THE USA
OR#ANTON-ALCOLM!VENUE3%3UITE-INNEAPOLIS-.

 
3MARTKETING 3AINT $ENIS3TREET-ONTREAL
1UEBEC(
3
3#ANADA
  ORVISITWWWCANTONUSACOM

16 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com

 The untouchables

“...among the best in value for money terms – demands an audition!” What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision

Developed in the UK, Cambridge Audio products are available from specialist hi-fi dealers across North America. To
find out more about the award-winning range of Cambridge Audio two-channel and home cinema hi-fi and to locate
your nearest dealer, visit our website.

Canada Plurison (call 866.271.5689) United States Audio Plus Services (call 800.663.9352)
www.plurison.com www.audioplusservices.com

www.thenewwave.co.uk
LETTERS
1080p: THE REAL DEAL
I am steps away from getting one of
those new 1080p DLP sets. I heard that
none of them will currently accept a
1080p signal because of copy-protection
concerns but will instead upconvert a
480i, 480p, or 720p signal to 1080p. I
want a 1080p set because I would like
the best picture for my money. I also
realize that, with the current 1080p
DLPs, I will not experience the best that
the technology can be. Will those sets
be software-upgradeable to accept a
1080p signal? Or will I need yet another
new set to get true 1080p performance?
Erick
(Via E-Mail)
Resolution is only one aspect of a dis-
play’s performance. You can easily
have a 1080p set that looks worse
than a 720p set. All the 1080p dis-
plays on the market today will upcon-
vert 480 and 720p signals to 1080p.
It’s worth noting that, when you feed
one of these sets a 1080i signal, it
deinterlaces this signal into a 1080p
image. This is different than scaling.
If it does this deinterlacing well, it’s
doubtful you’ll see much of a differ-
ence between a native 1080p and a
deinterlaced 1080i image on most
sources (games being an exception).
Also, if you are sitting more than
10 feet away from a set smaller than
about 65 inches, it’s unlikely you’ll
see a difference between 1080p and
720p, anyway. I say all this knowing
that no one will really care. You’re
going to buy that 1080p set anyway.
So, let’s look at this differently.
It’s doubtful there will be a way
for you to upgrade the inputs on your
TV to accept 1080p—at least not
cheaply. If you buy a 1080p DLP this
year and stick to using 1080i source
components, then you will still get a
proper 1080 image. You don’t need
to wait until next year when 1080p
sources—and 1080p displays with
1080p inputs—become available.
18 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
Why don’t these 1080p sets accept
1080p? It’s probably money. The man-
ufacturers could make such sets if they
wanted to, but some calculator pusher
looked at the fact that there aren’t any
1080p sources right now, so why have
an input that accepts them? It’s rather
shortsighted if you ask me. I’ve heard
about the copy-protection thing too
(from Sony, to name names), but that
doesn’t fully account for HP, whose TVs
accept a 1080p signal (1080p/24,
1080p/30, and even 1080p/60 with
HDMI) right now.—GM
DOT PITCHING A FAST BALL
I’ve noticed that big rear-projection
DLPs, those more than 50 inches,
have dot pitches as low as 0.15. Is
that gauged differently in DLP,
because that’s too low?
Luis
(Via E-Mail)
Dot pitch is yet another of the holdovers
from the analog days that is difficult to
attach to modern displays. Tradition-
ally, dot pitch is the diagonal or hori-
zontal distance between subpixels of
the same color. On a CRT computer
monitor, for example, this would be the
distance from one red subpixel to the
next red subpixel. Better computer moni-
tors measure this distance on the diago-
nal, while cheap CRTs measure it on
the horizontal. So, the theory goes that
a display with a high dot pitch will
have a more pronounced screen-door
effect. In other words, a cheap, low-
resolution LCD will have a high dot
pitch. A display with a low dot pitch will
have a smoother image, possibly appear-
ing to have higher resolution. Like so
many other specs, dot pitch rarely comes
with an explanation of how it was mea-
sured. This is especially problematic with
DLP when there are no subpixels. It’s
likely that they measured from the center
of a mirror to the center of another, in
which case the dot pitch wouldn’t be
TV-dependent but DLP-chip-dependent.
In other words, it’s probable that every
50-inch DLP based on the same chip
will have an identical dot pitch. Because
We welcome questions and comments.
You can e-mail them to htletters@
primedia.com, or mail them to: Home
Theater Letters, 6420 Wilshire Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90048. Please note:
Be sure to check the FAQ page on our
Website (www.hometheatermag.com)
to see if we’ve already answered any
questions you might have. Questions
about the features and functions of a
particular product are best directed to
the manufacturer. Questions about
what product you should buy are best
directed to a dealer who knows all the
details of your system, your preferences,
and your personal habits. All submis-
sions are considered the exclusive
property of Home Theater magazine
and Primedia. Due to the volume of
mail that we receive, we regret that we
cannot respond to every letter.
most manufacturers don’t use dot pitch
in regards to their HDTVs, it’s hard to
compare it to anything.
While it’s best to ignore dot pitch,
here’s a general rule: LCD RPTVs will
almost always have the worst dot pitch,
while those of DLP and LCOS will be
better and pretty similar to each other
(with LCOS having perhaps a slight
edge) for a given resolution. This is
related to fill factor, or how much of
the screen is filled with image and how
much is filled with blank space. (From
worst to best, the order is the same for
the three technologies.)—GM
HOTSPOTTING
In some of your reviews, I’ve
noticed you say that certain rear-
projection sets show hotspotting in
the center of the TV. What exactly
is it? And what does it look like on
a TV, so I know what to beware of
when purchasing an HDTV?
Todd Vernon
St. Louis, MO
Most RPTVs have a lens built into the
screen that takes light that would have
otherwise headed off toward the ceiling
or floor and focuses it straight ahead,
toward the viewer. The benefit of this,
at least as far as manufacturers are
concerned, is it makes the TV a lot
brighter, at least from certain angles.
The downside is that, when viewed
from straight on, it’s a lot brighter, and,
when viewed from off that main axis,
it’s a lot dimmer. In some cases, the
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LETTERS
very center of the screen, or a horizon-
tal band along the center of the screen,
can be noticeably brighter than the
edges, creating a hot spot in the image.
This effect is more noticeable if you’re
sitting up close or off-axis and is less
so if you sit farther back.—GM
HOT DVRS
I couldn’t believe how hot the top
of my dual-tuner DVR was when
I felt it after reading Abdullah’s
letter and your response [in the
November 2005 issue]. In this age
of fine cabinetry, stacked compo-
nents, and energy conservation,
there is a compelling need for
new technology to eliminate this
self-destructive problem. My first
Comcast DVR lasted less than a
year, and I guess now I know why.
John V.
(Via E-Mail)
Heat is bad. Heat shortens the life of
electronic products. I had a Sony DVD
player that was literally cooked to death
by the HD tuner that it was sitting on.
Suffice it to say, nothing sits on that
tuner anymore. Get touchy-feely with
your gear. If it’s hot to the touch, put
some space between it and the gear
around it (if possible). If that doesn’t
solve the problem, you may need to ven-
tilate your gear rack. There are several
companies that specialize in this, like
Middle Atlantic (www.middleatlan-
tic. com), Active Thermal Management
(www.activethermal.com), and
others. You can also get a $10 clip fan
and have it blow across the top of the
hot gear. Just make sure the fan you add
doesn’t interfere with a fan that may
already be part of the gear.—GM
SUBWOOFER PLACEMENT
I have my home theater system
in my basement, which has been
known to leak in heavy storms,
so I have to keep everything a
few inches off of the ground. This
includes my subwoofer, which I
have up on two bricks right now.
I have considered mounting it
20 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
on a box, but I am afraid that the
interior space would adversely
affect the bass. What should I do?
Kurtis S.
St. Louis, MO
Bricks, while hardly stylish, should do a
fine job elevating your sub a few inches
above the flood plain. Numerous com-
panies manufacture tall equipment feet,
spikes, etc., that may do the job if
they’re tall enough for your needs. If you
want to construct a stand resembling a
wooden box (though it might get ruined
from the water the next time it rains), be
certain to make it closed on all sides and
sturdy, and the sonic impact should be
minimal. If there isn’t an opening to the
interior space of the box, and the box is
strong enough to not flex and become
diaphragmatic, then you should be fine.
I’m not saying raising your subwoofer on
a box will have no effect on the sound,
but we all have practical issues to deal
with in our home theaters.—MJP
ON THE LEVEL
While Mark Peterson’s response
to Russ Leadnetter’s volume-level
inquiry [in the November 2005
issue] is correct, I believe that
he omitted a very possible cause
of the problem. In the letter, Mr.
Leadnetter listed the equipment
he had hooked up. It included a
satellite receiver, a VCR, and an
Xbox, in addition to the DVD
player. I would be willing to bet
a six-pack that all of the sources
except for the DVD player are
hooked up using analog stereo
L/R connections and that the
DVD player is connected using a
digital coax or optical cable. In
addition to the possible level dif-
ference in the output of the DVD
player Peterson described, it is
also likely that the receiver’s sur-
round setup is improperly set for
the system. For example, if Mr.
Leadnetter only has two speakers
in his system but hasn’t told the
receiver that there is no center
channel, the receiver might be
defaulting to Dolby Digital 5.1
and trying to send a signal to a
center channel that isn’t there. If
this is the case, the volume would
appear much too low. He may
need to “tell” the receiver that
there is no center-channel speaker
so that it sends that signal to the
main left and right channels.
Mike Smith
(Via E-mail)
If Mr. Leadnetter is only using two
speakers (which seems unlikely for the
owner of a new surround receiver in
the surround sound age we live in),
then you would be correct in that the
level of the signal intended for the
center channel would be too low. The
level of the signals intended for the left
and right channels, however, would
still be near normal levels. If he was
listening to mono sources or surround
sources with almost no stereo spread,
then he might be perceiving the total
system level as being too low. Since he
didn’t specify, I assumed he was using
a complete surround sound system.
Good catch, though.—MJP
HDTV RIP-OFF
I just moved from the Los Angeles
area to the Atlanta area only to find
almost no HDTV. Even though I pay
$10 a month extra for HDTV chan-
nels, I only get three that I know of.
The biggest complaint I have and
the request I have of HT is in regards
to the $100 DirecTV wants to
charge me for getting NFL Sunday
Ticket in HD. This is in addition to
the normal high fee they are charg-
ing for the Ticket. This is just bad
news in the making if they get away
with this. Before you know it,
1080p signals are going to be $300
a year extra, and who knows what
other ways they will try to squeeze
us just to broadcast pictures that
they should be offering to us for
free in the first place. Let’s all do
something about this!
Pascal Pedersen
Flowery Branch, GA
 Five surround sound channels.
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Introducing The Polk Audio SurroundBar™

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inputs for all 5 channels.
panel and shallow screen TVs. And it Multiple drive units and
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works with any surround sound receiver. a patented combination you in the center of the action. Our revolutionary
of signal processing and system literally uses the space between your
Polk’s patented SDA® Surround technology acoustical geometry serve to ears to create your own 5-channel surround
produce the vivid three dimensional surround sound environment from a single front speaker.
means you won’t need to install rear speak-
field that exists on the original recording.
ers. What you hear is a completely immer- What you hear is essentially the same as
sive surround sound experience, as if there if there actually were sounds coming from
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PREMIUM PROGRAMMING OVER THE AIR
What to Watch: HDTV

THE MAJOR NETWORKS > January 8, 8:00 pm ET: Equator, episode 4: Andes
> January 15, 8:00 pm ET: Equator, episode 5: Indo-Pacific
ABC > January 22, 8:00 pm ET: Equator, episode 6: Africa-Arid Conquest
> College Football > January 27, 9:00 pm ET: Golf Escapes 2, episode 7: America’s Best Resorts
January 2, 1:00 pm ET: Capital One Bowl
January 2, 4:30 pm ET: Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Showtime >
January 2, 8:30 pm ET: Nokia Sugar Bowl > Movies:
January 3, 8:00 pm ET: FedEx Orange Bowl Saw
January 4, 8:00 pm ET: Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi Agent Cody Banks 2:
(National Championship Game) Destination London
Twisted
NBC Soul Plane
> One NHL game in HD on Sundays Saved!
> Series:
Fox L Word, season 3
> January 1: Top six NFL games JTW
> January 8: NFC Wild Card Playoffs
> January 14 and 15: NFC Divisional Playoffs HDNet
> January 22: NFC Championship Game > Various NHL games on Thursdays and Sundays
> January 2, 9:00 pm ET: Summerland, season 2 (season premiere)
CABLE/SATELLITE > HDNet Concert Series:
ESPN/ESPN2 January 1, 9:00 pm ET: Black Crowes Live at the San Francisco Fillmore
> College Football: January 8, 9:00 pm ET: Rick Springfield Live from Chicago
January 2, 11:00 am ET: Outback Bowl January 15: 9:00 pm ET: Brian Wilson—MusiCares Presents the
Person of the Year
Discovery HD Theater January 22, 9:00 pm ET: Robin Gibb with the Neue Frankfurt
> January 1, 8:00 pm ET: Equator, episode 3: Rivers of the Sun Philharmonic Orchestra Live
January 29, 9:00 pm ET: Moe Live from the Denver Fillmore
>

>

** In addition to the special events listed above, all of the major broad-
cast networks and some of the cable networks show at least a portion of
their weekly programming in HD. Check your local listings for additional
HD programming on the major networks and these HDTV channels: Cinemax
HDTV, Discovery HD Theater, ESPN HD, HBO HDTV, HDNet, HDNet Movies,
INHD, INHD2, PBS HD, Showtime HD, Starz HDTV, TNT in HD, The Movie
Channel HD, and Universal HD (formerly Bravo HD+).

22 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com

 ON THE SHELF
What to Buy: High-Resolution Audio
We’re as passionate about audio and video as you are about
your favorite music, sports and movies. Let us help you
RECENT RELEASES: find the gear that’s right for you.
Eric Clapton: Back Home
> (DualDisc, Reprise
Records)
Dire Straits: Brothers in
Arms (DVD-Audio,
Warner Music) See our
full review on page 133.
Dvorák: Symphony No. 9
in E Minor: From the
New World; Martinu:
Symphony No. 2—
Paavo Járvi, Cincinnati
Symphony Orchestra
(SACD, Telarc)
Howard Hanson: Bold
Island Suite,
Symphony No. 2, Suite from Merry Mount—Erich Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops
Orchestra (SACD, Telarc)

NEW AND UPCOMING RELEASES:

Jackson Browne: Running
on Empty (DVD-Audio,
WEA)
Mariah Carey: #1’s (SACD,
Sony)
Mozart: Inter natos
mulierum, K. 72;
Misericordias Domini,
K. 222; Requiem in D
minor, K. 626—
Morten Schuldt-Jensen
conducts the
>

Gewandhaus Chamber
Choir and Leipzig
Chamber Orchestra (SACD and DVD-Audio, Naxos)
Sugarhill Gang: The Best Of (DVD-Audio, Silverline)
Neil Young: Prairie Wind (96K/24-bit, Reprise) See our full review on
page 133.
BLU-RAY/HD-DVD:
Another major studio has chosen sides. This time, it’s Warner Brothers’
Warner Home Video division, and the format of choice is Blu-ray.
Warner Home Video president Jim Cardwell said, “Consumers will
Want an audio/video system that gives you
goose bumps? Get the catalog that brings it all
“Crutchfield.com:
to your door. Or visit crutchfield.com.
#1 in customer support”
■ See the latest A/V gear from Denon, Onkyo,
— Bizrate.com
Apple, Bose, Boston Acoustics, Polk Audio,
Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Toshiba, and more.
■ Rely on Crutchfield for all the help you need
– including free lifetime technical support.

Free catalog
soon be able to enjoy a large selection of catalog favorites and con-
temporary hits from Warner’s vast library on the Blu-ray format.”

Call 1-800-555-8347
or visit www.crutchfield.com/hmt
 news
Will Free Music Survive?
Free music is like a pair of identical twins
on either side of the law. One is a fugitive
from justice, hunted like an animal by
music-industry attorneys. The other is
evolving into a creature of consensus—
allowing listeners to enjoy their free
tunes without fear of legal reprisal.
The evil twin suffered yet another
setback last June when the Supreme
Court ruled against the file-sharing ser-
vices Grokster and Morpheus. Although
it was cautious and ambiguous, the
high court decision further criminalized
file-sharing technology by allowing law-
suits against any company that creates
a new technology with the clear intent
of helping users break copyright law.
In the wake of the ruling, the Recording
Industry Association of America sent a
nastygram to the surviving free file-sharing
services. WinMX, BearShare, eDonkey,
LimeWire, and Warez were among the
unlucky recipients of cease-and-desist let-
ters. WinMX folded immediately, and
some of the others, including eDonkey, are
mulling various forms of paid service.
Meanwhile, the good twin prospers—
with industry approval—thanks to
24 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
AV
Rhapsody 25, launched while the
Supreme Court was still putting the fin-
ishing touches on its decision. The free
service brings together music from all
five major recording companies. You get
25 free song plays per month, and, when
you’re tired of those, enjoy the 25 free
streaming radio stations. Advertiser
support pays the bills.
Rhapsody 25 does not require a
credit card. However, if you’d like to go
to the next level, there’s also Rhapsody
to Go for $14.99 per month, which per-
mits transfers to selected devices
including the Creative Zen. Rhapsody
Unlimited, $9.99 per month, allows
downloads and streams but doesn’t
offer transfers to portable devices.
There are also services so cheap as to
be nearly free. Yahoo! Music Unlimited
offers access to a million songs for $5 per
month. For classical listeners, Naxos Web
Radio—formerly free—is now $9.95 per
year or $19.95 per year for CD-quality
streaming. And, of course, there are thou-
sands of free Web-radio and band-run
download sites. Far from dead, free
music is healthier than ever.
wire> > > > >
> by MARK FLEISCHMANN,
Audio Editor
Samsung, Paramount
Straddle Format Fence
Hopes for a unified high-def disc format have
been dashed, but Samsung and Paramount still
demand the best of both worlds. The Korean man-
ufacturer promises a player incorporating both
Blu-ray and HD-DVD technology. Meanwhile, the
studio—previously an HD-DVD supporter—now
says it plans to release titles in both formats.
HD-DVD’s street cred as a movie format had
already taken a hit when Paramount, Universal,
and Warner started scaling back their HD-DVD
release plans. Warner’s waning was a shock,
since the studio had been a significant supporter
of both original DVD and HD-DVD.
Why should the studios support high-def
DVD when they’re already reaping record profits
from standard-def DVD—the one that arrived
without a format war? DVD has become so lucra-
tive that Disney CEO Robert Iger recently
broached the possibility that movies may come
out on DVD while they’re still in theaters.
However, HD-DVD did score big when
Microsoft and Intel threw their 10-ton weight
behind it, touching off a spat among computer
makers on both sides of the fence. The
announcement certainly means that Microsoft’s
next-generation operating system, which
recently changed its name from Longhorn to
Vista, will include HD-DVD. More interesting is
the possibility of an HD-DVD-compatible Xbox
going head to head with Sony’s Blu-ray-
enhanced PlayStation 3 in 2006.
 McCain: Shut Down
HDMI Grows Up in Public Analog TV by 2007
Who doesn’t loathe the snake pits of cables that lurk behind Until recently, it looked as though the
system racks? HDMI promises to cut through the tangle with transition from analog to digital television
a one-wire interface that carries both high-definition televi- was going to be pushed back by at least
sion and surround sound signals. The standard took another two years from its original deadline of
incremental step forward recently with the adoption of HDMI December 31, 2006. Lawmakers and the
1.2 by HDMI Licensing LLC. broadcast industry seem to have reached
The two biggest beneficiaries are multichannel music a consensus that would have extended
enthusiasts and HTPC users. HDMI 1.2 will accommodate analog transmissions at least two years.
Super Audio CD’s 1-bit DSD signal format. It also uses the However, in the wake of Hurricane
HDMI Type A connector for PC sources, supports Katrina, Sen. John
PC video formats, allows PC sources to use McCain (R-AZ)
either computer-centric RGB or A/V-centric stated emphati-
Y/Pb/Pr color spaces, and supports low-voltage cally that the
(AC-coupled) devices. transition should
HDMI appears in 470 products from 250 man- proceed more
ufacturers. You’ll find it in many DTVs, sur- swiftly to free up
round receivers, and signal sources. Absence of new spectrum
HDMI will soon be the exception, not the rule. for emergency-
Unfortunately, while HDMI is here, it isn’t all services person-
here, so to speak. nel. McCain’s
Users of the early generations have hit a few potholes. Although HDMI is compatible with two attempts to accomplish that
the older DVI interface—and that includes their mutual support of the HDCP rights-management with the Save Lives Act were in vain in
scheme—some product combos do not pass a video signal between the two formats. Others both the 2004 and ’05 legislative ses-
will not pass control signals such as sync or aspect-ratio control. And, while HDMI supports sions. However, those defending the
audio as well as video, early generations passed only stereo—not surround signals. status quo now have a powerful new
These early-adopter headaches will ease with the further evolution of HDMI and its counterargument—it was analog
implementation by manufacturers—especially the forthcoming HDMI 1.3, which will carry television that warned low-income
several new lossy and lossless surround formats from Dolby and DTS. In the meantime, the residents of New Orleans of the
snake pit is still bristling, and the snakes are winning. impending catastrophe.

THIS JUST IN…

THE FREEDOM TOWER will transmit digital television only when it rises in place of the World
Trade Center. New York votes for DTV...PANASONIC has knocked down their plasma pricing a
good $500 to $1,000 throughout the line, with a 42-incher now selling for $2,000. Suppliers
have more capacity, and competition is fiercer than ever...JVC’S D-ILA is going 1080p. It’s
already one of the best reflective-LCD microdisplays out there, and it just got better...THE
FIRST THX-CERTIFIED SHEETROCK is QuietRock’s 11-layer composite of gypsum, polymers,
and ceramics. Drop your system’s noise floor and give the neighbors a break...THE BBC will
introduce a download service for some of the world’s best television and radio programming
in 2006. Now our friends in the United Kingdom can stop sending us cassettes...MAXTOR is
selling new hard drives that access movies, music, and photos without the need of a PC.
Maybe you won’t need a computer in your rack after all...GENERATION Y—adults between 18
and 24—have $2,199 in content on their various hard drives, versus $1,135 for the average
American, according to a Hitachi-sponsored survey by KRC Research. Don’t forget to back it up,
folks, or you’ll be down to $0 worth of content...CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY has identified Apple
as one violator of a recently secured patent on music-player navigation. Looks like the iPod
and Zen players will face one another in court as well as in the marketplace...BAD NEWS for
portable-music addicts—those earbuds may cause hearing loss, according to a researcher at
Harvard Medical School. And the smaller the buds, the more dangerous they are...
COMING ATTRACTIONS
> SIM2
Two heads may be better than one, but are three chips better than
one? Generally speaking, three-chip projectors can reproduce colors more
accurately without sacrificing light output. Also, by forgoing the spinning
color wheel, three-chip projectors eliminate the annoying rainbow effect.
The new Grand Cinema C3X projector from SIM2 is one such high-end,
three-chip front projector, and it uses special technology to produce report-
edly exceptional picture quality from a comparatively compact design. It
uses the Hi-Brite lamp—which probably means you can expect high light
output—and the claimed 6,500:1 contrast ratio indicates that the blacks are
probably that much deeper. The retail price is $15,995.
SIM2 • (954) 442-2999 • www.sim2usa.com

> Crowson
Serious moviegoers want every film they see to be an immersing
experience. Crowson can help send you to that next plateau of enjoy-
ment in comfort and style. They have specifically designed their Sentient
recliners to work with their $249 BMP-3S motion-effects simulator. The
BMP-3S sums up the left, right, and LFE channels into left and right
motion outputs. The chairs have completely hidden actuators and isola-
tors and are built with a combination of viscoelastic memory foam and
high-density foam for extreme comfort. Each has a 0.25-inch headphone
jack, and Crowson can configure them in an array of your choosing,
including rows, love seats, and sofas. Each seat costs $2,450.
Crowson • (888) 427-6976 • www.crowsontech.com

> DVDO
As HD displays continue to drop in price, more consumers can con-
sider getting a good video scaler to fill the void created by components that
are unable to output these displays’ resolutions. DVDO answers this call
with the $1,999 iScan VP30, which uses a new technology capable of 10-bit
processing and enhanced sharpness control for nonlinear scaling. The VP30
offers tremendous flexibility by outputting any resolution between 480p
and 1080p, including 720p and 1080i. It has 11 video inputs, each with its
own parameter control so that every source gets to show off its best. What’s
more, the unit functions as an audio switcher and router and reportedly
helps eliminate synchronization delays between audio and video.
DVDO • (866) 423-DVDO • www.dvdo.com

> BG
BG has recently released several new in-wall speakers in their
Radia line, top among which is the R-800 loudspeaker, retailing for
$10,000 per pair. It features BG’s new Neo10 planar ribbon driver, which
is larger than typical ribbon drivers. According to BG, this allows the driver
to compress and rarefy large amounts of air while keeping diaphragm
excursion low. The two 8-inch woofers that sandwich the Neo10 have
unique motor structures for significant linear excursion, resulting in low
distortion levels and wide dynamics. Plus, each pair comes with a dedi-
cated 1,000-watt amplifier. BG has designed the R-800 to match the new
$2,000 R-400C center speaker and the $3,000 R-88 sub.
BG • (775) 889-1900 • www.bgcorp.com

26 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com

COMING ATTRACTIONS

> THX and Lincoln

If you picked up our August 2005 issue, you probably read
our feature about various car models that come standard with high-
end audio systems. Now there’s one more—in the 2006 Lincoln
Zephyr. The THX-certified, multichannel surround system has 14
speakers, 600 watts of amplification, and 12 channels. It sports
both individual speaker EQ and three presets—Driver, Front Seat,
and All Seats—and uses THX’s DSP digital processing. This second-
generation system features new technologies for distributing audio
inside the car. The 2006 Zephyr starts at $29,660.
THX • (415) 492-3900 • www.thx.com
Lincoln • (800) 521-4140 • www.lincoln.com

> Active Thermal Management

If you store a lot of your home theater’s components in a rela-
tively compact space, perhaps on a rack in a tight closet, you run the
risk of jeopardizing the performance of all that heat-generating equip-
ment. Active Thermal Management’s Cool-cube quietly removes heated
air from a home theater enclosure through flexible tubing, allowing cool
air to circulate in. It consists of a powerful fan module and an automatic,
dual-speed thermal-switch assembly, and there are several options for
tubing. Depending on the size of the tubing and the fan’s speed, you
can remove 12 to 70 cubic feet of air per minute, all for $320.
Active Thermal Management • (514) 631-6448 • www.activethermal.com

> Screen Innovations

Normally, if you set up your home theater in a living room and
use a front projector, you need some system for blocking the windows
during the day, whether it be drapes or something more elaborate. Or
perhaps you like to watch TV and movies with the lights on. Screen
Innovations says that their Mirage Screens allow you to see images
clearly in bright environments, offering a contrast level 10 times
greater than that of standard screens. A patented filter allows the
screen to reflect the projected image while absorbing incidental light
from other angles, such as window light and room lighting. Prices
range from $1,900 to $4,600.
Screen Innovations • (512) 832-6136 • www.screeninnovations.com

> Advanced Bridging Technologies (ABT)

ABT’s $50 iJet wireless RF remote control for iPods is designed to
facilitate use of the growing number of tabletop and in-wall iPod docking
stations and iPod car adapters. It lets you control your music from across
the room, across the house (up to 150 feet), and even through walls. The
water-resistant, five-button remote can skip, scan, and adjust volume
with smartly recessed buttons. It comes with a compact receiver that plugs
into the top of your iPod, and ABT even supplies a mini-jack-to-analog-
stereo adapter cable to connect your iPod to most home audio/video
gear. An optional stand offers cable management and earbud storage.
Advanced Bridging Technologies (ABT) • (888) 869-4737 • www.abtech2.com

28 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com

 Brilliantly Simple

Wobulation.
It’s as much clarity as you can take.
New HP technology effectively doubles the resolution* of the TV image,
giving you up to 1080p** when you watch on crystal-clear HDMI. We call
this Wobulation. The HP Microdisplay TV in 65," 58" and 50." Along with
the Plasmas and LCDs, it’s part of the HP High-Definition TV lineup.

“…HP’s MD6580N produced the best

DLP™-based rear-projection TV image….”
— Sound & Vision

Call 1-877-BUY-ONHP, click on hp.com/go/wobulation or visit these retailers:

©2005 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. *Doubles addressed resolution.**On MD5880N and MD6580N models. Simulated images. Not all products available in all stores.
COMING ATTRACTIONS

> Cabinet Tronix

Do you have a flair for luxury? One of the new Private Vision
Sleepers from Cabinet Tronix can turn your bedroom into an amal-
gamation of old-world style and sleek, modern technology. These
bedroom packages store a flat-panel display within the bed’s foot-
board. With the touch of a button, the display rises out of the end
of the bed, and an automated swivel allows you to rotate the TV as
much as 200 degrees in either direction. Packages come complete
with a bed, two night stands, a TV, a DVD player, and more. Prices
range from $17,500 to $35,000.
Cabinet Tronix • (866) 876-6199 • www.cabinet-tronix.com

> Velodyne
It’s no secret that finessing a subwoofer to partner with your room’s
acoustics requires both patience and precision. This is why both flexible sub-
woofers and bass-equalization systems are good things. Velodyne tackles
both of these beasts at once with their new line of SPL-R subwoofers. The
line includes three models, with drivers measuring 8, 10, and 12 inches. Each
generates its own test tone, analyzes the resulting sound using the included
microphone, and then automatically adjusts the six-band EQ. This automatic
EQ function uses TI’s DSP technology, which provides precise management
of the subwoofer’s crossovers, slopes, subsonic filters, and further equaliza-
tion aspects. Prices range from $1,249 to $1,899.
Velodyne • (800) 835-6396 • www.velodyne.com

> Olive
If you like having one central console for all of your music but
don’t want to sacrifice sound quality, Olive’s Musica wireless music
center is a great product. It functions much as the iPod does in the
portable realm, but the Musica is no iPod—it has a 160-gigabyte hard
drive, which is 100 GB bigger than the most capacious iPod. Not only
can you transfer CDs and computer-stored music onto the Musica, you
can record material onto it from analog sources, such as turntables or
tape decks. The Musica also burns CDs and lets you transfer music
onto your iPod. Meanwhile, unique Olive technology enables what the
company describes as superb audio fidelity. It retails for $1,099.
Olive • (877) BY-OLIVE • www.olive.us

> Silicon Optix

Looking for a new HDTV, DVD player, or video scaler can be
overwhelming. How do you know what to look for? Silicon Optix has
recently made their HQV Benchmark DVD—a great tool for testing
products’ video processing functions—available to the public. You can
purchase the DVD from the company’s HQV Website for $30, but, with
a special promotion code for HT readers (HTHQV), you will receive $10
off the price. Plus, Silicon Optix will donate $5 of the proceeds of each
DVD to the ELF Foundation, a nonprofit charity bringing music and
movies to children’s hospitals across the country. (www.elfsystems.org)
Silicon Optix • www.hqv.com

30 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com

 AMUSICSYSTEM
WITHAPASSIONFORMOVIES
4HE.!$,$6$#$3TEREO2ECEIVERMAYWELLBETHEPERFECTSOLUTIONANYPLACEWHEREBIGSOUNDFROMYOURFAVORITEMUSIC

ANDMOVIESISDESIREDBUTSPACEISLIMITED"YCOMBININGAPOWERFULXWATTSRECEIVERAND$6$#$PLAYERINONECOMPACT

ELEGANT PACKAGE SETUP IS AS SIMPLE AS CONNECTING YOUR STEREO SPEAKERS AND46 MONITOR &EATURING 323 TECHNOLOGY THE

,PROVIDESANENVELOPINGSURROUNDSOUNDSENSATIONFROMONLYTWOSPEAKERSANDTRULYREDElNESHIGHPERFORMANCEHOME

ENTERTAINMENT

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WWW.!$ELECTRONICSCOM
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PREMIERE DESIGN
The 1080p resolution is com-
patible with terrestrial, cable,
and satellite HDTV broadcasts.

premiere points
> It’s the world’s first 65-inch
LCD flat panel that delivers
a full 1080p image.

The LCD comes

complete with
HDMI, DVI, and
two component
video inputs.

32 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com

> Wickedly Sharp

Photography by Cordero Studios / Screen image courtesy of Buena Vista

If you are one of the many who believe that the larger the screen size, the more
abundant the viewing pleasure, you will be delighted with the arrival of the Sharp AQUOS
LC-65D90U, a flat-panel 65-inch LCD HDTV. Measuring 65 inches diagonally, this sleek
beauty delivers a full 1080p image, the leading high-definition standard. It has a built-in
HDTV tuner, and the CableCARD slot enables easy connection to high-definition cable TV
channels without the need for a separate set-top box. The 1,920-by-1,080 resolution is
compatible with terrestrial, cable, and satellite HDTV broadcasts, and the 170-degree view-
ing angle is said to provide exceptional picture quality from practically anywhere in your
room. But, when all is said and done, it is still the size of the sexy flat-screen LCD panel that
demands attention—the ladies from Wisteria Lane would agree. The retail price is $21,000.

Sharp
(800) BE-SHARP
www.sharpusa.com
 gearworks

Power!
How much do LCDs and plasmas really suck? by Geoffrey Morrison
power consumption is a major
selling point for different prod-
ucts. Here, it barely makes a line
item on a spec sheet. So, before
you Hummer drivers e-mail in
that we shouldn’t care and that I
can shove my liberal pinko agenda,
You know those little plastic plug is headed. Lacking any polyvinyl please let me finish. I also don’t
thingies you put in electrical out- chloride polymer to impede my want you hippies leaving your
lets so that kids don’t stick their process, and always having an drum circles and “tobacco” pipes
fingers and such into them? Turns inquisitive mind, I inserted said to decry me for mocking the
out, they’re there for a reason. My wire into said outlet. The results plight of the rain forests. Let me
parents dutifully put these in all were predictable. I believe stop you all right there. I’m going
the outlets in our house, and, vaporization was involved. Since to put this in a perspective that we
when I was just past the age where then, I’ve had a healthy (ahem) can all understand: money. Home
they figured I couldn’t possibly be respect for electricity. theaters cost money to run, and
stupid enough to stick anything In the United States, I’m in the it’s not something most of us really
into an outlet, I found an innocent minority. Americans don’t, as a think about. Want some extra
little piece of copper wire. At this group, care or even think about money each month? Read on.
point, you can see where this story electricity. In Europe and Asia,
The Gear
Product Watt Hours Cost for 1 H One Month @
There are a few clever gadgets
2 Hours Per Day
on the market that can tell you
LCD/40-IRE window—min lamp 108.6 $0.012 $0.72 how much a product costs to run
LCD/40-IRE field—min lamp 109.8 $0.012 $0.72 each month. P3’s Kill A Watt is
LCD/100-IRE field—min lamp 112.2 $0.012 $0.74 one; the Watts Up? is another. We
LCD/test loop—min lamp 111 $0.012 $0.73
purchased the latter to run a cou-
LCD/100-IRE field—max lamp 223.8 $0.025 $1.48
LCD/20-IRE field—max lamp 223.2 $0.025 $1.47
ple of tests. One test was to finally
Plasma/40-IRE window 214.2 $0.024 $1.41 put the argument of LCD versus
Plasma/40-IRE field 312 $0.034 $2.06 plasma power consumption to rest.
Plasma/100-IRE field 337.8 $0.037 $2.23 The other involved putting a bunch
Plasma/test loop—100% contrast 315 $0.035 $2.08 of products on the meter to see
Plasma/test loop—80% contrast 236.4 $0.026 $1.56 how much power they consume,
Plasma/20-IRE field—100% contrast 194.4 $0.021 $1.28 not only when they’re on, but also
Plasma/20-IRE field—80% contrast 162 $0.018 $1.07 when they’re off. Many products
Other Gear drain electricity even when they’re
InFocus 777 DLP projector 345 $0.038 $2.28 off, which isn’t something most
Panasonic PT-AE900U LCD projector 153.6 $0.017 $1.01 people think about.
Onkyo DV-SP800 DVD player standby 9 $0.001 $0.06
Onkyo DV-SP800 playing a DVD 30 $0.003 $0.20 How?
LG HD tuner w/DVR standby 6 $0.001 $0.04 We ran each product in its nor-
LG HD tuner w/DVR on 30 $0.003 $0.20 mal duty cycle. In other words,
Parasound c2 pre/pro playing DVD-Audio 27 $0.003 $0.18 we measured it while it was
Parasound c2 pre/pro standby 24 $0.003 $0.16 doing what it was designed to do.
Sunfire amp playing DVD-audio 64.2 $0.007 $0.42 For the plasma and LCD, we
Monster power conditioner standby 9.6 $0.001 $0.06 expanded this. We measured
Monster power conditioner on 13.8 $0.002 $0.09
each display with a 20-IRE full-
My Home computer, playing a game 328.2 $0.036 $2.17
Normal computer doing normal things 84 $0.009 $0.55 screen signal (approximately
19-inch CRT Monitor—text/web 102.6 $0.011 $0.68 what average video is), a 40-IRE
19-inch CRT Monitor—video game 86.4 $0.010 $0.57 window and field, an actual video
Regular portable fan 69 $0.008 $0.46 test loop (off Video Essentials), and
a 100-IRE full-screen signal.
Avg. home theater cost/month to run—plasma @ 80%, Onkyo, Parasound, Sunfire, Monster $1.96 Lastly, I calculated the cost to
run each month based on $0.11
My monthly video-game power costs - PC, CRT, Monster power conditioner @ 3 hours per day $4.24 per kilowatt-hour, because that’s

34 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com

 You’re thinking about home theater.
Imagine a home theater that thinks about you.

To experience the full, emotional impact movies and music are meant to deliver, you need a
home theater system that understands you. Your home. Your tastes. Your family. This is the Bose®
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It adapts to the acoustics of your room. Some room acoustics make even the most expensive system sound like
one worth half the price. That’s why the Lifestyle® 48 system has exclusive Bose technology that evaluates
the acoustics of your room and adjusts its sound automatically. So you’re ensured a theater-like performance
with all your movies and music.
It learns what kind of music you like. You can digitally store up to 340 CDs in your Lifestyle® 48 system,
giving you easy access to your favorite music. And proprietary Bose technology learns about your taste, so
it can actually choose music for you.
It can expand to where you want sound. The Lifestyle® 48 system lets you enjoy your music collection
throughout your home without the need to run wires between rooms. An advanced Bose controller puts
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©2005 Bose Corporation. Patent rights issued and/or pending. The Lifestyle® media center design is also a registered trademark of Bose Corporation. Quote reprinted with permission: Electronic House, 9/04. CCM-002205
 gearworks
^ Geoffrey makes con-
tact with the Watts Up?
You probably won’t get
the same result.
36
what it is where I live, and I
don’t know where you live. If you
use 1,000 watts in an hour, that’s
1 kilowatt-hour. OK, on to it.
Plasma vs. LCD
I lied. Before we get on to it, per-
haps a little explanation is in order.
LCDs have a backlight that is
always on. So, for the most part,
the highest power-drain portion of
the display is constant (the power
required to modulate the liquid
crystal is infinitesimal in compari-
son). Plasmas, on the other hand,
change a gas to a plasma to create
light. If you want more light, you
do this more often. So it’s normal
for plasmas to require more
energy on video with a higher
APL (average picture level). At
least that’s the theory. For this
test, we used the 40-inch Sony
KDL-V40XBR1 LCD reviewed in
this very issue (page 82) and the
42-inch Panasonic TH-42PX500U
plasma from last month. Yes, I
know that they’re not exactly the
same size, but the screen-area dif-
ference is about 10 percent, so we
can keep that in mind when we’re
looking at the numbers. The Sony,
like many of the new LCDs, has an
Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
adjustable backlight. As you would
have guessed, it requires a lot less
power in the low backlight
mode. But we’ll get to that.
The Other Gear
Also in your system, you have a
DVD player, as well as possibly a
pre/pro and an amp, an HD tuner
with a hard drive, an HTPC, and
so on. Each of these is listed in the
chart on page 34. The amp power
requirement, as you can imagine,
will vary greatly depending on the
amp, the speakers, and what
you’re playing through it. I
included this one just as an exam-
ple. As you can see, several of the
products take power when they’re
off, as well. Expect the equipment
in your system to do this, too.
Decoding the Numbers
At first glance, the LCD seems to
blow the plasma away, but that’s at
first glance. As expected, no mat-
ter what the signal, the
LCD’s power consump-
tion stayed right around
110 watts—at least in
the low lamp setting. In
the high lamp setting
(out of the box), it’s
about 223 watts all the
time. The plasma varies
greatly depending on
the signal; 20 IRE is
about the average for
broadcast TV. Out of
the box, the plasma is
slightly better than the
LCD, at 194 watts. Drop
the contrast to 80 per-
cent of its maximum
(where you’d expect a
calibrated set to be,
more or less), and now
you’re down to 162 watts. That’s
a savings of $0.40 each month
(calculated based on two hours
per day of use) over the full-lamp
LCD! OK, now I’m beginning to
see why people don’t care. Then
again, most people watch more
than two hours of TV a day, so
crank that up to the average of six
hours a day (sad, but true), and
now you’re looking at a savings of
$1.20 each month. Of course, the
LCD will still be a lot brighter.
The test loop, which is fairly
bright throughout, shows that the
plasma is the power fiend, need-
ing 236 watts, even at 80 percent
brightness. If you’re really into it,
you can take the 10 percent
screen size difference into account
and see even closer numbers.
What this tells us is that, if
you watch a lot of movies, the
plasma will generally cost you
less each month. If you watch a
lot of cartoons and sports, the
LCD, even on full brightness,
will cost you less.
The Other Gear
The calculations for the other
gear are pretty self-explanatory.
Of special note is what the prod-
ucts take from the wall when
turned off. Is it a lot? Not usually
(except for the pre/pro). But
add up a bunch of “not a lot,” and
that could be a few dollars each
month you could shave off your
electric bill. Lastly, I included
calculations for my home gaming
machine, only because it sur-
prised even me. Not including
the speakers I have hooked up to
it (six, with two subs), it costs
me almost $4.25 a month to
run. And that’s not even operat-
ing as my home theater.
What Does It All Mean?
Well, if you care about this kind of
thing or want to shave some pen-
nies off your electric bill, it could
warrant purchasing one of these
power-measurement devices (bet-
ween $50 and $80). Otherwise,
it’s an interesting study in market-
ing spin from the plasma and LCD
companies. Both teams could be
right, and, of course, both could
be wrong. I love that.
 Swedish. Super.Models.
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 hook me up
Green Is Good
Save money, or save the planet?
Believe it or not, you can do both. by Adrienne Maxwell
I dabble in environmentalism. I’m
not devoted enough to take up
residence in a redwood to prevent
it from being cut down, but I turn
off the water faucet while I brush
my teeth. In other words, I care,
but I’m lazy, so I’m always look-
ing for easy ways to help save
the planet. My poor
husband tacitly accepts
the parade of “environ-
mentally responsible”
products that come
through the house—
from organic sham-
poos, to natural cleaning
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solutions, to toilet paper made of
100-percent recycled paper.
Like many of you, my best
expression of environmental aware-
ness comes in the form of recycling.
A recycle bin has taken up perma-
nent residence beside my trash can,
and it’s become second nature to
check for that little tri-
angle when I toss any-
thing out. The other
day, after I replaced a
defective component
video cable, I stood
before the two bins,
cable in hand, realizing
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I had no idea how to responsibly
dispose of it.
My glance turned to my home
theater. What would I do with
that equipment once it died or
met with the inevitable upgrade?
Sure, you can sell or donate func-
tioning equipment, but what if
it’s broken or just plain obsolete?
How to dispose of old equip-
ment isn’t the only environmental
concern, either. There’s the small
issue of power. When you peruse
that glorious electric bill each
month, you probably give at least a
little thought to how much energy
your system consumes when you
use it, but have you thought about
how much you’re spending on
wasted power—the power those
hungry components nibble on
when the system sits idle? You
could be sacrificing a lot of dol-
lars without even knowing it.
(See this month’s GearWorks col-
umn on page 34.)
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 Star Gazing
The easiest way to save
power and money is to think
about the issue before you
buy your gear, not after.
When you shop for your
next TV, receiver, or DVD
player, look for the Energy
Star label, the Environmental
Protection Agency’s seal of
approval. You probably know
to look for this label when
buying a refrigerator but give
it nary a thought when you
browse the consumer elec-
tronics department.
Panasonic TC-32LX50 Energy Star LCD HDTV
Screen image courtesy of Universal
Philips 30PF9975 Energy Star LCD TV
In the case of home elec-
tronics equipment, Energy
Star certification specifically
addresses the problem of
wasted power. Any compo-
nent that you can turn on
using a remote control isn’t
truly off; it’s in standby
mode, anxiously awaiting a
signal to wake it up—and
it’s using electricity in the
process. In order for a prod-
uct to receive the Energy
www.hometheatermag.com > Home Theater / January 2006
Star insignia, it must use 1
watt of power or less when
it’s in standby mode.
For a list of Energy Star
products available in each
home electronics category,
go to www.energystar.gov and
click on “products.” You’ll
find products by most of the
major home theater manu-
facturers. Panasonic and
Philips deserve special note
for their commitment to
energy-saving, environmen-
tally conscious designs.
Panasonic offers more than
475 Energy Star
products and
recently won a
2005 Energy
Star Partner of
the Year award
in the Efficient
Products catego-
r y. P h i l i p s ’
EcoDesign pro-
gram requires
designers to con-
sider environ-
mental factors
l i ke we i g h t ,
energy con-
sumption, haz-
ardous materials,
and recyclabili-
ty at every stage
of product
development.
You should
also look for
Energy Star light
bulbs for all those wonderful
accent lights in your theater.
And, if you just so happen to
be in the market for a new
home, the Energy Star pro-
gram certifies those, too.
The EPA estimates that,
in 2004, the Energy Star
program saved $10 billion
and enough energy to power
24 million homes. This year,
those numbers could see a
nice jump because the EPA
39
hook me up
has added the external power
supply (EPS) to the Energy Star
program—that adapter that
comes with the laptops, printers,
camcorders, MP3 players, and
cell phones. Energy Star–certified
power adapters are 35 percent
more efficient than conventional
adapters and could save more than
5 billion kilowatt-hours of energy.
The Energy Star label will appear
on the packaging for a product
that uses an external power sup-
ply, so be on the lookout.
Waste Not, Spend Not
Whether or not you own Energy
Star products, you can still take
steps to control power usage
around your home—the most
obvious one being to turn off
equipment and lights when you
aren’t using them. But we just
established that many products
aren’t really off when they’re off,
and it’s unrealistic and impractical
to expect people to unplug all of
their gear when it’s not in use.
You might not be able to com-
pletely eliminate wasted power in
your home theater, but you can
reduce it. If your equipment draws
power from the outlet while it’s in
standby mode, reduce the number
of components connected to the
outlet. Consider a product like
Niles’ APC-2 current-sensing
switcher. Connect your gear to the
APC-2 and the APC-2 to the
switched outlet on your receiver
or pre/pro. As the name suggests,
the box senses when you turn on
the receiver and switches on the
rest of the equipment. It’s an easy
way to turn your gear on and off,
and the receiver becomes the only
device in standby mode.
Obviously, you wouldn’t want to
connect a DVR, VCR, or other
time-based device to this type of
product. Also keep in mind that
some products lose their settings
when they lose power.
And what about all those
exter nal power supplies that
aren’t charging anything at this
moment? If you’re like me, you
tend to plug in the adapters and
leave them there until the
device of choice needs power.
Try plugging all of your adapters
into one power brick that you
can easily unplug when nothing
is connected to it.
Why worry excessively about
conserving energy when a home-
automation system can do it for
you? Manufacturers usually tout
convenience as the main reason
to automate your home, but sys-
tems from companies like
Crestron, Leviton, and AMX can
also save you money in the long
term by controlling your home’s
temperature, lighting, and/
or multiroom A/V system.
Consider HAI’s Omni system,
which uses Energy Star–certified
thermostats that automatically
adjust individual rooms, includ-
ing the home theater, based on
occupancy, time of day, or
40 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com

HAI Omni LT Home-Automation System
action. It can also automatically
dim the lights or turn them off
altogether—as well as shut off
the multiroom audio—in rooms
you’re not using. HAI estimates
that an Omni system can save you
up to 20 percent on your energy
bill for a cost beginning at $1 to
$2 per square foot installed.
If you’re truly committed to
energy efficienc y, the EPA
offers a program called Home
Performance with Energy Star,
in which a contractor will do a
complete inspection of your
home to deter mine problem
areas and tell you how to make
it operate more efficiently.
Where All Good Electronics
Go to Die
When it comes to getting people
to recycle, one rule applies: The
A Global Solution
Recycling e-waste isn’t just about eliminating clutter at the
landfill. It’s about effectively reusing the raw materials and
dealing with the hazardous substances inside the devices,
such as lead, cadmium, and mercury, that can contaminate
soil and water tables. The European Union has passed the
Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive that
requires manufacturers who want to sell their electronics
products in Europe to meet minimum standards for
lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, and other materials
by July 6, 2006. Since many international companies dis-
tribute essentially the same products throughout the
world, Americans will likely see a reduction in these sub-
stances, too. For instance, by the end of the first quarter of
2005, 75 percent of Philips’ products were already compli-
ant with the directive, while 100 percent of Panasonic’s
products were compliant by October 2005.
easier, the better.
In-home recycling
prog rams have
been so successful
because all you have
to do is throw recy-
clable products into
a separate bin and
take it to the curb.
Someone else han-
dles the rest. If we
had to drive all over
town to drop off
plastics at one place, glass at
another, and aluminum some-
where else, chances are that most
people would just toss stuff in
the garbage. I’m sad to admit that
I probably would.
Unfortunately, in the elec-
tronics realm, this is what we’re
asked to do, and it’s probably
why so much electronic waste,
or e-waste, is stacking up in
homes and landfills across the
country. Maybe someday, in-home
recycling will include a bin for
electronics—something in a nice
eggplant color, perhaps—but,
until then, it’s going to take a lit-
tle effort (and, in some cases, a
little cash) on our part.
Table 1 includes several
Websites that can help you find a
local or national recycling ser-
vice for your consumer electron-
ics equipment. There are quite a
few national programs in place
for wireless and computer sup-
plies at stores like Staples, Best
Buy, and Office Depot. From
time to time, these stores (often
in conjunction with manufactur-
ers) sponsor e-waste recycling
events in which you can bring
TVs, receivers, and other A/V
equipment in to be recycled,
usually for a small fee. However,
there’s no national program in
place at these stores to take in
home electronics gear.
The EPA has created the Plug-in
to eCycling program to promote
the importance of electronics
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 hook me up
Table 1 recycling, get more step further and passed a first-of-
Earth Links: Websites for the Green Consumer communities and man- its-kind mandatory electronics
www.earth911.com—This site has information on just about any- ufacturers involved in recycling law, the Electronic
thing you want to recycle, as well as tips for a greener lifestyle. the effort, and develop/ Waste Recycling Act of 2003. As
www.eiae.org—The Electronic Industries Alliance’s Website has an test pilot rec ycle of January 1, 2005, California
extensive list of recycling centers and can teach you more about the projects. To be part of consumers are charged a fee of
materials used in your electronic products. the program, a manu- between $6 and $10 when they
www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/conserve/plugin/index.htm—The facturer or retailer purchase a product with a 4-inch
EPA’s Plug-in to eCycling Website provides information for con- must commit to or larger video screen, including
sumers and companies looking to join the program. underwrite the cost of LCDs and CRTs. That money
rethink.ebay.com—The Rethink Initiative offers resources for eBay at least one recycling funds authorized e-waste collec-
users looking to dispose of their old electronics. event per year. tors and recyclers. True, the law
www.greendisk.com—Looking for a way to recycle all those useless While the EPA’s only applies to display products
DVD-Rs and CD-Rs? Check out this progressive site, which also sells program is voluntary, right now, but it’s a start. About a
discs and disc holders made of recycled material.
California has gone a half dozen other states are consid-
ering following California’s lead.
For more info, California con-
sumers can go to www.erecycle.org.
O n e o f t h e m o s t e x c i t i n g,
new e-waste recycling efforts
i s eBay’s Rethink Initiative
(rethink.ebay.com), which unites
manufacturers, government agen-
cies, environmental groups, and
eBay users with one common
goal: disposing of e-waste. It edu-
cates eBay users on the subject
and provides recycle and donation
information, including kits to set
up your own collection events.
But it also taps into eBay’s driving
philosophy: No matter how use-
less you think something is,
someone out there is willing to
spend money on it. Through the
site, you can sell your old gear
yourself, find a sales expert to do
it for you, or trade it in for cash.
The eBay approach recognizes a
universal truth: Some of us may be
motivated by environmental issues,
but all of us are motivated by
money, be it saving some or earn-
ing some. Regardless of which
green motivates you, the goal is to
be motivated. Taking simple steps
to reduce power and recycle
equipment can make a big differ-
ence but requires little effort. Now,
that’s my kind of activism.
* Thanks to David Thompson
and Mark Sharp from Panasonic’s
Corporate Environmental Department
for their help with this article.

42 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com

HT TA L K S T O . . .
HOLLAND/DOZIER/HOLLAND

sure H/D/H songs didn’t sound like those

of any of the other producers and songwrit-
ers. Remember, the same band played for
all of the Motown acts, so we had to be
very meticulous about how we arranged
our songs to stand out.

EH: You have to understand, Brian and

Lamont’s chord structures were unique.
You wouldn’t find them in books, but they
created the right sound for a particular
song. We didn’t want to get bogged down
by tradition; our theories were from the
street. We created our own thing, and that
became the Motown sound.
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THE VIBE IN THE STUDIO.
WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?

E
ven if the names Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and
Eddie Holland don’t ring any bells for you, you surely
know their music. They wrote most of the Supremes’
and the Four Tops’ megahits, such as “Where Did Our Love
Go?,” “Come See About Me,” “Baby Love,” “You Keep Me
Hangin’ On,” “Baby, I Need Your Loving,” “How Sweet it Is (To
Be Loved by You),” and “Reach Out, I’ll Be There.” The three
men supplied a steady stream of top-ten singles for Marvin
Gaye, Jackson 5, Martha & the Vandellas, and many others.
by Steve Guttenberg
THE HOLLAND/DOZIER/HOLLAND SONGWRITING TEAM FIRST STRUCK
GOLD IN THE SUMMER OF 1963 WHEN MARTHA & THE VANDELLAS
RECORDED YOUR SONG “(LOVE IS LIKE A) HEAT WAVE.” THAT TUNE
MUST HAVE PUT YOU ON EASY STREET.
BH: No, it wasn’t like that at all. At that point, I was still BH: The Four Tops’ sessions were a ball—we’d be playing
working 9-to-5 as a recording engineer, stock boy, packing poker, eating chitlins and barbeque ribs at 3 or 4 o’clock in the
records—you name it. morning. We did everything that young, red-blooded American
boys do. The Tops were telling lies and jokes—we had to keep
A LOT OF PROFESSIONAL SONGWRITERS JUST WRITE, BUT H/D/H the fire going to take the stress out of working long hours.
FOLLOWED THROUGH IN THE STUDIO, RIGHT?
BH: Right, we always produced our own stuff. We’d do our I’VE HEARD THAT THERE WERE TIMES THE TEMPTATIONS AND THE FOUR
homework, and we knew exactly what we wanted to hear TOPS RECORDED VOCALS OVER THE SAME INSTRUMENTAL TRACKS,
AND YOU’D PICK THE ONE THAT WOULD BE RELEASED. TRUE?
from the Funk Brothers—and they would diligently fulfill
our requests [laughs]. Normally, we’d go into the studio with BH, LD, and EH: No!
two or three songs and get them all done in a few hours.
LD: Squash that—it’s just a rumor! There have been times
THE FUNK BROTHERS WERE MOTOWN’S HOUSE BAND. DID YOU PER- where one Motown group covered another group’s tune, like
FECT THE ARRANGEMENTS WITH THEM? when Jr. Walker & the All-Stars covered a Four Tops tune “How
LD: No, we’re not taking anything away from the guys, but Sweet It Is,” but the music was different.
we knew what we wanted to hear. Everything was planned,
and we’d show each player how the chords were voiced. IN THE EARLY DAYS THAT STEVIE WONDER WAS HANGING OUT WITH
THE FUNK BROTHERS, DID HE PLAY ON ANY OF YOUR SONGS?
When Brian and I cut those tracks, we wanted to make

46 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com

 “ P S B ’s C u s t o m S o u n d . . . t o p - s h e l f p e r f o r m a n c e a n d u n c o m p r o m i s e d a e s t h e t i c s ”
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HT TA L K S T O . . .
BH: No, he was just a little 9- or
10-year-old kid, but Stevie learned
his craft there. Motown was a college
of sorts for songwriting and produc-
ing for a lot of people.
BRIAN, YOU WERE MOTOWN’S VICE
PRESIDENT OF QUALITY CONTROL. WHAT
DID THAT ENTAIL?
BH: We had kids come in off the
street and listen to what we had
just recorded. They’d tell us what
they liked.
WHAT THEY NOW CALL “FOCUS GROUPS.”
BH: We’d also have people within
the company listen to music recorded
the previous week, and they’d vote
on which stuff to release. When they
voted something down, it didn’t come
out—unless Berry Gordy [Motown’s
founder and president] overruled it.
GORDY WAS MOTOWN’S FOUNDER AND
PRESIDENT. DID HE REGULARLY BLOW
OFF VOTES?
LD: Mostly on his own stuff [every-
body laughs] and Smokey Robinson’s
“You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me.”
When they played the song, Berry
was giving Smokey strange looks and
everybody was laughing, but Smokey
persuaded Berry to release it. The song
came out and did well—definitely a
top-ten record.
BH: On one session, we wrote and
recorded three number-one songs
for the Supremes—“Where Did Our
Love Go?,” “Come See About Me,”
and “Baby Love.” We’re referring to
the music tracks...
WHAT ABOUT THE LYRICS AND RECORDING
THE VOCALS?
BH: The lyrics—that’s where all of the problems came in
[Eddie laughs]! When Lamont and I went into the studio,
the song was done.
EH: It would take an average of two to three weeks to write
the lyrics to one song.
SO LET ME GET THIS RIGHT: THE INSTRUMENTAL BACKING TRACKS
WERE COMPLETED BEFORE YOU WROTE THE LYRICS. THAT’S AMAZING!
EH: Once they were done, I would teach the songs to the
48 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
HOLLAND/DOZIER/HOLLAND
Motown on DVD
Motown Gold on the Ed Sullivan Show (Ventura)
This new Motown collection of 1960s-era appearances on the Ed Sullivan TV
show contains complete performances by the Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, the
Supremes, the Temptations, and Stevie Wonder. Picture and sound quality
are variable, ranging from grainy black and white to surprisingly good color.
Standing in the Shadows of Motown (Artisan)
This moving documentary reunites the surviving members of the Funk
Brothers, the house band that played on every record Motown released up
until 1970. In other words, these men played on more number-one hit records
than the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, and Elvis Presley com-
bined. The two-disc DVD set is loaded with extras and looks and sounds great.
The Temptations (Artisan)
This 1998 made-for-TV bio flick charts the rise of the Temptations. The
film’s depictions of Motown’s inner workings capture the period’s feel with
a remarkable attention to detail. The concert scenes look great, and the
stereo-only mix sounds excellent.
artists, take them into the studio, and dub them in. Brian
would mix the vocals into the backing tracks or add strings
or other instruments.
DID ANY SINGER EVER ASK TO CHANGE THE WORDS?
EH: No, never. We wouldn’t allow any changes. But it wasn’t
easy for me, because Brian and Lamont were, and are,
extremely prolific. They would whip those melodies out so
fast, record two or three songs a day, and then turn them over
to me. At the start of this, I was just a novice, still learning
how to write. Brian and Lamont were out on the playing field,
and I would be stuck trying to write the lyrics.
BH: But they were great and unforgettable lyrics—Lamont
and I finally came to that conclusion 35 years later [everybody
laughs]. And that’s the truth; we didn’t want Eddie to get a
big head. So, when he came searching for approval, Lamont
and I would walk out of the room [more laughs].
EH: They’re kidding a little bit, but that’s true! When I’d first
sing the lyrics, they wouldn’t respond. After a while, I just
got tired of looking for approval. I figured it must be OK
because they’re not saying anything negative, but they didn’t
say anything positive until 35 years later!
ARE RHYTHM & BLUES AND SOUL THE SAME THING?
EH: R&B is just a 12-bar blues with a little more tempo; add
more tempo to the guitars, and you have rock ’n’ roll. But
when you really stop and think about blues or country, they’re
automatic soul. Every type of music has soul—the name is a
misnomer. Soul has funky 12-bar blues, with a slower, grind-
ing movement, and there’s a gospel root to it. That’s where
we came from. When you say, “soul singer,” you think of
Aretha Franklin, and everybody knows what that means.
I SURE DO, BUT ARETHA FRANKLIN’S SOUL AND MOTOWN’S SOUL ARE
NOT EVEN CLOSE TO THE SAME THING.
BH: There’s a big difference; I admit that. Motown was more
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HT TA L K S T O . . .
pop/R&B or R&B/pop, and you could reverse the emphasis,
depending on the song. The New York sound from Carole King
and Gerry Goffin was very soulful R&B/pop, because it came
from a church feeling. Everybody borrowed from that.
AND YET MOTOWN’S SOUND WASN’T BLACK OR WHITE. . .
LD: The H/D/H factor strived to make colorless music that
felt good and appealed to everybody. When you look back,
it’s interesting that most of the artists who covered Motown
songs were white—Barbra Streisand, the Beatles, James
Taylor, the Doobie Brothers.
HOLLAND/DOZIER/HOLLAND
ANY CHANCE WE’LL EVER GET TO HEAR THEM?
BH: We’re going back and will use some of those songs for a
new Broadway musical based on the movie, The First Wives Club.
It’s an opportunity for us to get back together and do some-
thing different. It excites us, and we think we’re going to come
up with songs that are just as exciting, if not more so, than our
old recordings. We should hit Broadway in 18 months.
YOU HAVE A BOX SET OUT NOW.
EH: Right, it’s called Heaven Must Have Sent You: The Holland/
Dozier/Holland Story, with 65 songs on three CDs, and we’re
very excited about that.

AND THE KICKER IS THAT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH MOTOWN FELL
APART IN 1967.
EH: That was something, but it didn’t really end there. It just
got some Botox shots, and we put a new face on it [laughs].
With the Invictus and Hot Wax record labels, we gave them
new names, and the hits just kept on coming.
AFTER YEARS OF CRANKING OUT HIT AFTER HIT, DID ANY OF YOU EVER
SUFFER FROM WRITER’S BLOCK?
EH: No, you have to work, and the fact is that Brian and
Lamont only used one out of every five or six songs they wrote.
If a song didn’t hit them really hard, they would discard it. I
was listening to these melodies and knew they were very strong,
but, for whatever reason, they didn’t want to use them.
IT’S GREAT, AND THAT’S WHERE I LEARNED THAT YOU GUYS CAN SING!
LD: Absolutely! That’s where we started, on the street. In
Detroit, we were in doo-wop heaven. Every guy had his own
doo-wop corner.
BH: Street-corner symphonies. I remember the first time I
saw Lamont—he was singing at the Greystone Ballroom—
little did I know our futures would intertwine. All of the
Detroit groups were copying the Four Tops. At that time,
the actual guys were calling themselves the Four Aims.
LAST QUESTION: DO YOU THREE STILL OWN YOUR MOTOWN SONGS?
EH: We don’t own the copyrights, but we have the writers’
royalties, and that’s the juicy part.

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It’s
iTime
The A/V industry has
finally figured out
that the iPod is just
too cool to ignore.
BY ADRIENNE MAXWELL
I confess, I’ve enjoyed watch-
ing audiophiles, one by one, fall
under the iPod’s spell. Some of my
home theater comrades who were
once convinced that the MP3 was the
scourge of the earth now happily
embrace the shiny white box that lets
them carry their entire music collection
with them everywhere they go.
And they aren’t the only ones who
have realized that the iPod is a valuable
asset. People who own iPods want access
to that music wherever they are, and
they’re willing to spend money on
devices that make this possible. The auto
industry figured that one out a while ago,
but the stigma of MP3 has made the A/V
and custom-install industries reluctant to
follow suit—until now.
The iPort, created by Sonance
cofounder Scott Struthers, got the ball
rolling at the 2004 CEDIA Expo with the
release of the first in-wall music station
for the iPod. When the rest of the indus-
try realized that the existence of a
custom product for the iPod didn’t
herald the demise of all things hi-fi, they
hit the drawing boards.
We got a glimpse at the fruits of that
labor at this year’s CEDIA Expo, where
“iPod” was second only to “1080p” in the
52 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
buzzword category. Whether you’re
looking for a simple tabletop audio
solution, an iPod-friendly receiver, or
a way to add your iPod to an existing
multiroom A/V system, there’s now a
product for you. Warning: iPod prod-
ucts are like Lays potato chips—no one
can choose just one.
Standalone Systems
Denon S-101 ($999) and S-301
($1,599)
• What Is It?
The S-101 and S-301 are 2.1-channel
home theater systems with an integrated
DVD receiver unit that offers pro-
gressive scanning and an AM/FM tuner.
The S-301 adds SACD/DVD-Audio
playback and HDMI output. Both
models are equipped with a dedicated
iPod connection (cable included),
plus a USB port to connect other
portable music devices.
• What Benefits Does It Offer?
These are complete home theater sys-
tems that use Dolby Virtual Speaker to
simulate multichannel sound from
two speakers and a subwoofer. The
onscreen help menu makes switching
from DVD to cable to your iPod very
Denon S-301
simple, and you can navigate and con-
trol your iPod via the onscreen inter-
face and Denon remote.
• What Else Do You Need?
A USB cable to connect additional
portable audio devices, if desired.
• What Do We Think?
These systems are great for someone
who needs a complete A/V system
for a smaller or secondary space. iPod
functionality isn’t just an after-
thought. It receives the same attention
as other sources.
> www.usa.denon.com
JBL On Stage ($160)
• What Is It?
The On Stage is a tabletop audio system
designed specifically for the iPod. Its
unique circular frame houses the iPod
dock, four aluminum-dome speaker dri-
vers, a 6-watt-per-channel amp, volume
control, and a stereo minijack input.
The Komponent loudspeaker
system from Linn.
Performance with style.

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 It’s iTime
• What Benefits Does • What Do We Think? each with a 1-inch MicroTractrix
It Offer? NXT has a track record of coaxing a Horn-loaded tweeter and a 2.5-inch
With a 7-inch diame- full sound out of very thin speakers, fiber-composite woofer. An RF remote
ter, a 2-inch height, and the SX 2000 certainly shares the is included.
and a weight of just iPod’s sex appeal. If space is limited • What Benefits Does It Offer?
1 pound, the JBL and style is paramount, give this one The iGroove utilizes proprietary Klipsch
On Stage won’t an audition. Again, a remote control technologies for better sound quality. It
obtrude on your would be nice. charges your iPod while docked, and
JBL On Stage desk or tabletop, and > www.us.kensington.com the included J-Cup adapter lets you
it’s portable. You can sync the connect an external CD/MP3 player or
iPod with your computer or have it Klipsch iFi ($399) satellite receiver. The RF remote lets
charge while docked. The minijack • What Is It? you control the iGroove through walls
connection (cable included) lets you A 2.1-channel speaker system created and floors.
connect an external CD player or for the iPod. The package contains two • What Else
other audio device. RSX-3 satellite speakers, an 8-inch Do You
• What Else Do You Need? subwoofer with a 200-watt amp, an Need?
The proprietary cable that comes with iPod docking station that connects A 3.5-mm mini-
your iPod, to sync with a computer. directly to the sub’s back panel, and a jack cable to con-
Klipsch iGroove
• What Do We Think? tiny RF remote. nect additional audio
Undoubtedly an eye-catcher, this portable devices, if you so desire.
device will easily move from bedroom • What Do We Think?
to kitchen to office. A remote control A worthy option for someone who
would’ve been a nice inclusion. wants something a little smaller and/or
> www.jbl.com more portable than the iFi.
> www.klipsch.com
Kensington SX 2000 ($160)
• What Is It?
Klipsch iFi
Monitor Audio i-deck ($349)
A tabletop audio system that features • What Is It?
a docking cradle and one of NXT’s • What Benefits Does It Offer? A two-channel speaker system with a
SurfaceSound flat-panel speakers, which It’s easy to set up and use and includes all matching base station. Each speaker
fires sound from the front and the of the essential cables. The docking sta- features a 14-mm gold dome tweeter
back of the speaker. tion charges your iPod, and a minijack and a 4-inch woofer. Powered by an
• What Benefits Does It Offer? input lets you connect other audio AC adapter.
The unit is compact and sexy, in a devices. The RF remote lets you control • What Benefits Does It Offer?
sleekly finished chassis that matches the the system through walls and floors. Monitor takes an audiophile approach to
iPod aesthetic. The dock charges your • What Else Do You Need? this system, bypassing the iPod’s internal
iPod, and there’s a minijack input to A 3.5-mm minijack cable to connect digital-to-analog converters and deliver-
connect other audio devices. additional audio devices, if desired. ing the digital files directly to its own
• What Else Do You Need? • What Do We Think? DACs to reduce noise distortion. Con-
A 3.5-millimeter minijack cable to con- Perfect for someone who wants a higher- tinuous playback means you don’t have
nect additional audio devices, if desired. quality audio experience in their bed- to restart songs or playlists. The docking
room or office, developed by a company cradle charges your iPod and allows you
that’s had a lot of practice designing to sync with your computer. It has an RF
robust 2.1-channel desktop solutions. remote and a stereo minijack input.
> www.klipsch.com • What Else Do You Need?
The proprietary cable that comes with
Klipsch iGroove ($280) your iPod, to sync with a computer.
• What Is It? • What Do We Think?
A tabletop audio system with a built- Music lovers who refuse to rip their
Kensington SX 2000 in docking cradle and two speakers, music at less than 320 kilobytes per

54 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com

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 It’s iTime
second (or compress it at all) will appre-
ciate Monitor’s high-fidelity approach,
but a subwoofer would be a nice
option. Its flexible design lets you set
it up as an all-in-one table-
top system,
or separate
the speak-
ers, which
are w a l l -
mountable,
Monitor Audio i-deck for a larger soundfield.
(See our full review on page 94.)
> www.monitoraudiousa.com
iPod-Ready
Receivers and
Docking Cradles
Denon AVR-4306
Receiver ($1,999)
• What Is It?
The AVR-4306 is a multizone, seven-
channel A/V receiver with 130 watts
per channel of amplification, HDMI
and component video switching,
FireWire inputs, and XM Satellite Radio
Connect-and-Play functionality. You can
connect your iPod to the receiver via
a dedicated front-panel input, and
there’s also a USB port to connect other
portable audio devices.
• What Benefits Does It Offer?
You can control your iPod via the
receiver’s remote, and Denon has
designed an onscreen menu system espe-
cially for iPod navigation. Apply pro-
cessing modes like Dolby Pro Logic IIx
to the stereo audio signal for multi-
channel playback.
• What Else Do You Need?
The proprietary cable that comes with
your iPod.
Denon AVR-4306
56 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
• What Do We Think?
iPod functionality is just the icing on the
cake for this full-featured receiver,
although we’d like to see a matching base
for a more attractive presentation.
> www.usa.denon.com
Harman/Kardon The Bridge
Docking Cradle ($70)
• What Is It?
A standalone docking cradle that con-
nects to one of Harman/Kardon’s new
AVR 40 Series receivers via a propri-
etary cable (included).
• What Benefits Does It Offer?
You can control your iPod via
the receiver’s remote and
view artist/track info on
the receiver’s front-panel
display or onscreen menu.
A/V Apply Logic 7 or Dolby Pro
Logic IIx to the stereo
Harman/Kardon
audio signal for multi-
The Bridge
channel playback, and
the cradle charges your iPod
while docked.
• What Else Do You Need?
An AVR 40 Series receiver: AVR 740
($3,499), AVR 340 ($899), AVR 240
($599), or AVR 140 ($499)
• What Do We Think?
Between the Bridge’s curves and H/K’s
distinctively styled receivers, this is cer- communicate with the receiver.
tainly the most attractive receiver/dock
combination. With four compatible
receivers ranging from $499 to $3,499,
there’s a system for every budget.
> www.harmankardon.com
iPort FS Series Docking
Cradles ($150 to $800)
• What Is It?
The FS line includes five freestanding
iPod docking cradles through which you
can stream audio and video to your home
entertainment system and sync your iPod
with your computer. A proprietary, two-
part cable (included) mates the dock to
your computer, and a breakout box con-
nects to your A/V system.
• What Benefits Does It Offer?
Audio and video playback. You can
easily switch between streaming and
syncing with your computer. The uni-
versal docking mechanism eliminates
the need for special iPod adapters,
and it charges your iPod while
docked. The FS-3, FS-4, and FS-5 fea-
ture advanced breakout boxes that
allow for things like balanced audio,
IR passthrough, and two-way com-
munication via RS-232.
• What Else Do You Need?
Cables and other accessories vary per
model. An optional remote ($50) is avail-
able for the FS-2, FS-3, FS-4, and FS-5.
• What Do We Think?
You can incorporate this non-proprietary
docking cradle into many A/V systems,
regardless of brand. There are a variety
of choices to suit a wide range of con-
nection and control needs.
> www.iportmusic.com
Onkyo DS-A1 Remote
Interactive Dock ($99)
• What Is It?
The DS-A1 docking cradle can deliver
audio and video to an Onkyo receiver
via stereo analog, composite video, and
S-video connections. It utilizes Onkyo’s
Remote Interactive (RI) technology to
• What Benefits Does It Offer?
Audio and video playback. The use of
RI ensures that the DS-A1 will work
with any Onkyo
receiver manufac-
tured in the past
decade, and you
can control your
iPod with the
Onkyo remote.
Benefits include
the ability to inte- Onkyo DS-A1
grate startup and shutdown, timer and
sleep functions, and alarm wake-up. The
DS-A1 charges your iPod while docked.
• What Else Do You Need?
An Onkyo receiver with RI functionality.
Great theater deserves a great setting.

©2004 Sanus Systems. All rights reserved. The Union of Form and Function, Sanus logo and Component are trademarks of Sanus Systems.

At first look you are awestruck by the beauty of Sanus Component Furniture. And when you investigate deeper you see the strength
of aluminum pillars blended with the character of solid hardwoods and unique features like tempered glass shelves and a wire man-
agement system. Component Furniture includes cabinets, armoires and digital TV stands that configure to your exact needs. Add the
Sanus Convection Cooling System that allows air to flow around heat-generating A/V gear like a cooling canyon breeze
and you have Component Furniture that echoes of quality and performance.

800.359.5520 www.sanus.com
 It’s iTime
• What Do We Think? • What Benefits Does It Offer?
If you already own an Onkyo receiver Audio and video playback. The iBase
and an iPod, why not spend $100 to join eXtender features an audio-output level
the two in a more interactive way? control to boost the audio signal. You can
> www.onkyousa.com add up to eight iBases to your ADA
system, with individual playback and con- Crestron CEN-IPOD
Pioneer Elite VSX-74TXVi trol of each iPod via the system’s keypads
($1,700) and VSX-72TXV and touchpanels. The iBase charges the • What Benefits Does It Offer?
($1,400) A/V Receivers device while docked, and you can run up Audio and video playback. Crestron’s
• What Is It? to 500 feet of Cat-5 between the iBase iPod Connect two-way interface essen-
These new additions to the Elite line wall plate and iBase eXtender. You can tially replicates the iPod user interface on
include seven channels of amplification also use the system in a non-ADA multi- a Crestron touchpanel, but with a larger
(140 and 130 watts, respectively), HDMI room system, as there are address settings screen that allows for more informa-
and component video switching, MCACC specifically for touchscreen control. tion. The device is compatible with all
automatic setup, and XM Satellite Radio • What Else Do You Need? Crestron systems; however, it’s designed
Connect-and-Play functionality. Both A/V cables to connect the iBase to a to be plug-and-play with the Adagio
receivers have an iPod input on the back home theater system. For multiroom system, so no programming is required.
panel (cable included). functionality, you’ll need a multiroom • What Else Do You Need?
• What Benefits Does It Offer? system and Cat-5 cable. If you want con- A Crestron multiroom system like the
You can control your iPod with the trol of multiple iPods simultaneously, get Adagio or the CNX-BIPAD8, with cor-
Pioneer remote and navigate via the an iBase and eXtender Kit for each one. responding keypads and/or touchpanels.
front-panel display or onscreen menu. • What Do We Think? • What Do We Think?
• What Else Do You Need? The iBase is definitely a looker, thanks to The box itself isn’t terribly sexy, but
Nothing. its back plate and lighting modes that iPod functionality gives you another
• What Do change with the music, and you don’t excuse to show off those Crestron
We Think? have to own an ADA multiroom system touchpanels you love so much.
Again, iPod to use it. The eXtender Kit is a bit more > www.crestron.com
functionality confusing to set up, but you have a lot of
is a bonus on configuration options. iPort IW Series ($200 to $1,100)
Pioneer Elite VSX-74TXVi these two well- > www.ada-usa.com • What Is It?
equipped receivers, but we’d like to The IW series includes five in-wall
see a matching base for a more attrac- docking cradles with varying levels of
tive presentation. sophistication—from the simple IW-1,
> www.pioneerelectronics.com which lets you play music and display
photos in the same room as your TV or
stereo, to the IW-5, which adds an inte-
Multiroom Systems grated IR receiver, RS-232 connectivity,
ADA iBase ($800) and iBase and balanced audio/video capability.
eXtender Kit ($800) • What Benefits Does It Offer?
• What Is It? Audio and video playback. These sys-
The iBase docking cradle lets you ADA iBase and iBase eXtender Kit tems are compatible with a wide range
mate your iPod with any A/V system of A/V setups. The IW-4 and IW-5 can
via stereo audio, composite video, and Crestron CEN-IPOD ($700) communicate via RS-232 with AMX and
S-video connections. The iBase eXtender • What Is It? Crestron touchpanels. Three upgrade
Kit incorporates the iBase into an ADA A breakout box that links your iPod to kits ($275 to $325) allow you to cus-
multiroom system. An RJ-50 cable your Crestron multiroom A/V system. tomize the system even further. The uni-
(included) links the iBase to a wall plate, The box connects to your iPod via a pro- versal cradle charges the iPod.
which in turn sends balanced audio, iPod prietary cable (included) and has both • What Else Do You Need?
control commands, and metadata via RCA and Cat-5 balanced audio connec- Optional hardware for video support
Cat-5 to the iBase eXtender. tions, plus an Ethernet port. with all models; optional remote control

58 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com

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 It’s iTime
for IW-2, -3, -4, and -5. Other acces-
sories and cables vary per model.
• What Do We Think?
Flexibility is this one’s strongest asset.
There’s a system for every wallet and every
theater or multiroom system, regardless
of manufacturer.
> www.iport-
music.com
Russound
iBridge with
Adapter
or Docking
Cradle (price
iPort IW Series TBD)
• What Is It?
The iBridge user interface lets you con-
trol your iPod using any Russound
keypad or touchscreen that utilizes
Russound’s RNET communication plat-
form. The iPod communicates with the
system via either an iBridge adapter or
dock. (Details on these products were
not available at press time.)
• What Benefits Does It Offer?
Integrate and control your iPod via an
existing Russound multiroom system.
• What Else Do You Need?
A multiroom system with RNET key-
pads, such as the UNO-S1, UNO-S2,
or UNO-TS2.
• What Do We Think?
The interface is colorful and attractive;
we don’t know yet how easily you can
incorporate the adapter or dock into
your system.
> www.russound.com
SpeakerCraft MODE Keypad
($399) and Docking Cradle
($120)
• What Is It?
The keypad, designed to work with
SpeakerCraft’s MZC multiroom con-
trollers, features a new control inter-
face especially suited for the iPod. Your
iPod sits in a proprietary docking
cradle that communicates with the
main system via Cat-5.
60 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
Russound iBridge
• What Benefits Does It Offer?
You can connect up to six iPods to the
controller and access each one individu-
ally as a separate source. The keypad fea-
tures a color screen, plus a scroll wheel
and dedicated transport buttons that also
allow for simple control of a music
server or XM/FM/AM tuner.
• What Else Do You Need?
A SpeakerCraft MZC-66 or MZC-88
controller and Cat-5 cable.
• What Do We Think?
The attractive keypad easily integrates
into your existing SpeakerCraft setup,
provided you have one of the two com-
patible systems. You’ll have to replace
existing keypads with the MODE.
> www.speakercraft.com
Xantech ZAKIT ($199)
• What Is It?
An input kit that lets you add an iPod or
other music device to a single zone in any
multiroom audio system. The kit
includes two single-gang J-box wall
plates (affectionately called the Zatran
and Zarec) with composite video, stereo
audio, and IR control: One connects to
the iPod, the other to your Xantech con-
troller. They communicate with each
other via Cat-5 (up to 300 feet).
• What Benefits Does It Offer?
Audio and video playback. You can
SpeakerCraft MODE Keypad
and Docking Cradle
Xantech ZAKIT
connect any portable music device with
a line output to any distributed audio
system. If you want to add multiple
audio devices to your system, you can
buy the Zatran alone ($130) and the
ZA8REC receiver ($400), which grants
you individual control of music devices
in up to eight different zones.
• What Else Do You Need?
Any distributed audio system, but, of
course, Xantech recommends their
MRC88 or MRAUDIO8X8 multiroom
controller. You also need Cat-5 cable and
RCA-to-minijack cables.
• What Do We Think?
This is another product that has flexibil-
ity on its side. You can integrate any
portable music device with a line out into
any multiroom audio system. It’s more
work to set up multiple zones, though.
> www.xantech.com
ZON SmartDock ( price TBD)
• What Is It?
A docking cradle that adds the iPod to a
ZON multiroom audio system via a
single Cat-5 cable.
• What Benefits Does It Offer?
Smart Input technology in the dock
processes the iPod’s audio to reduce
noise and improve sound quality. The
freestanding dock doesn’t require
wall-mounting, charges the iPod
while docked, and displays ZON con-
nection status on the iPod screen. You
can control the iPod via any ZON
keypad in the house.
• What Else Do You Need?
A ZON multiroom audio system and
a Cat-5 cable.
• What Do We Think?
A simple solution with easy integration
via Cat-5, but there isn’t a special keypad
interface for iPod control.
> www.zonaudio.com
T O S H I B A P L A S M A H D T V W I T H T H I N C , To s h i b a H o m e I n t e r a c t i v e N e t w o r k C o n n e c t i o n .
T H E Y G O T T H E I R S . W H AT ’ S S T O P P I N G Y O U ?

© 2005 Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C. mytoshibatv.com

from the
64

78

90 94

SPOTLIGHT SYSTEM PG 64 Our Test Gear OUR RATINGS

SYSTEM
Outlaw Audio Model 1070 A/V Receiver >Audio Precision System Two 2532
Dual Domain Each product is
and Aperion Audio Intimus 532-LR rated on a scale of
Speaker System >Fluke 189 multimeter
50 to 100 in five
Gear from the Net that demands respect. >Leader LT-446 HDTV test generator categories: build
>Leader LV5700A waveform monitor quality, value, fea-
HIGH PERFORMANCE PG 74 >LG OS-9020A oscilloscope
tures, performance,
Pioneer PDP-5060HD Plasma HDTV and ergonomics. The
Dipping into the black (level). >LinearX loudspeaker measurement
system overall rating is an
Sonus faber Domus Series Speaker System >Minolta LS-100 luminance meter
average, with each
Body and soul. category receiving
>Photo Research PR-650 SpectraScan the following weight:
colorimeter
MIDRANGE PG 82 >Staco variable transformer Performance: 35%
Sony KDL-V40XBR1 LCD HDTV 3PN2210B (22-amp)
Value: 25%
Good looking from almost any angle.
>TecLab TWS-1510 test benches
Features: 15%
Philips 42PF9630A Plasma HDTV Build quality: 15%
Router-free multimedia TV.
Ergonomics: 10%
Onkyo TX-NR1000 A/V Receiver
Chairman of the boards.
We also color-code
each ratings box to
ENTRY LEVEL PG 94 reflect a certain
Monitor Audio i-deck price class:
The Pod person when he’s at home.
PURPLE > High end ($$$–$$$$)
Maxent MX-26X3 LCD HD Monitor BLUE > Midrange ($$–$$$)
The little TV that could. Visit the “How We Test” link on our
GREEN > Entry level ($–$$)
Website for a detailed explanation of
our ratings system and a list of our
CONVERGENCE PG 102 reference gear.
Potpourri 2 www.hometheatermag.com
Three quick glimpses into what’s hot in the convergence world.
www.hometheatermag.com > Home Theater / January 2006 63
from the
test bench
Outlaw Audio Model 1070
A/V Receiver and Aperion Audio
Intimus 532-LR Speaker System
Gear from the Net that demands respect.
BY MARK FLEISCHMANN
Outlaw Audio and Aperion
Audio both pursue the decidedly
nonmainstream business model of
selling quality surround gear
directly to consumers over the
Internet. Back when I worked for
an Internet startup—don’t fall
asleep now, or I’ll poke you with a
stick—my now dead-as-a-doornail
64 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
SPOTLIGHT SYSTEM
company caught a lot of flak for
facilitating Internet sales of audio
equipment. Isn’t it unwise to buy
something you haven’t heard?
Well, if you lived in the best of
all possible worlds, you could go
into a store, listen to everything on
the shelves, and come away with
the best possible system for your
needs at the best possible price.
Sadly, unless you’re lucky enough
to live near a first-class A/V spe-
cialty store, you live in hell.
$$–$$$
“Bookstores are terrible places
to sell books,” publishing guru Dan
Poynter often says, and the same
is true of chain stores designed
to move massive quantities of
mediocre electronics. I’ll never
forget the time I walked into one,
overjoyed to find a dedicated demo
room full of speakers—including
one or two good specimens—only
to find that all the tweeters had been
punched in by malicious fingers.
There are still stores where the
high-end audio flame burns bright,
and brands—including some large
and successful ones—that limit their
distribution to such places. If you
live near one, go there. But, if it’s
too long a drive or you’re just used
Cordero Studios
to buying over the Net, consider
ordering this month’s Spotlight
System from Outlaw and Aperion.
Hear for yourself how it sounds in
your room with your favorite music
and movies. Comparing this system
to everything else I’ve reviewed over
the past 15 years, I’d say this
receiver-and-speaker-system combo
is worth at least 50 percent more
than what you’ll pay, and I’m not
trying to be effusive.
Warm-Hearted Renegade
Outlaw Audio’s Model 1070 sur-
round receiver succeeds the popular
Model 1050 with significant updates
 Your living room.

Your stage.

Lexicon LIVE™. The latest proprietary technology from Lexicon is like nothing you have ever heard. It utilizes your home
theater system to create the illusion of being in a remarkably different space. Speak, sing, or play an instrument and expe-
rience the sound of a live concert hall. The technology behind Lexicon LIVE is used in many of the world’s most presti-
gious performance venues to enhance their acoustics. In the home, Lexicon LIVE can transform your home theater into a
practice room, liven up a party, or simply create a different sounding space. Lexicon LIVE - another innovation from the
leaders in digital audio. Contact your local Lexicon dealer to experience Lexicon LIVE for yourself.

3 O a k Pa r k D r i v e , B e d f o r d , M A 0 1 7 3 0 - 1 4 1 3 U S A | Te l : 7 8 1 - 2 8 0 - 0 3 0 0 | Fa x : 7 8 1 - 2 8 0 - 0 4 9 0 | w w w. l e x i c o n . c o m
©2005 Harman International Industries, Incorporated. "Lexicon" is a registered trademark of Harman International Industries, Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 OUTLAW AUDIO MODEL 1070 A/V RECEIVER AND
from the test bench APERION AUDIO INTIMUS 532-LR SPEAKER SYSTEM

fictitious 100) with price) 40-pound weight. Well-

all seven channels chosen controls sprinkle it, includ-
NEED A DISPLAY? driven (as opposed ing a set of navigation keys that
We recommend the following
displays to mate with this
to one at a time). I allow you to punch in commands—
Outlaw/Aperion combo: can count the in conjunction with the blue fluo-
number of manufac- rescent front panel—as easily as
Maxent MX-26X3 LCD turers who play fair you’d use the remote with the
HD Monitor, $1,099
Screen size: 26 inches with power ratings onscreen display.
Best video connection: DVI on the fingers of one An Outlaw exclusive resides on
Weight: 28.6 pounds hand, and this is one the rear panel—a three-position
NuVision NVX32HDU
of them. toggle switch that affects the
LCD HD Monitor, $2,499 Tiny things that 7.1-channel analog line input
Screen size: 32 inches reviewers rarely men- (the one you’re likely to use with
Best video connection: DVI
tion add to this the line outputs of an SACD/
Weight: 46 pounds
**Please remember that if you product’s credibil- DVD-Audio player). The Digital
decide to use a projector, you will ity. Crack the box, mode applies the bass management
also need to purchase a screen. and y o u ’ l l f i n d and other choices you made in the
the receiver sand- main menu. In Bypass mode, the
in video switching, surround wiched between two layers receiver applies no bass
modes, and bass management, of nearly indestructible management at all, defer-
among other areas. It’s one of the polyfoam—as opposed to ring to the disc player or
few receivers to include DVI video the disintegrating styro- other input source. Finally,
switching (two in, one out). Why foam that comes apart in the HPF/LPF mode applies
DVI and not its successor, HDMI? your hands (and during ship- a fixed 80-hertz analog
^

Outlaw’s Model 1070

receiver comes with some
nice peripherals, such as
the easy-to-use remote
and an unusually well-
written manual.
Because DVI is a stable standard ment). The slim spiral- crossover. The upside is that
and HDMI is an evolving one. If bound instruction manual is analog input signals remain
you want to use this receiver with written in clear, friendly, and in the analog domain, avoid-
an HDMI-equipped device, an endearingly paternalistic ing A-to-D and D-to-A con-
adapter will bridge the gap, and it English. It’s not only an versions. The downside is
might work—but a DVI-to-DVI exemplary manual but also a the loss of other settings that
connection is the only sure bet. strong primer on surround you can only apply digitally,
The power rating is another thing sound in general. such as speaker size, dis-
that distinguishes Outlaw as a The front panel is a round- tance, and the newly added
stronghold of independent thinking. cornered steel plate more than lip-sync correction.
The 1070 is rated at 65 watts per 0.25 inches thick, adding to Outlaw has included

96
channel (as opposed to a usually the unit’s above average (at this the full panoply of Dolby

OUTLAW AUDIO MODEL 1070 A/V RECEIVER OVERALL RATING

Build Quality
> Bulletproof front
panel
> Gold-plated metal-
nut binding posts
> 40-pound heft is com-
parable to competitors
costing 50 percent more
Value Features
> Bypass retailers and > Power is conserva-
save, if you don’t need tively rated (that is a
their assistance good thing)
> Frilly features absent > Three-way bass man-
but not missed agement for 7.1-channel
analog outputs
> Asserts value through
long-term listening > DVI but no HDMI; no
room correction
Performance Ergonomics
> All fundamentals > Best-written manual
addressed and exquis- ever
itely fine-tuned
> Sensible front panel
> Transparent, neutral,
honest, reliable > Remote is basic but
acceptable
Outlaw Audio, in its own tri-
umphantly independent way,

95 98 94 98 91
delivers reference-quality perfor-
mance in a midpriced receiver. Its
performance is nothing short of
miraculous—bypassing the retail
scene produces audible benefits.
General information This is the best buy in receivers
Model 1070 A/V Receiver, $899 > Outlaw Audio, (866) OUTLAWS, www.outlawaudio.com > Dealer Locator Code OUT just under $1,000.

66 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com

 “Definitive Technology’s
Mythos Gem will be Your
®

System’s Crown Jewel”

— John Sciacca, Sound & Vision

Small size, big sound and

drop-dead gorgeous!

“Unbelievable clarity and dynamic authority...

huge sounding... show-stealers.”
— Chris Martens, AVguide.com
Imagine the ultimate sub/sat system — remarkably
compact, exquisitely elegant with ultra high performance
room-filling sound and foundation-shaking bass you
thought only came from huge floorstanding behemoths.
This impossible dream is now the latest reality from
Definitive. Introducing the new Mythos Gem System fea-
turing the incredible 650-Watt SuperCube III subwoofer.

“Outstanding... I couldn’t believe the sound wasn’t

coming from large floorstanding speakers.”
— Adam Zolot, CNET.com
The Mythos Gem System is the perfect choice for
discerning listeners who desire the versatility of an
easy-to-live-with compact sub/sat system combined
with the cutting-edge styling, world-class build quality
and state-of-the-art sonic performance that’s won
Definitive’s Mythos Series and SuperCube Subwoofers
Home Theater’s “Product-of-the-Year Award” and
Sound & Vision’s “Critic’s Choice Award.”
The polished aluminum Gems (available in silver or
black) can be wall, shelf, or stand mounted and the tiny
but mighty SuperCube III is easy to hide but stylish
enough to show off. They’re perfect for your lifestyle,
and the mind-boggling performance plus remarkable
value had Home Theater raving, “Amazing… there isn’t
much else out there that can beat it in terms of sonic
performance at the price!”

Complete Gem System

around $1999
(stands optional)

Also available in black finish. 11433 CRONRIDGE DR. • OWINGS MILLS, MD 21117 • 410.363.7148
www.definitivetech.com
See our dealer list on page 141
 OUTLAW AUDIO MODEL 1070 A/V RECEIVER AND
from the test bench APERION AUDIO INTIMUS 532-LR SPEAKER SYSTEM

Pro Logic II operations, includ- for listening to music, although

ing center-width, panorama, and
dimension controls—features
that appear too seldomly in other
products. Given all of those
genuinely helpful side-to-side
and front-to-back adjustment
options, there is no reason why
anyone would need to use stereo
AT A GLANCE OUTLAW AUDIO MODEL 1070 A/V RECEIVER
[
the receiver performs well in
two-channel mode.
It performs well, in fact, in every
mode. The character of the mid-
range is dead-on, neither softened
nor hardened. It’s not just a car-
toon outline of a midrange but
rather a fully nuanced, fleshed-out,
HIGHLIGHTS
Outlaw Audio Model 1070
A/V Receiver:
 Best receiver I’ve found for less
than $1,000
 The midrange doesn’t play dumb
 Heir to the popular Model 1050

> CONNECTIONS
Inputs: and harmonically well-proportioned
Video: DVI (2), component video ( 3), one. To get better performance,
S-video (5), composite video (5)
Audio: coaxial digital ( 3), optical
you’d have to resort to some
digital ( 3), 7.1-channel very pricey separates. The point
analog (1), stereo analog (8) is, there’s a lot you can do with
> FEATURES Outputs: 65 honest watts.
Processing Modes: Dolby: Digital 5.1, EX, Pro Logic IIx, Video: DVI (1), component video (1),
Virtual Speaker, Headphone S-video (1), composite video (1)
DTS: DTS, ES, 96/24, Neo:6 Audio: coaxial digital (1), optical Towers of Power
Other: 5 Stereo, 7 Stereo, Bypass digital (1), stereo analog (2), The scent of flop sweat is familiar
THX Certification: No 7.1-channel preamp (1) to anyone who loves music and
Audio D/A Converter: 24-bit/192-kilohertz Additional:
Number of Amp Channels: 7 RS-232 (1), 12-volt trigger (1),
buys new speakers. As you slit the
Power Rating (watts per channel): 65, into 8 ohms IR in (1), IR out (1), packing tape, you feel like you’re
Frequency Response: –1 dB from 10 Hz to 100 kHz on a stage and that everyone is look-
These listings are based on
Dimensions (H x W x D, inches): 5.9 x 17.2 x 15.5 the manufacturer’s stated specs; ing at you—even if you’re alone in
Weight ( pounds): 40 the HT Labs box below indicates
Price $899 the gear’s performance on our the room—and that they’re think-
test bench. ing, “Did he blow it? Has he just
made a jackass of himself?”
HT Labs Measures: Outlaw Audio Model 1070 A/V Receiver That’s why Aperion Audio’s
packaging panache may be more
10 This graph shows that the Model 1070’s left channel, than mere eccentricity or bravado.
5
from the CD input to the speaker output with two chan-
2
1
nels driving 8-ohm loads, reaches 0.1 percent distortion
Open up one of these boxes, pull
0.5

0.2 at 73.7 watts and 1 percent distortion at 96.8 watts. Into off the (again nondisintegrating)
0.1
0.05
4 ohms, the amplifier reaches 0.1 percent distortion at foam, and what you see is not a
%
0.02 84.0 watts and 1 percent distortion at 126.6 watts.
0.01
0.005 Response from the multichannel input to the
naked speaker but a velvet bag in
0.002
0.001
speaker output measures –1.83 decibels at 10 hertz, royal purple, tightened with a
0.0005

0.0002
0.0001
20 40 60 80 100
W 0.039 percent at 1 kHz when driving 2.83 volts into an
> Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm
loads:
0.1% distortion at 69.2 watts
1% distortion at 78.9 watts
> All channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 51.5 watts
1% distortion at 66.9 watts
> Analog frequency response in Bypass mode:
–0.29 dB at 10 Hz; –0.08 dB at 20 Hz
–0.14 dB at 20 kHz; –0.72 dB at 50 kHz
> Analog frequency response with signal processing:
–1.50 dB at 10 Hz; –0.47 dB at 20 Hz
–1.53 dB at 20 kHz; –45.62 dB at 50 kHz
–0.59 dB at 20 Hz, –0.14 dB at 20 kilohertz, and –0.72 dB
at 50 kHz. THD+N from the amplifier was less than
8-ohm load. Crosstalk at 1 kHz driving 2.83 volts into an
8-ohm load was –82.32 dB left to right and –84.52 dB
right to left. The signal-to-noise ratio with 2.83 volts
driving an 8-ohm load from 10 Hz to 24 kHz with “A”
weighting was –88.91 dBrA.
From the Dolby Digital input to the loudspeaker
output, the left channel measures –0.10 dB at 20 Hz
and –1.47 dB at 20 kHz. The center channel measures
–0.09 dB at 20 Hz and –0.98 dB at 20 kHz, and the left
surround channel measures –0.09 dB at 20 Hz and
–1.12 dB at 20 kHz. From the Dolby Digital input to the
line-level output, the LFE channel is +0.15 dB at 20 Hz
when referenced to the level at 40 Hz and reaches the
upper 3-dB down point at 82 Hz and the upper 6-dB
down point at 101 Hz.—MJP
golden cord. Uncrating an Aperion
is like unexpectedly stumbling
into a coronation ceremony. And
you can’t help feeling you’re the
one being crowned.
If Outlaw’s form of showmanship
is nonconformist chic, Aperion’s
is pomp and circumstance, and
the pleasant surprises continue
when you finally confront the
speakers themselves. My review
system had a high-gloss-black finish
 Definitively
Mythos ®

“Mythos sounded like a $20,000

home theater speaker package that
only costs a fraction of the price!”
— Jeff Cherun, HDTV ETC.

“Incredible speakers ... absolutely gorgeous

with sound that is even more impressive”
— Consumer Guide
Feast your eyes and ears on Mythos, a revolu-
tionary concept in super-elegant high-performance
loudspeakers. Home Entertainment’s Brent
Butterworth raved, “Nothing can outshine
Definitive’s Mythos Speakers.” Their sleek,
aircraft-grade polished aluminum cabinets and
state-of-the-art drivers deliver superb sound
quality for music and home theater perfection.
Clearly, Mythos Two and Three ($499 ea.) along
with Mythos Six and Seven ($349 ea.) are the
Plasma Solution™: ideal upscale on-wall and
shelf-mountable speakers to perfectly complement
your new plasma TV.
And the gorgeous Mythos One Tower ($899 ea.),
Mythos Four Tower ($699 ea.) and Mythos Five
Tower ($499 ea.) are radical cutting-edge styling
statements which sound absolutely magnificent,
complement everything, and literally redefine the
concept of floorstanding loudspeakers. In fact,
the Mythos Four system has won Home Theater’s
“RAVE” award, which honors the overall top
product that they have reviewed all year.

11433 CRONRIDGE DR. • OWINGS MILLS, MD 21117 • 410. 363.7148

www.definitivetech.com
Also available in black finish. See our dealer list on page 141
 OUTLAW AUDIO MODEL 1070 A/V RECEIVER AND
from the test bench APERION AUDIO INTIMUS 532-LR SPEAKER SYSTEM

AT A GLANCE APERION AUDIO INTIMUS 532-LR SPEAKER SYSTEM

[
> SUBWOOFER: S-12
These list- HIGHLIGHTS
ings are Connections: Line-level, speaker-level
based on
the manufac-
Enclosure Type: Vented, back Aperion Audio Intimus 532-LR
turer’s stated Woofer (size in inches, type): 12, polypropylene cone Speaker System:
specs; the
HT Labs box
Power Rating (watts): 250
 Beautiful product draped in pur-
below indi- Crossover Bypass: No
cates the
Available Finishes: Gloss Black, Cherry ple velvet—makes a great first
gear’s per-
formance Dimensions (H x W x D, inches): 20.5 x 15 x 21.5 impression
on our test Weight ( pounds): 66
bench.  Sweet and graceful under pressure
Price: $599

> SPEAKER 532-LR 533-VAC 534-SS

Type:
Tweeter (size in inches, type):
Midrange (size in inches, type):
Woofer (size in inches, type):
Nominal Impedance (ohms):
Recommended Amp Power (watts):
Available Finishes:
Dimensions (H x W x D, inches):
Weight ( pounds):
Price:
HT Labs Measures: Aperion Audio Intimus 532-LR
Speaker System
Two-way bookshelf Three-way center Two-way bipole/dipole
1, silk dome 1, silk dome 1, silk dome (and, in the past, I’ve been equally
N/A 4, polypropylene cone N/A
5.25, polypropylene cone 5.25, polypropylene cone 5.25, polypropylene cone
impressed by the company’s cherry
6–8 6–8 12 veneer). Vinyl may be something
50–150 50–200 50–300 you play through the system, but
Gloss Black, Cherry Gloss Black, Cherry Gloss Black, Cherry it’s not something you have to
11.5 x 7.33 x 8 7.33 x 19 x 8 10.6 x 14.2 x 6.75
12.6 20 16
look at every time you glance at
$180/each $280 $245/each your speakers.
The Intimus 532-LR is classed as
a bookshelf speaker, although stands
would give it a better chance to
strut its stuff. I learned through
were measured with grilles at a distance of 1 meter with
a 2.83-volt input and scaled for display purposes.
youthful experimentation that, just
The 532-LR’s listening-window response (a five- as bookstores are terrible places to
point average of axial and +/–15-degree horizontal sell books, bookshelves are terri-
and vertical responses) measures +0.71/–2.82 deci-
bels from 200 hertz to 10 kilohertz. The –3-dB point is
ble places to put a bookshelf
at 85 Hz, and the –6-dB point is at 71 Hz. Impedance speaker. The simple two-way
reaches a minimum of 6.81 ohms at 230 Hz and a design hinges on Aperion’s 1-inch
phase angle of –38.80 degrees at 123 Hz.
silk-dome tweeter and 5.25-inch
The 533-VAC’s listening-window response mea-
sures +1.71/–3.94 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. An aver- mineral-filled polypropylene woofer.
This set of Aperions produced a
C

age of axial and +/–15-degree horizontal responses

> L/R Sensitivity: measures +2.30/–4.16 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. The huge soundfield that retained its
85 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz –3-dB point is at 75 Hz, and the –6-dB point is at 57 Hz.
Impedance reaches a minimum of 5.91 ohms at 2.3 kHz composure at all but the most
> Center Sensitivity: and a phase angle of –44.87 degrees at 93 Hz. abusive volumes.
87 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz The 534-SS’s three-face averaged response in dipole In the center position, the
> Surround Sensitivity: mode measures +1.55/–7.25 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz.
The –3-dB point is at 104 Hz, and the –6-dB point is at
Intimus 533-VAC matches the
85 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz
90 Hz. Impedance reaches a minimum of 7.28 ohms at 532-LR’s woofer and tweeter,
This graph shows the quasi-anechoic (employing close-
miking of all woofers) frequency response of the 532-LR
2 kHz and a phase angle of –48.41 degrees at 136 Hz. and it also has a 4-inch midrange
The S-12’s close-miked response, normalized to the
L/R (purple trace), S-12 subwoofer (blue trace), 533-VAC driver and a passive radiator. While
level at 80 Hz, indicates that the lower –3-dB point is at
center-channel speaker (green trace), and 534-SS sur- 38 Hz and the –6-dB point is at 26 Hz. The upper –3-dB point is this adds a second crossover to

91
round speaker (red trace). All passive loudspeakers at 94 Hz with the crossover control set to maximum.—MJP the design, it also anchors voices

APERION AUDIO INTIMUS 532-LR SPEAKER SYSTEM OVERALL RATING

Build Quality Value Features Performance Ergonomics
> All speakers have a > Bypass retailers and > Aperion claims the > Excellent vocal clarity > Your choice of lus-
good heft, indicating save, if you don’t mind a HD-X3 crossover reduces trous black-gloss or
solidly built enclosures DIY audition effect of long cable runs > Large soundfield cherry veneer

91 92 90 90 92 Aperion Audio goes to great

lengths to make consumers happy.
This medium-scaled system earns
love at first sight, sounds good
General information from the get-go, and looks as good
Intimus 532-LR Bookshelf Speaker, $180/each; Intimus 533-VAC Center-Channel Speaker, $280; Intimus 534-SS Surround Speaker, as it sounds. A superb value that
$245/each; S-12 Subwoofer, $59 > Aperion Audio, (866) APERION, www.aperionaudio.com > Dealer Locator Code APE you won’t find in any store.
 Jam Session.
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test bench
incredibly well. I was playing
around with language-lesson CDs
while I was reviewing these speak-
ers, and I quickly found that the
center speaker did a far better job
of delivering precise enunciation in
a series of melodious European
voices than the surround speakers
operating in stereo. I also con-
cluded that I’ll never make it in
Paris. Venice, maybe.
The Intimus 534-SS surround
speaker switches to operate as
either a bipole or a dipole. In
bipole mode, the drivers on both
sides of the triangular enclosure
move in and out at the same
time. In dipole mode, one side
pushes while the other pulls, and,
because dipoles operate out of
phase, they generate more diffuse
surround effects. Dipole is the
preference in many THX systems,
in surround mixing facilities, and
at my place. I started House of
Flying Daggers in bipole mode, but
surround effects became distract-
ing, and I switched to dipole
halfway through.
Happy Together
I stood in front of my Boltz CD
shelving like a kid in a candy store.
What do you play through a sys-
tem that partners a dead-accurate
receiver with sweetly euphonic
speakers? It’s a bit like being a kid
raised by a dad who urges you to
be honest, strong, and indepen-
dent, while Mom keeps slipping
you cookies when he’s not looking.
The Rolling Stones were cheating
the reaper yet again when I was writ-
ing this review. I saw them 10 years
ago during the Voodoo Lounge tour
and got enthusiastic enough to
buy the CD. The Aperions bathed
the band in a golden haze—which
is probably the best way to look
at these guys—soft-focusing
72 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
OUTLAW AUDIO MODEL 1070 A/V RECEIVER AND
APERION AUDIO INTIMUS 532-LR SPEAKER SYSTEM
Charlie’s high hat, smoothing out
Mick’s snarl, and rendering
Keith’s mighty strumming hand
exactly as it should be—a rhythmic
fist in a velvet glove.
Classical music is always on the
menu at my place. Mozart’s Complete
Piano Trios, from the Mozartean
Players, features a vintage fortepiano
that cerebrally oriented gear tends
to render as an impotent tinkle. In
this case, it sounded slightly more
like a forerunner of the modern
piano; the equipment subtly added
weight to the recording.
The flying-bean percussion
scene in House of Flying Daggers
gave the Outlaw a chance to
demonstrate its dynamic oomph—
and Aperion’s S-12 sub a chance
to pummel the room. In a world
of high-excursion woofers and
clever signal processing, this
budget-priced 12-incher produces
bass the old-fashioned way—with
a monster enclosure. The receiver
and speakers handily filled my
19-by-14-by-9-foot space with
complex, reverberating informa-
tion, and the subwoofer easily
mastered the large space.
The system was capable of sub-
tlety, too—especially toward the
end of Crash, when Sandra Bullock
embraces her much-abused house-
keeper and says, sotto voce, that
the older woman is her only friend.
The center’s midrange driver made
the whispered words intelligible,
and, to me, that’s worth a hundred
exploding cars.
Outlaw’s Model 1070 is simply
the best surround receiver I’ve
found for less than $1,000. And
Aperion’s 532-LR speaker system
backs up its deluxe appearance with
sumptuous sound. This Spotlight
System delivers the goods—warm
heart, purple bag, and all.
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 from the
test bench HIGH PERFORMANCE
Pioneer PDP-5060HD Plasma HDTV
Dipping into the black (level).
BY GEOFFREY MORRISON
Despite my lauding of projec-
tors, it seems like the only ques-
tion people ask me about TVs is,
“What’s the best plasma?” I usually
respond, as you would imagine,
with a detailed description of the
strengths and weaknesses of several
brands, what that means to the
viewer, and a cost/performance
analysis. All the while, I’m trying
to ignore the bored and distracted
look on my questioner’s face.
“Yeah, but who’s the best?” he’ll
ask. “The Patriots,” I reply. At this
74 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
point, the average questioner’s face
scrunches up to resemble the aver-
age raisin. In an effort to finish the
conversation so that I can be left
alone to eat my burrito in peace
(mmm, Chipotle), I tell them:
“Panasonic for black level; Pioneer
for processing.” There, I said it.
There are plenty of companies that
make great-looking plasmas, but
these guys are the leaders. They
shine with regard to their respec-
tive specialties but don’t screw up
the rest of the display. What I love
about this business, though, is that
nothing is stagnant—everything
$$$—$$$$
advances. Just last month, I
reviewed a Panasonic plasma that
went a long way in improving the
company’s major processing short-
comings. While its black level was
still good, its scaling improved for a
much better-looking image overall.
So, it’s Pioneer’s turn. Their pro-
cessing, on all levels, has been good
in the past. Their black levels, on
Photography by Cordero Studios / Screen image courtesy of Warner Brothers
the other hand, have left much to
be desired. I was told that Pioneer’s
past few models have improved
black levels. We’ll see.
Looks
Like all of the Pioneer plasmas I can
remember, the PDP-5060HD is
piano black. It looks great with the
lights on and the picture off but can
reflect room lights. This is some-
times annoying when the picture is
on. The external box has a changed
look, though. It’s now mostly silver.
I’ll give it a shrug; I’ve seen worse.
This box allows for a large number
of inputs and outputs, although sev-
eral key inputs are on the front. This
could mean that you’ll have cords
coming out of this thing all over the
place—kind of like that scene near
the end of Superman III. (You know
the one I mean.) The remote is a
little on the long side, but it’s backlit
and has direct input-access buttons.
Unlike Pioneer remotes of yore, the
backlight only lights up when you
press the glow-in-the-dark light
button. This may not seem to
matter, but the old remotes would
tear through AAs like vegans at an
all-you-can-eat tofu buffet.
Processing
Unless they had taken a step back,
Pioneer was bound to excel in this
department. Of course, I’ve seen
backwards steps before, so test we
shall. This is the first display I’ve
reviewed in several issues that actu-
ally picked up the 3:2 sequence.
(While we’re talking about back-
wards steps, why is 3:2 pickup so
hard for manufacturers to imple-
ment? Is it really that much cheaper
not to? Sorry, just a little rant there.)
So, as I said, the PDP-5060HD picks
up the 3:2 sequence just fine. It goes
a step further with this plasma, as
there is an additional progressive-
scan deinterlacing mode labeled
ADV. This increases the scan rate of
the plasma to 72 hertz. Seventy-two
is easily divisible by that magic
number of 24, as in 24 frames per
second. Let me back up.
The reason 3:2-sequence process-
ing exists is so that the 24 frames
per second of film can effectively
fit the 30 frames per second (or
60 fields) that television employs.
transitions to white on the other. There is, however, a fair amount
Like the previous Pioneer plasma of graininess in the image. From a
we reviewed, the PDP-5060HD normal viewing distance, it isn’t
has an extremely smooth gray really noticeable. There are several
ramp, among the best in digital dis- built-in noise-reduction adjust-
plays. With actual video material, ments, but, while these do knock
this reveals itself in any shadow or off a lot of the noise, they also tend
onscreen transition from light to to knock off some of the fine
dark. It’s smooth and natural. detail. According to Pioneer, this
AT A GLANCE PIONEER PDP-5060HD PLASMA HDTV
> FEATURES
Type: Plasma
Screen Size
(diagonal): 50 inches
Native Resolution /
> CONNECTIONS Aspect Ratio: 1,280 by 768 / 16:9
Inputs: Video: HDMI (2, shared), DVI (on panel), RGB Half Life: 60,000 hours
D-Sub 15 (1), component video (3, shared), S-video Wall Mount or
(3, shared), composite video (3, shared), RF (2) Stand Included?: Stand
Audio: Stereo Analog (2) Dimensions
Outputs: Video: Composite video (1) (H x W x D, inches): 28.25 x 48.19 x 3.63
Audio: Optical (1), stereo analog (1), subwoofer out (1) Weight (pounds): 70.1
Additional: CableCARD (1), Control minijack in/out (1 each), Price: $5,500
G-link (1), FireWire (2),
HT Labs Measures: Pioneer PDP-5060HD Plasma HDTV
8000 0.7
Pioneer Green

The first frame is split into two 7500 0.6 Green Color Temperature

fields, the second frame is split into 0.5

Color Temperature

7000

three fields, and so on. If you com- 0.4

6500
bine the wrong fields, combing, 0.3
D6500 K
Pioneer Red
Red
6000
tearing, and other nastiness occurs.
Color Temp - Before 0.2 DTV Phosphors
So, it’s important that whichever 5500
Color Temp - After D6500
0.1 Color Temp - Before
device performs the deinterlacing 5000 Blue
Pioneer Blue Color Temp - After
20 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100
(be it the TV or the DVD player) IRE
0
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7

correctly combines fields in this 2:3

(or, colloquially, 3:2) sequence.
Here’s where this 72 Hz comes in.
All Pioneer does is run each film
frame three times. Isn’t that simple?
The result is smoother motion,
especially in pans. It’s not perfectly
smooth, as it’s still 24 frames per
second, not 30 or 60. But it’s
smoother than the jerky three-
frame/two-frame of 3:2 pulldown.
Title 18, chapter 6 of Video
Essentials has a gray ramp: black on
one side of the screen that smoothly
0.033 20.16 white). The gray scale as set by the factory, in the low
> Full-On/Full-Off Contrast Ratio—611:1; color-temperature mode, measures cool across the
ANSI Contrast Ratio—1,135:1 gray scale. After making adjustments using the Photo
Research PR-650, the gray scale measures much
> Measured Resolution with the Leader LT-446:
480: 480 (per picture height)
better, within 156 Kelvin of D6500, the accurate color
temperature, across the entire range.
720p: 720 (pph)
The right chart shows the gray scale (or color temper-
1080i: Out to the limits of the 1280 by 768 panel
ature) relative to the color points of the display’s red,
> DC Restoration (poor, average, good, excellent): green, and blue phosphors. These are somewhat close to
Excellent those specified by SMPTE, with one exception. While red
> Color Decoder (poor, average, good, excellent): is spot on, and blue is very slightly purplish-blue, green
is very oversaturated and somewhat bluish-green.
Good
After calibration and using a full-field 100-IRE
> Measured Color Points: white (20.16 foot-lamberts) and a full-field 0-IRE
Red Color Point: x=0.641, y=0.331 black (0.033 ft-L), the contrast ratio was 611:1. Using
Green Color Point: x= 0.232, y= 0.687 a 16-box checkerboard pattern (ANSI contrast), the
Blue Color Point: x= 0.153, y= 0.069 contrast ratio was 1,135:1. On a 100-IRE window the
The left chart shows the PDP-5060HD’s gray scale rela- PDP-5060HD produced 60.75 ft-L. (It is normal for a
tive to its color temperature at various levels of inten- plasma to have lower light output on a full-field
sity, or brightness (20 IRE is dark gray; 100 IRE is bright white versus a white window.)—GM
from the test bench PIONEER PDP-5060HD PLASMA HDTV
is dither noise, the existence of
which is part of the reason they’re
able to make the rest of the image
so smooth overall.
The scaler isn’t bad, but it’s not
great. Going up from 480i, I’ve
seen displays with more apparent
detail. On the other hand, it comes
down from 1080i quite well. HD
was very detailed.
When I switched, using the
same signal, between the digital
and analog inputs, there was
slightly more detail in the digital
version. I also had extreme diffi-
culty getting the PDP-5060HD to
recognize an HDMI signal. Turns
out, this is because the default
state for the HDMI inputs is off.
Sure, it’s just a menu setting
away from making them active,
but I mean, come on. How many
phone calls is Pioneer going to
get from customers who can’t
get their new DVD player to work
on their new TV?
Black as Night (In the City)
^ Because this remote’s
backlight only lights when The black level on this Pioneer is
you press a glow-in-the- noticeably improved. How much
dark button, your batteries
will last a lot longer. improved? Well, I can’t give you
numbers, as our last Pioneer
review was before we started
measuring contrast ratio. But,
what was once much higher than
Panasonic is now just a little higher.
The Panasonic TH-42PX500U I
reviewed last month had a black
level of 0.027 foot-lamberts and a
full-on/full-off contrast ratio of
779:1. This Pioneer’s black level is
0.033 ft-L. That difference may
PIONEER PDP-5060HD PLASMA HDTV
Build Quality Value Features
> Tightly put together > MSRP is slightly > Lots of adjustments
high, but you should be and TV Guide On Screen
> Very mild phosphor able to find it for less
lag
90 87 94
General information
PDP-5060HD Plasma HDTV, $5,500
Pioneer Electronics, (800) PIONEER, www.pioneerelectronics.com > Dealer Locator Code PIO
seem trivial, but it’s some 22 per-
cent higher. To the eye, it’s a little
higher but much improved. The
PDP-5060HD’s contrast ratio of
611:1 is not terribly impressive.
What should really catch your
eye in that measurements box is
the staggering ANSI contrast
ratio, which is more indicative of
what you’ll actually see on the
screen. Now, 1,135:1 is impres-
sive. This is because the Pioneer
can be very bright, but, like all
plasmas, its full-screen light
output (which is what we use to
measure full-on/full-off ) is
restricted. Images have a lot of
punch, and, on most video, the
black level appears lower. (In fact,
in most of the black boxes on the
ANSI test, the black level actually
was lower than it was during the
full-on/full-off testing.) On dark
movies like Master and Commander,
though, the black level was quite
noticeable. Then again, on any-
thing but the best DLP front pro-
jectors and CRTs, all displays have
a bad black level with this movie.
With everything else I watched, I
never once thought there wasn’t
enough contrast.
Color, for the most part, is also
improved. The blue and red color
points are now almost perfectly
accurate. Green, however, is still
very much not accurate. This is
true, disappointingly, of most plas-
mas. Grass and foliage are a little
too vibrant. In some scenes, it’s
almost as if the background is
shouting, “Look at me! I’m a tree!!”
Performance Ergonomics
> Improved black level > HDMI set to off? What
and color accuracy gives?
> Same great processing > Tons of inputs
92
[
HIGHLIGHTS
 Much-improved black level
 Great HD reception
Everything Else
The tuner is great. It pulled in all
of our local HD channels and dis-
played them with nary a blip, all
with just a cheap indoor antenna.
It’s rare that a display ships with
such a good tuner. Adding chan-
nels was easy and fast, but, inex-
plicably, I couldn’t find how to
delete channels. So, I had to scroll
past all those pesky analog chan-
nels. Also, the onscreen readout
of the channel number was a little
strange. Instead of saying 4.1 or
4-1, it said 00004.001. All I need
to know here is the channel,
please. I don’t need enough digits
to show my ZIP code.
This plasma was nearly silent,
but the external box had some
fan noise. It seemed quieter than
their last box.
Not surprisingly, Pioneer is
giving Panasonic a run for their
money, holding steady on what they
do well (processing) and improving
on what they historically haven’t
(black level). So there, for those
who want to know. Between this
and the Panasonic from last month,
90
you and your wallet are going to
have a tough choice ahead.
OVERALL RATING
89 Another great plasma offering
from Pioneer. The black level is
improved, the processing is still
great, and the design still looks
sharp. Not bad...not bad at all.
from the
test bench
Sonus faber Domus Series
Speaker System
BY STEVE GUTTENBERG
I don’t think I’ve ever before
referred to a speaker as “sexy,”
but Sonus faber’s new Domus
line is definitely hot stuff. Yeah
baby, the Domus Series’ enticing
78 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
HIGH PERFORMANCE $$$—$$$$
Body and soul.
curves—sheathed Sonus faber has historically chris-
in supple black tened their speaker models after
leatherette, poised venerated musical-instrument
on spiked feet— m a ke r s — S t r a d i va r i , Amati,
will get audio- and Guarneri—but the Domus
philes all hot and moniker comes from Latin, mean-
bothered. That’s ing a private family residence of
because they modest to palatial proportions.
make for pretty The line includes the svelte Wall
sexy sound, too. Domus wall-mount model, the
Cordero Studios
Franco Serblin Concertino Domus bookshelf
founded Sonus speaker, the Center Domus, the
faber in 1983 in Concerto floorstanding speaker,
Vicenza, Italy, to and the magnificent Grand Piano
craft speakers Domus tower speaker. The lute-
that played music shaped designs bear a striking
instead of merely resemblance to the company’s
reproducing it. Cremonas ($8,995 per pair) and
For him, the art the new Amati Anniversarios
of speaker and ($27,500 per pair).
musical-instrument Sonus faber has derived the
design has every- Domus Series’ ring-radiator-type
thing to do tweeter from the one used in the
with controlling Cremona speakers. The woofers and
resonance. Think midrange drivers also benefit from
about it: The trickle-down technology—the
sound of a guitar, vented phase plug (that’s the
violin, or any silver bullet-shaped part in the
stringed instru- center) was originally designed for
ment is gener- the Stradivari speaker. Faux leather
ated within a completely covers each Domus
carefully tuned speaker’s front, top, rear, and
resonating acoustic chamber. bottom surfaces. It not only looks
That concept inspired the form and feels nice, the leatherette’s
and function of Serblin’s designs, grain is said to minimize surface
which synthesize the best of old- diffraction, and the material also
world craftsmanship with finely serves as a sealing gasket for the
tuned technology. drivers. Decoupled teak wood or
curved high-gloss-black side panels focus on the primary listening posi- theater. (They can also serve as
suppress cabinet resonance and tion. I used a set of stand-mounted front speakers.) If your experiences
serve to goose the Domus’ ogle Concertinos as surround speakers, are anything like mine, you may
factor up a couple of notches. All situated out to the sides of my home have to work a little to get the
of the Domus models feature
ported designs and come fitted AT A GLANCE SONUS FABER DOMUS SERIES SPEAKER SYSTEM
with high-quality binding posts. These listings are based on the manufacturer’s stated specs; the HT Labs box below indicates the gear’s performance on
our test bench.
Sonus faber offers optional
floor stands for the Concertino > SPEAKER Grand Piano Center Concertino Wall Domus
and the Center speakers that Domus Domus Domus
mirror the Domus’ curves and are
Type: Three-way tower Three-way center Two-way bookshelf Two-way on-wall or
as beautifully constructed as the
channel on-ceiling
speakers. The Wall Domus comes Tweeter
with a custom bracket that allows (size in inches, type): 1, ring radiator 0.75, ring radiator 0.75, ring radiator 0.75, ring radiator
for 30 degrees of arc adjustment Midrange
(size in inches, type): 6, coated paper cone 3.25, coated paper None None
with the speaker mounted on the
cone
wall or the ceiling. The Grand Woofer (size, type): 7, coated paper 6, coated paper 6, coated paper 6, coated paper
Piano model sits on a stabilizing cone (2) cone (2) cone cone
base outfitted with spiked feet. Nominal Impedance
(ohms): 4 4 4 4
Recommended
Improving My Fluency Amp Power (watts): 30–200 30–200 30–150 30–150
in Italian Available
For this review, I stuck with my Finishes: Black Leatherette/ Black Leatherette/ Black Leatherette/ Black Leatherette/
Teak, Piano Teak, Piano Teak, Piano Teak, Piano
Pioneer DV-45A DVD player,
Black Lacquer Black Lacquer Black Lacquer Black Lacquer
Sunfire Theater Grand III surround Dimensions (H x W x D): 11.75 x 8.25 x 12.25 17.25 x 24.25 x 12.6 25.6 x 15 x 12.6 7.1 x 7.25 x 19
processor, Ayre V-6x power amp, Weight (pounds): 57.38 18.7 13.2 12.12
and REL Britannia B2 subwoofer; Price: $4,795/pair $1,295 $1,495/pair $1,495/pair
all were wired with a combination
of Monster Cable and Analysis Plus’
Silver Oval cables. After a few days
HT Labs Measures: Sonus faber Domus Series Speaker System
of moving the speakers to and fro, I trace). All loudspeakers were measured with grilles
wound up placing the Grand Piano at a distance of 1 meter with a 2.83-volt input and
scaled for display purposes.
towers a foot further out into the The Domus Grand Piano’s listening-window response (a
room and much wider apart from five-point average of axial and +/–15-degree hori-
each other than my standard posi- zontal and vertical responses) measures
+2.19/–4.30 decibels from 200 hertz to 10 kilohertz.
tioning. The sound wasn’t bad in the The –3dB point is at 65 Hz, and the –6dB point is at 54
normal spots, but the Domus really Hz. Impedance reaches a minimum of 3.36 ohms at 112
appreciated the extra breathing Hz and a phase angle of +24.34degrees at 1.1 kHz.
room. The Grand Pianos definitely The Domus Center’s listening-window response
measures +1.32/–5.67 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. An
C

wanted to be angled in, firing
directly toward the sweet spot.
Viewed from the side, you can
adjust the tower’s front-baffle rake
angle via its floor spikes—and, once
I had everything perfectly tweaked,
the Grand Pianos’ image height
and focus were considerably more
lifelike than what I’m used to. The
Center Domus perched on Sonus
faber’s floor stand, angled up to
average of axial and +/–15-degree horizontal responses
> L/R Sensitivity:
90 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz
measures +1.21/–6.55 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. The
–3dB point is at 73 Hz, and the –6dB point is at 61 Hz.
> Center Sensitivity: Impedance reaches a minimum of 3.48 ohms at 865 Hz
88.5 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz and a phase angle of –39.01 degrees at 98 Hz.
The Domus Concertino’s listening-window response
> Surround Sensitivity:
measures +0.90/–4.72 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. The
88 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz
–3dB point is at 84 Hz, and the –6dB point is at 64 Hz.
> Wall Surround Sensitivity: Impedance reaches a minimum of 4.90 ohms at 20 kHz
88 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz and a phase angle of –55.24 degrees at 2.9 kHz.
This graph shows the quasi-anechoic (employing
The Domus Wall’s listening-window response mea-
sures +1.81/–5.70 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. The –3dB
close-miking of all woofers) frequency response of the
point is at 84 Hz, and the –6dB point is at 67 Hz. Imped-
Domus Grand Piano L/R (purple trace), Domus Center
ance reaches a minimum of 4.89 ohms at 20 kHz and a
center channel (green trace), Domus Concertino sur-
phase angle of –46.50 degrees at 136 Hz.—MJP
round (red trace), and Domus Wall surround (blue
from the test bench SONUS FABER DOMUS SERIES SPEAKER SYSTEM

most out of these speakers, but could have possibly added to the

the extra effort will pay huge
dividends—they’re that good. The
speakers’ sound also benefited from
extended breaking-in.
Spellbound!
The Domus sound is flavorful and
three-dimensionally solid, with a
luscious and full-bodied low end.
When I played a bunch of Miles
Davis CDs, the speakers projected
a vast soundstage populated with
living musicians. The Domus speak-
ers let the horns sound brassy, the
stand-up bass was big and woody,
and the drums had plenty of snap.
A superb new recording of boogie-
woogie piano, Rockin’ the Spirit,
put the speakers to the test, and
they reproduced the scale and
dynamic of its namesake. OK, the
Grand Piano speakers couldn’t
quite pull off that feat (no speaker
can), but their production of piano
sound was well above par.
The Westminster Choir’s record-
ings were absolutely spectacular; on
Like as a Hart, I could easily follow
each individual singer’s voice
within the St. Ignatius Loyola
church’s vast acoustic space. The
sound arising from just the two
Grand Piano Domus speakers was
[
sound’s believability.
In the end, I felt that the Domus
speakers were balanced a tad richer
than reality, but that warmth serves
to flatter dialogue and vocal tonality.
If you get a chance to hear these
speakers, try to spend at least a little
time with Norah Jones’ Come Away
With Me CD or, better yet, the
SACD. I got goose bumps listening
to the title track and “Seven Years.”
I’ve always loved the Beach Boys’
Pet Sounds, but the DVD-Audio’s
surround mix sounds a little con-
trived. For some reason, when I
played it through the Domus
speakers, I had a change of heart.
The surround mixes snapped into
focus, and the Boys’ soaring har-
monies were to die for. Fully con-
vinced of the Domus system’s
musicality, I was more than a little
curious to see how the magic
would translate to home theater.
The speakers’ dynamic range and
crisp articulation of detail were on
full display during the extended
plane-crash scene from Flight of the
Phoenix. The fearsome impact man-
aged to shake, rattle, and roll the
contents of my home theater. I then
played the now-famous dance/
drum scene with Ziyi Zhang from
HIGHLIGHTS
 Voluptuous styling
 Sumptuously balanced, if not
neutral, sound
 Yummy leatherette cladding
agape, taking in the experience.
Yeah, I probably played the dance a
little—OK, a lot—louder than I
should have. But each solid thwack
on the drum, followed by its res-
onant boom, was just so satisfy-
ing. It doesn’t hurt that the scene
also looks positively gorgeous,
but the sound of thundering
drums, each one so perfectly ren-
dered in space, demonstrated the
entire Domus ensemble’s remark-
able spatial coherence.
I could go on gushing about
these speakers. Did I mention that
they’re positively gorgeous? If
you’re like me and find the Domus
speakers’ elegant proportions,
sumptuous leatherette, and
exquisite finish downright irre-
sistible, just close your eyes and
listen. Sure, their bravura sonics
will take you in, but the Domus
speakers may cross over from

92
utterly holographic. I can’t imag- House of Flying Daggers, and they guilty pleasures to the realm of
ine how a surround recording just sat there with their mouths downright sinful abandon.

SONUS FABER DOMUS SERIES SPEAKER SYSTEM OVERALL RATING

Build Quality Value Features Performance Ergonomics
> The speakers are > This kind of old- > Ring radiator tweeters > These highly musical > You may have to
manufactured in Italy world craftsmanship offer a claimed response speakers can kick butt work a little harder than
and made with Danish doesn’t come cheap out to 40 kilohertz with home theater usual to bring out the
drivers custom built applications best in your Domus
for Sonus faber > Luminous real-wood > The speakers’ speakers’ sound, but
veneers or peerless midrange and bass dri- > Tonal balance is on the extra effort will
> The supple leatherette piano-black lacquers vers feature a unique the rich side of neutral be worth it
covering is a distinctive ooze class vented phase plug Sonus faber not only makes
design feature > The optional stands great-sounding speakers,
ease installation chores they also craft some of the

94 90 93 94 90
most beautiful designs to
ever grace a music system or
home theater.

General information
Grand Piano Domus Tower Speaker, $4,795/pair; Center Domus Center-Channel Speaker, $1,295; Concertino Domus Bookshelf Speaker, $1,495/pair
Wall Domus Wall-Mount Speaker, $1,495/pair > Sumiko, ( 510) 843-4500, www.sumikoaudio.net > Dealer Locator Code SUM
 Learning
Curve

Suppose someone had the bright idea of making
audiophile quality sound affordable by using a
unique technology developed for some of the
world’s finest speakers. Suppose the success of
the resulting range doesn’t go to their heads;
instead, they set about improving the design
with dozens of ingenious refinements.
powered subs. KEF Uni-Q® arrays that flood
the room with clear, spatially accurate and
minutely detailed 3D sound.
Now suppose it cost no more than its
award-winning predecessor. How brilliant
is that?

That’s the story of the new Q series, a complete

range, with logical steps in performance from
the iQ1 bookshelf and dipole surrounds to
awesome floorstanders, centre channels and

www.kefamerica.com
KEF America,10 Timber Lane,Marlboro,New Jersey 07746,U.S.A.Telephone (1) 732 683 2356 Fax (1) 732 683 2358
from the
test bench MIDRANGE
Sony KDL-V40XBR1 LCD HDTV
Good looking from almost any angle.
BY MARK FLEISCHMANN
Sony is arguably the most
powerful brand name in televi-
sion.The Trinitron is the premiere
picture-tube technology known to
two or three generations of TV
buyers. But what has Sony done for
us lately? In front and rear projec-
tion, the company has mustered
SXRD, a visually credible version
of silicon-based liquid-crystal
technology. Only in flat panels, the
subject of this review, has Sony yet
to earn a commanding role.
The KDL-V40XBR1 is like a
luxury ocean liner floating in a sea
82 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
$$–$$$
of little pirate ships, many of which
are little more than rowboats. So
many new companies have entered
the flat-panel market, especially in
the LCD category, that I can barely
keep track of them. Every time I
swing the periscope, another one
glimmers on the horizon. The net
effect of this new presence is cut-
throat pricing. Major brands may
command bigger boats—and quite
often produce a better product—
but some of them are drowning.
Can the Good Ship Sony navigate
these treacherous waters?
The look of the KDL-V40XBR1
LCD HDTV is just unusual enough
to say Sony.A thin gray strip outlines
the panel with round corners.The
screen, of course, is framed in black,
and the frame slopes backward at
the sides. Stickers trumpeting vari-
ous features such as Wide Color
Gamut are located below the screen.
Except for the time-honored Sony
logo, they’re all removable. Below
Photography by Cordero Studios / Screen image courtesy of Universal
that is a 1-inch gray strip with a lot
more logos, unremovable but
almost invisible unless you look
closely. A wide black stripe at the
bottom contains an upward-angled
black fabric speaker grille.
This LCD’s viewing angle imme-
diately impressed me. Most liquid-
crystal panels I’ve seen—both at
home and at press events—look
good only from front and center.
All of the last three LCD HDTVs I
reviewed before this Sony were
marred by a massive purplish color
shift at virtually any angle except
directly on-axis. And this hap-
pened in spite of the fact that they
existed within a wide range of
prices. But, as I walked around the
room, the Sony maintained a good
degree of uniformity, by LCD stan-
dards, at all angles—as seen from
left, right, and above. The black
level fell off as I moved to the side
but not enough to render the
picture unwatchable.
News, Sports, and Docs
Performance with analog signals
is an often overlooked aspect of
digital television. Aside from
indiscriminate surfing, the only
program I watch consistently every
day is the WB’s local 10 o’clock
newscast, usually followed by a
rerun of Seinfeld. Unfortunately,
Time Warner Cable of New York
does not deliver the WB’s digital
waters, scrub brush—was detailed adjustable. I turned on the
and breathtaking. TruSurround feature and liked it
The sound was excellent for enough to leave it on all the time.
TV speakers and was very It’s not true surround, in my
AT A GLANCE SONY KDL-V40XBR1 LCD HDTV

channel (so I can’t see Smallville in > CONNECTIONS

Inputs:
high def, sigh). Because of that, I
Video: HDMI (2), component video ( 3), S-video (1),
still watch the news in analog. composite video ( 3)
The Sony walked a tightrope Audio: Analog stereo (6), headphone minijack (1)
between detail and discretion. Outputs:
Video: None
There was enough edge enhance-
Audio: Digital optical
ment to keep the picture from Additional: CableCARD, RF cable input, RF antenna input, RS-232 (1)
becoming smeary. But it was subtle
enough not to look artificial. I > FEATURES
Type: LCD
found myself looking at the texture Screen Size (diagonal) 40 inches
in anchorman Peter Thorne’s hair Native Resolution / Aspect Ratio: 1,366 by 768 / 16:9
and his tie. A tiny amount of noise Wall Mount or Stand Included?: Stand
Dimensions (H x W x D, inches): 27.5 x 40 x 5 (without stand)
buzzed in large bright areas, but,
Weight ( pounds): 62 (without stand)
having viewed this newscast for Price: $3,500
years on a variety of displays, I
knew it was in the signal.
Switching to Fox’s digital chan- HT Labs Measures: Sony KDL-V40XBR1 LCD HDTV
nel, I watched hours of Seinfeld in
standard definition while I had the
Sony. On sets I’ve reviewed in the 7000 0.7
Sony "Wide"
recent past, this program has often 0.6 Sony Green Green

made me vacillate between the 6500

0.5
Color Temperature

analog channel (usually too blurry) 0.4

6000 Red
and the digital one (usually too 0.3
D6500 K Sony Red
Sony "Wide"
noisy). With the Sony, the digital 5500 0.2
DTV Phosphors
D6500
channel looked so clean that it was 0.1
Color Temp - Before
Color Temp - After
Blue
consistently watchable for the first 5000 Sony Blue
Green 'Wide'
Red 'Wide'
20 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 0
time, and the analog channel IRE
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7

looked better than usual.

High-def programming narrowed
the performance gap between the
Sony and what I’ve seen before—
from considerably better to some-
what better. NASCAR races and
football games came through
vividly.When a player approached
the camera for an interview, I could
see not only the glisten of sweat but
every pore in his face. PBS docu-
mentaries pulled me in as usual. A
program about the Alaska gold rush
put me on a narrow-gauge railway
with a hardy band of tourists. The
rugged countryside—mountains,
0.047
> Full-On/Full-Off Contrast Ratio—1183:1; ANSI
Contrast Ratio—976:1
> Measured Resolution with the Leader LT-446:
480: 480 (per picture height)
720p: 720p (pph)
1080i: out to the limits of the 1366 by 768 panel
> DC Restoration (poor, average, good, excellent):
Excellent with black corrector and contrast
enhancer off
> Color Decoder (poor, average, good, excellent):
Average
> Measured Color Points:
Red Color Point: x=0.648, y=0.320
Green Color Point: x=0.211, y=0.620
Blue Color Point: x=0.146, y=0.066
The left chart shows the KDL-V40XBR1’s gray scale rel-
ative to its color temperature at various levels of inten-
sity, or brightness (20 IRE is dark gray; 100 IRE is bright
white). The gray scale as set by the factory, in the warm2
55.6 color-temperature mode measures almost accurate with
the darkest images but too warm across the rest of the
gray scale. According to Sony, the KDL-V40XBR1’s gray
scale isn’t adjustable outside of the factory.
The right chart shows the gray scale (or color tem-
perature) relative to the color points of the display’s
red, green, and blue color filters. These are off those
specified by SMPTE. Red is slightly oversaturated and
slightly purplish-red, while green slightly oversatu-
rated and very blue-green. Blue is slightly oversatu-
rated. The second set of color points (the triangles) are
the KDL-V40XBR1’s color points in the wide color space
mode. Red and green both get slightly worse in the way
they were off in the normal mode. Blue stays the same.
In the warm2 color-temperature mode and using
a full-field 100-IRE white (55.6 foot-lamberts) and a
full-field 0-IRE black (0.047 ft-L), the contrast ratio
was 1,183:1. Using a 16-box checkerboard pattern
(ANSI contrast), the contrast ratio was 976:1. The
best contrast ratio was achieved with the backlight
set to min. The brightest image was achieved with
the backlight set to max and produced 133.8 ft-L
with a 100-IRE full-field and 0.126 ft-L on a 0-IRE
black (a contrast ratio of 1062:1).—GM
from the test bench NUVISION
SONY NVX32HDU
KDL-V40XBR1 LCD
LCD HD MONITOR
HDTV
opinion, but it gives TV sound-
tracks a touch more presence.
See Me, Feel Me
The channel scan was painless, but,
if you like tweaking the picture
controls, a rough road lies ahead.
To get to the video settings, you
have to start with the WEGA
GATE button. (Insert your choice
of pro- or anti-Nixon reference
here.) It takes you out of the
menus, and, because it’s so near the
nav-down button, it often per-
forms this function accidentally.
Scroll to Settings at the bottom,
hit Enter, then hit Enter again—the
video menu, fortunately, is at the
top.Then you can access three pic-
ture modes, adjustments for bright-
ness, color intensity, hue, color
temperature, and sharpness, five
noise-reduction modes, and more.
I kept the noise reduction off and
also switched off the black-level
and contrast enhancers during
my initial setup with Digital Video
Essentials feeding the component
^ Mark enjoyed the
Sony’s elegant and easy- input.With the enhancers switched
to-use remote.
on, it was impossible to use the test
disc’s PLUGE pattern to set cor-
rect brightness, although I got what
I wanted after I switched them off.
Color was hard to dial in at first—
while I nailed blue using the filter
test, red was a bit off, and green
was way off. Color accuracy got
worse when I switched the color
space from normal (evidently syn-
onymous with “insanely subjec-
tive”) to wide, although the color
SONY KDL-V40XBR1 LCD HDTV
Build Quality Value Features
> Too many LCD TVs > If you watch a lot of > CableCARD, QAM,
look like junk—this TV, whether analog or ATSC, and NTSC make
one doesn’t digital, you’ll get your this set fully tuner-loaded
money’s worth
> Trim and stand are > USB for digital still
all plastic, although that > If you depend heav- camera (but no memory
does help reduce weight ily on interlaced SD card readers)
sources, possibly not
88 91 91
General information
KDL-V40XBR1 LCD HDTV, $3,500 > Sony Electronics, (877) 865-SONY, www.sonystyle.com > Dealer Locator Code SNY
[
decoding got better. Adjustments
completed, I switched the black
and contrast enhancers to their
lower settings, where the effects
were subtle but usually helpful.
One surprise was the sharpness
control. In most DTVs, it’s best to
dial this control all or almost all the
way down. But the Sony’s edge
enhancement was good enough to
warrant a 50-percent setting on
QAM-tuner material, along with a
more normal 10 percent on com-
ponent-in DVD. Some settings
were different or unavailable on dif-
ferent inputs.With composite and
S-video, for instance, color temper-
ature shrank to two options: cool
and neutral. (I chose the latter.)
The Trouble with Interlacing
Despite the set’s sterling perfor-
mance with HD, SD, and analog
cable signals, the Good Ship Sony
did spring some leaks that only a
progressive-scan DVD player could
plug. The set’s ability to handle
standard-definition interlaced
signals was not especially sophis-
ticated. Viewed via interlaced
component output with the Sage/
Faroudja test disc, the set showed
shimmering rainbows in the cross-
color test, jaggies in the American
flag, and a moving crosshatch pat-
tern that never achieved horizon-
tal lock. Most of these problems
disappeared when I changed to
my Integra player’s progressive
output. Changing again to Sony’s
less expensive but far newer
Performance Ergonomics
> Wide viewing angle > Remote is simple
and sweet
> Adept treatment of
analog channels > Right-side controls
prevent overdepen-
> Jaggies visible with dence on the remote
interlaced component in
> Video settings way
too hard to access
89 88
HIGHLIGHTS
 Wide viewing angle provides
good uniformity to viewers
seated at the sides
 Edge correction is done right,
enhancing analog, SD channels
 User interface and deinterlacing
aren’t all they could be
DVP-NS70H brought further
improvements—including both
HDMI out and upconversion from
SD to HD, which does make a
visible difference.
If you like making fine adjust-
ments, the DRC (Digital Reality
Creation) palette might be of inter-
est. It allows two-coordinate con-
trol of “reality” (detail) along one
axis and “clarity” (smoothness)
along the other axis. A dot moves
around the chart, controlled by the
navigation up/down and left/right
commands. It provided some con-
trol over jaggies but didn’t elimi-
nate them completely.
Mitigating these flaws were the
wide viewing angle and consistently
pleasing results with QAM cable
signals—HD, SD, and analog. And
the amount of motion smear was on
the low side of average.Altogether,
I enjoyed the KDL-V40XBR1 to
the hilt. The next time I review a
set, I’ll see SD and analog channels
in a new way.And I’ll be less toler-
90
ant of bad off-axis response, having
seen Sony do it right.
OVERALL RATING
Sony does a lot right with this
40-inch LCD HDTV. Its viewing
angle compares well with most
competitors, and, if you’re
addicted to television, your dig-
ital and analog channels will
look superb. But you’ll need a
progressive-scan DVD player to
make this set look its best.
from the
test bench MIDRANGE
Philips 42PF9630A Plasma HDTV
Router-free multimedia TV.
BY ADRIENNE MAXWELL
Media servers are a hot com-
modity right now. Almost every
major manufacturer believes they’ve
developed the easiest, best way to
stream the music and photos from
your computer via a network to
your home entertainment system.
While this is definitely a cool prod-
uct category for the network
inclined, there are those people who
don’t have a home network and,
more importantly, don’t want one.
(Yes, it’s hard to believe, but it’s
true.) Should we deny them easy
86 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
$$–$$$
access to vacation photos or their
favorite party playlist on their TV?
Several display manufacturers
have developed simple work-
arounds, at least on the photo side,
by adding memory-card readers
to their TVs. Philips, who also
embraces the media-server
approach with their Streamium
products, goes one step further by
adding two USB ports to the new
42PF9630A plasma HDTV. Get
yourself a USB flash drive for under
$100, load it up with music and
photos, and pop it in one of the USB
ports.The TV automatically launches
the My Content menu, through
which you can listen to playlists or
even view a slide show with music.
Of course, that’s not all this
plasma has going for it. It’s a full-
featured 42-inch HDTV with a
1,024-by-768 resolution, a built-in
ATSC tuner, a CableCARD slot,
Photography by Cordero Studios / Screen image courtesy of 20th Century Fox
digital audio output, and the afore-
mentioned memory-card reader. It
has not one but two HDMI inputs,
plus two component video inputs.
(One adds HV, as well.)
Compare
Philips has also endowed the
42PF9630A with their two hottest
selling points: Ambilight and Pixel
Plus 2, both of which I described
in detail when I reviewed the
Philips 32PF9996 32-inch LCD in
the October 2005 issue. The new
42PF9630A is part of the subse-
quent generation of plasmas and
LCDs, which allow for more con-
trol over the color, brightness, and
responsiveness of the Ambilight
backlight. I still preferred a subtle,
blue Ambilight lighting effect that
remains constant—the Movie and
Action Ambilight modes noticeably
shift the light’s color in response to
the colors on the screen.
Interestingly, Pixel Plus 2’s effect
was dramatically different on this
plasma compared with the 32-inch
LCD—in that it was hardly appar-
ent. Pixel Plus is a processing tech-
nology that creates an extremely
smooth, video-like image in which
movement is sometimes unnaturally
fluid.According to a Philips tech, the pixels in each direction every few much detail in really dark images.
company has altered the digital nat- minutes to prevent burn-in. What you will see is a fair amount
ural motion technology to soften the This plasma also crushes the of noise if you set the brightness too
Pixel Plus 2 effect through the deepest blacks, so you won’t see low.Through the component video
analog inputs. (It has always been less
noticeable through digital inputs like AT A GLANCE PHILIPS 42PF9630A PLASMA HDTV
DVI and HDMI.) This results in > CONNECTIONS
more natural movement, but the Inputs:
image lacks the smoothness and clar- Video: HDMI (2), RGBHV (1), component video (1), S-video ( 3),
composite video ( 3)
ity that I really appreciated about Audio: coaxial digital (1), stereo analog ( 3)
Pixel Plus 2. Fans of the technology
Outputs:
will undoubtedly question why Video: composite video (1)
Philips felt they had to change any- Audio: coaxial digital (1), stereo analog (1)
thing, especially when anyone who Additional: USB (2), IR out (1), RF (1), headphone out (1)
didn’t like the effect could always
turn it off in older models. > FEATURES
Type: Plasma
Screen Size (diagonal) 42 inches
…And Contrast Native Resolution / Aspect Ratio: 1,024 x 768 / 16:9
While the 32PF9996 had a Half Life: 60,000 hours
respectable contrast ratio for an Wall Mount or Stand Included?: Stand
Dimensions (H x W x D, inches): 26.8 x 48.8 x 4.1
LCD, it also had a limited viewing Weight ( pounds): 92.6
angle. The contrast ratio dropped Price: $3,000
dramatically when you moved off-
axis, a common issue for LCDs. HT Labs Measures: Philips 42PF9630A Plasma HDTV
Plasma does not have this prob-
lem, so you can still enjoy a well- 9000
0.7
Philips Green

saturated image when you’re sitting 8500 0.6 Green

8000
off to the side.The 42PF9630A may 0.5
Color Temperature

7500 Color Temp - Before

not be as bright as an LCD, but 7000

Color Temp - After 0.4
D6500 K Philips Red
Red
it has ample light output to watch 6500
0.3

TV in a brightly lit room, and that 6000 0.2 DTV Phosphors

light output doesn’t change depend-
ing on where you sit.
A nice, deep black level is the
main reason for the 42PF9630A’s
good contrast ratio. In fact, our mea-
surements revealed this TV to have
one of the best black levels we’ve
seen in a plasma. Unfortunately, sev-
eral caveats accompany that number.
For one, this TV has noticeable phos-
phor lag. Switch from a bright image
to a black screen, and you can see
traces of the bright image.We had to
leave a black test pattern on the
screen for several minutes before
achieving those contrast-ratio num-
bers. I should note that Philips has
included an antiaging circuit that
moves the image around a few
D6500
5500
0.1
Blue
Philips Blue
Color Temp - Before
Color Temp - After
5000
20 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 0
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
IRE
0.015 24.2 images. After making adjustments using the Photo
Research PR-650, the gray scale measures better,
> Full-On/Full-Off Contrast Ratio—1613:1; ANSI
within 447 Kelvin of D6500, the accurate color tem-
Contrast Ratio—1108:1
perature, across most of the entire gray-scale range.
> Measured Resolution with the Leader LT-446: The darkest images are quite cool.
480: 470 (per picture height) The right chart shows the gray scale (or color tem-
720p: 590 (pph) perature) relative to the color points of the display’s
1080i: 590 (pph) red, green, and blue phosphors. These are off those
specified by SMPTE. Red is oversaturated, while green
> DC Restoration (poor, average, good, excellent):
is very oversaturated and slightly bluish-green. Blue is
Excellent
somewhat oversaturated and slightly purplish-blue.
> Color Decoder (poor, average, good, excellent): After calibration and using a full-field 100-IRE white
Excellent (24.2 foot-lamberts) and a full-field 0-IRE black (0.015 ft-L),
the contrast ratio was 1,613:1. Because of noticeable phos-
> Measured Color Points:
phor lag, this is an unrealistic black level during normal
Red Color Point: x=0.660, y=0.330
viewing. More accurate numbers, say what is achieved
Green Color Point: x=0.234, y=0.693
during actual video playback, are 0.019 ft-L/24.2 ft-L,
Blue Color Point: x=0.147, y=0.057
which gives a still-impressive contrast ratio of 1,274:1. It is
The left chart shows the 42PF9630A’s gray scale rela- our policy to list the best-possible numbers, which are in
tive to its color temperature at various levels of intensity, the box to the left. Using a 16-box checkerboard pattern
or brightness (20 IRE is dark gray; 100 IRE is bright white). (ANSI contrast), the contrast ratio was 1,108:1. The
The gray scale as set by the factory, in the warm color- 42PF9630A produced 52.7 ft-L with a 100-IRE window. (It
temperature mode, measures warm across the entire is normal for a plasma to have lower light output on a full-
gray-scale range, although it is warmest with darker field white versus a white window.)—GM
from the test bench NUVISION
PHILIPS NVX32HDU
42PF9630A LCD HD
PLASMA
HDTV
input, Video Essentials’ quantization
pattern, which tests a digital dis-
play’s ability to smoothly transition
from light to dark images, revealed
more distinct steps between shades
at the darker black-level settings.
The image looked very digital, with
a good deal of noise in grays,
blacks, and deep colors. I person-
ally was happy to sacrifice a bit of
black level to reduce the amount of
video noise and get a cleaner image,
which I achieved when I set the
brightness level in the high 60s.
The TV picks up the 3:2
sequence in film-based material
quickly, so you don’t need a
progressive-scan DVD player. It
only does an average job with
video-based signals, though, so you
may see some stairstepping and
other artifacts in video signals.The
42PF9630A doesn’t upconvert
NTSC signals as well as other plas-
mas I’ve tested, as it creates a fairly
noisy image. Even when I watched
HD broadcasts of the MLB play-
offs, I could see a clear jump in
video noise when they switched
^ Use the Philips
remote’s Expert mode to
from a true HD camera to an
reduce the number of
upconverted image.
button pushes neces- We measure TVs using the com-
sary for setup. ponent video input. Through this
input, the 42PF9630A’s red, green,
and blue color points were all
beyond SMPTE specifications, espe-
cially green. The green grass of a
baseball or football field looked a
bit too vibrant, but, otherwise, I
felt that colors were in proportion
to each other. Detail was good.
PHILIPS 42PF9630A PLASMA HDTV
Build Quality Value Features
> Nice heft and pleas- > On the low end of > Internal ATSC tuner
ing aesthetic average for a 42-inch and CableCARD slot
plasma
> The base feels some- > Memory-card reader
what flimsy for such a > Costs less than LCD and USB ports
heavy plasma HDTVs with smaller
screens > Ambilight
92 93 96
General information
42PF9630A Plasma HDTV, $3,000 > Philips, (800) 451-2851, www.flattv.philips.com > Dealer Locator Code PHL
MONITOR
[
Picture quality through the com-
ponent video input was solid. I rec-
ommend that you adhere to the
picture-height rule: Sit at a distance
of at least five times the picture
height, and noise will be less of an
issue.When I switched to HDMI,
the picture quality improved a
good deal. Detail, color, and blacks
were better, and both HDTV and
DVD images were impressively
clean and textured.
And Then?
From an ergonomic standpoint, the
42PF9630A has some issues of note.
The onscreen menu covers the
screen and is tiresome to maneuver,
which makes setup a bit of a chal-
lenge.The remote lacks dedicated
aspect-ratio and input buttons,
although you can reduce the number
of button pushes to select inputs if
you put the remote in Expert mode.
Most surprising, though, is that
the TV only has one personal
memory setting. In other words,
you can’t set up different bright-
ness, contrast, color-temperature,
and other parameters for both the
HDMI and component video
inputs.There are several preset pic-
ture modes to choose from, like
Soft and Natural; the HDMI input
defaults to Soft every time you
switch to another input and come
back, which is odd since Philips
recommends the Natural setting in
the manual. Another odd choice is
the decision to limit PIP to HDMI
sources and the internal tuners.
Performance Ergonomics
> Phosphor lag and > Only one personal
noise compromise the picture setting
great black level
> Remote lacks dedi-
> HDMI picture looks cated input and aspect-
good, but component ratio buttons
video quality is average
85 82
HIGHLIGHTS
 Two HDMI inputs
 USB ports for multimedia and
upgrades
Hmm, better picture quality,
limited picture presets and PIP abil-
ity, and changes to Pixel Plus that
affect the analog inputs. I’m gonna
go out on a limb and guess that
Philips would really rather you use
HDMI over component video with
this TV. Of course, that presents a
conundrum.Videophiles are more
likely to have HDMI sources, but
they’re also more likely to notice
the ergonomic issues I mentioned.
General consumers, however,
will find a lot to like about the
42PF9630A. Ambilight is a crowd
pleaser and does create an
enhanced presentation.The picture
quality is solid, and the multimedia
feature is quite handy. By the way,
those USB ports also let you
upgrade the TV’s software yourself:
Just go to www.philips.com/support,
download the latest software
upgrade, drop the file on a USB
drive, and let the TV do the rest. I
tried this, and it worked seam-
lessly, remedying a few operational
glitches I had encountered.
Even with all of its features,
the 42PF9630A’s price is competi-
tive with, if not better than, other
42-inch plasma HDTVs from the
89
big-name manufacturers.
OVERALL RATING
The 42PF9630A is a solid performer
with appealing features, including a
memory-card reader and USB ports
that let you easily play music and
view photos from your computer
without setting up a network.
from the
test bench MIDRANGE $$–$$$

Onkyo TX-NR1000 A/V Receiver

Chairman of the boards.
century. Most Onkyo may have the answer—a
DVDs have receiver for all seasons.
Dolby Digital The Onkyo TX-NR1000 is built
and/or DTS of replaceable modules, somewhat
soundtracks— like a PC. On the back, slots hold
those are must- various kinds of video and audio
h ave s. S t e re o cards. They’re not standardized PC
material usually cards—only Onkyo can supply the
s o u n d s mu c h proprietary modules that adapt the
better to me in bays to alternate uses. But this hefty
Dolby Pro Logic receiver holds out the promise of
II than in DPLI upgradeability so that, when the
or stereo. And, next big thing comes along, this big
for the largest thing won’t go out by the curb.
rooms, Surround There are nine slots. The most
EX and DTS unusual occupant has an Ethernet
ES have added connector and enables Onkyo’s
the back chan- Net-Tune feature, also present on
nels some people the Onkyo TX-NR901 surround
deem necessary. and NC-500 stereo receivers.
HDMI is on Net-Tune allows reception of

BY MARK FLEISCHMANN
A receiver that doesn’t handle
the latest video and surround
formats is a doorstop. A similarly
outmoded high-end receiver is
a very expensive doorstop. And
that’s a problem for anyone
who bought one during the 20th
its way in, com-
ponent video is
on its way out,
XM and HD
radio are knock-
ing at AM/FM’s
door, and, in a
few years, sur-
round receivers
will be called
on to do things that we can barely
begin to imagine today.
What can you do to break the
cycle of obsolescence and abandon-
ment that plagues the surround
receiver? If you’re looking for a
deal, the answer is not much. But, if
seeing a mid-four-figure number on
your credit-card statement wouldn’t
send you to the emergency room,
Cordero Studios
Internet radio stations, MP3,
WMA, and WAV files from a local-
area network with an Internet con-
nection and a computer. One PC
can serve up to a dozen Onkyo
Net-Tune devices in a wholehouse
audio system, and, while you may not
want more than one $5,000 sur-
round receiver, the NC-500 stereo
receiver sells in just the mid three
figures. I first tried Net-Tune two
years ago, and it turned me into an
Internet-radio addict overnight.
Two HDMI jacks provide the
latest in digital video interfaces, and,
as HDMI specs evolve, Onkyo even-
tually plans to route high-rez and
other digital audio signals through
HDMI. The iLink (IEEE 1394) jacks
accept uncompromised digital

90 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com

input from compatible SACD and
DVD-Audio players. Separate slots
are also devoted to optical and coax-
ial digital ins/outs, multichannel in,
analog audio in/out, composite and
S-video in, component video in, and
AM/FM radio. Future add-on card
options will likely include satellite
radio and HD radio, although Onkyo
has not determined the availability
date and pricing. Onkyo is also
studying the possibility of adding
the Dolby Digital Plus surround
codec as a software upgrade.
Fourteen speaker terminals,
preouts, 12-volt triggers, IR jacks,
power connection, and a single AC
outlet are hard-wired into the
chassis in panels at the right-hand
side and across the bottom. You
read that right—14 speaker ter-
minals. The TX-NR1000 supports
two full 7.1-channel sets of speak-
ers. However, only one of them
can run at one time.
Switching schemes support var-
ious other scenarios. If you opt for
7.1 channels in one room and 5.1
in another, the remaining two
channels can form a third zone—
with multisource capability. You
might also double the front left and
right speakers in the main room,
either using both sets at the same
time or dedicating the second set
to different signal sources. (Yeah,
that didn’t make any sense to me,
either.) Perhaps the best option for
performance addicts would be to
biamp the three front channels.
Whichever of these ambitious
configurations you choose, you’ll
have the opportunity to tighten
the binding posts with a wrench,
because the package includes one.
I also loved seeing a second sub-
woofer output on the preout
panel, since my system includes
two subs, and I hate having to plug
them both into a Y-adapter every
time I use a receiver other than put a fan in it, or just stuff every-
my reference piece. thing in and hope for the best.
This receiver is nothing if not Onkyo has opted for number three,
high-powered. Onkyo quotes power with some slick passive-cooling
output at 150 watts per channel moves. Although there are ventila-
with all channels driven. There are tion slits at both sides, as well as at
three ways to construct a receiver the top and the bottom, Onkyo has
with hefty amps: make the box big, packed the chassis heavily. It would
AT A GLANCE ONKYO TX-NR1000 A/V RECEIVER
> CONNECTIONS
Inputs:
Video: IEEE 1394 (2), HDMI (2),
component video (6),
S-video (6), composite
video (6)
Audio: Coaxial digital (6),
optical digital (6),
7.1-channel analog (2),
stereo analog line (8),
> FEATURES phono (1, with ground)
Processing Modes: Dolby: Digital 5.1, EX, Pro Logic IIx Outputs:
DTS: DTS, ES, 96/24, Neo:6 Video: HDMI (1), component
39 DSP modes video (2), S-video (4),
THX Certification: Ultra2 composite video (4)
Audio D/A Converter: 24-bit/192-kilohertz Audio: Coaxial digital (2),
Number of Amp Channels: 14 optical digital (2),
Power Rating (watts per channel): 150, into 8 ohms stereo analog (5)
Frequency Response: +1/–3 dB from 5 Hz to 100 kHz preamp (1)
Dimensions (H x W x D, inches): 8.6 x 17.2 x 18.9 Additional: Ethernet, RS-232 (1),
Weight ( pounds): 72.8 12-volt trigger (5),
Price: $4,999 IR jack (3)
Note: As reviewed. Add-on
These listings are based on the manufacturer’s stated specs; the HT boards change in/out
Labs box below indicates the gear’s performance on our test bench. configuration.
HT Labs Measures: Onkyo TX-NR1000 A/V Receiver
10
5 This graph shows that the TX-NR1000’s left channel,
2
1
from CD input to speaker output with two channels
0.5
driving 8-ohm loads, reaches 0.1% distortion at
0.2
0.1 175.7 watts and 1% distortion at 203.0 watts. Into
0.05
% 4 ohms, the amplifier reaches 0.1% distortion at
0.02
0.01 321.2 watts and 1% distortion at 364.7 watts.
0.005
Response from the multichannel input to the
0.002
0.001
0.0005
speaker output measures –0.19 dB at 10 Hz, –0.06 dB
0.0002
at 20 Hz, –0.09 dB at 20 kHz, and –0.51 dB at 50 kHz.
0.0001
50 100 150 200 250 300 THD+N from the amplifier was less than 0.029% at 1 kHz
W
when driving 2.83 volts into an 8-ohm load. Crosstalk at
> Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm 1 kHz driving 2.83 volts into an 8-ohm load was –87.93 dB
loads: left to right and –92.32 dB right to left. The signal-to-
0.1% distortion at 163.5 watts noise ratio with 2.83 volts driving an 8-ohm load from
1% distortion at 187.9 watts 10 Hz to 24 kHz with “A” weighting was –93.97dBrA.
From the Dolby Digital input to the loudspeaker
> All channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 125.3 watts output, the left channel measures –0.10 dB at 20 Hz
1% distortion at 167.8 watts and –0.32 dB at 20 kHz. The center channel mea-
sures –0.05 dB at 20 Hz and –0.31 dB at 20 kHz, and
> Analog frequency response in Pure Audio mode: the left surround channel measures –0.05 dB at 20 Hz
–0.20 dB at 10 Hz; –0.06 dB at 20 Hz and –0.32 dB at 20 kHz. From the Dolby Digital input
–0.08 dB at 20 kHz; –0.46 dB at 50 kHz to the line-level output, the LFE channel is +0.04dB
> Analog frequency response with signal processing: at 20 Hz when referenced to the level at 40 Hz and
–0.41 dB at 10 Hz; –0.14 dB at 20 Hz reaches the upper 3-dB down point at 116 Hz and the
–0.30 dB at 20 kHz; –59.21 dB at 50 kHz upper 6-dB down point at 119 Hz.—MJP
from the test bench ONKYO TX-NR1000 A/V RECEIVER

be unwise to install this heavy surround-receiver sound nowadays

breather anywhere but at the open
top of a very sturdy fixed-shelf rack
or in a ventilated closet. It needs
several inches of daylight above the
top panel. Some racks might not
safely support the receiver’s nearly
73-pound bulk, especially if an
ambitious toddler decides to climb
the cables like jungle vines.
The setup menu was fairly easy
to navigate with the remote’s easy-
action joystick. In terms of options,
the Onkyo compares well with the
most versatile pre/pros. You’ll have
to wade through lots of stuff, and
the graphics are drab, but there are
some delightful surprises. The best
one is a notch filter. I immediately
set it to knock down my room’s
bass hump and then set the sub-out
volume a few decibels higher than
I would normally dare. If your front
left and right speakers are larger
^ The remote’s bubble-
shaped buttons make nav-
than the others, you’ll appreciate
the separate crossovers for the
igating the setup menu
fun and easy. front, center, and surround chan-
nels. The remote is substantial,
metal-faced, and nicely contoured.
The buttons are rounded and
bubble-shaped, providing a certain
degree of tactile pleasure.
Onkyo’s signature sound was
much in evidence. The tonal bal-
ance was lean and not especially
warm, treble clean and extended.
[
seems to me to be a phony dumbed-
down warmth intended to hide
midband limitations and treble
noise. This receiver took the road
less traveled. Familiar music became
more stimulatingly varied. Familiar
voices on my main test CD-R
became full-blown personalities.
Richard Thompson’s Lowden
acoustic guitar on the Dolby Digital
soundtrack of Live from Austin, TX
blossomed with almost bell-like
ringing overtones that hovered at
the top of the presence region.
You can have too much of a good
thing, and a lean tonal balance is not
always best for cinema. But the
THX Re-EQ circuit gave this
receiver an alternate personality
that handled action movies with
blithe self-assurance. Without it—
and my DVD player’s dynamic-
range compressor—I don’t think I
would have survived the abusively
noisy soundtrack of xXx: State of the
Union. The notch filter allowed a
higher overall LFE level, so I heard
more of the low-bass content of film
soundtracks than I’m used to hear-
ing, and I managed to elude the
beating my ears customarily take
from the room’s standing wave.
My one reservation about this
product is how Onkyo’s ambitious
upgradeability scheme compares
HIGHLIGHTS
 If you’re tired of throwing your
receiver in the garbage (or
passing it along to your brother-
in-law) every time the latest
indispensable feature comes
along, this is the solution
 Onkyo aims to do for receivers
what high-end pre/pro design-
ers do for separates
the product with features and pric-
ing it at $5,000, Onkyo courts
comparison with some pretty
decent surround pre/pros and mul-
tichannel power amplifiers. True,
add-ons will probably keep this
receiver going well into the fore-
seeable future—but the same is
true of many pre/pros, including
the RDC-7.1 from Integra,
Onkyo’s sister brand.
Even so, Onkyo has come up
with a provocative response to
the upgradeability crisis. Their
TX-NR1000 is arguably the best
compromise between disposable
black-box surround gear and mal-
leable but oft-annoying, marginal-
sounding HTPCs. Now we want our
systems to sound good and accom-
modate change. Maybe, just maybe,
someday all higher-end surround

90
That was refreshing. The generic with high-end separates. By stuffing receivers will be built this way.

ONKYO TX-NR1000 A/V RECEIVER OVERALL RATING

Build Quality Value Features Performance Ergonomics
> Heat vents at sides > Thanks to plug-in > Biamplification for > Lean tonal balance > Remote’s bubble
are a wise move given boards, it’s the most every channel in a 7.1 and extended treble— buttons provide tac-
the hefty amps upgradeable receiver system this receiver does not tile pleasure
on the market play dumb
> Seventy-three pounds > If it’s not here, you > Black-and-white
of joy—a definite boon > But those extra can add it, either now or > THX provides the fin- menu graphics are low-
to weightlifters boards will add to the (as Onkyo promises) in ishing touch for movies end-looking but useable
$5k price tag the future

90 89 94 90 87
Onkyo breaks new ground in
surround-receiver upgradeabil-
ity with this hefty top-line piece.
Its 150 watts times seven make
General information it a major piece of heavy artillery.
It may just be a viable alternative
TX-NR1000 A/V Receiver, $4,999 > Onkyo USA, (800) 229-1687, www.onkyousa.com > Dealer Locator Code ONK to high-end separates.

92 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com

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from the
test bench ENTRY LEVEL
Monitor Audio i-deck
The Pod person when he’s at home.
BY MARK FLEISCHMANN
Shortly after Steve Jobs
became a music mogul, the iPod
became something of a home audio
server. This brilliant left turn has
made everyone’s favorite white
object of desire a doubly useful
device that entertains whether you’re
at home or on the go. Although a
Mac is something of a technological
island unto itself, the iPod is a more
94 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
$–$$
pragmatic creature. It’s on speaking
terms with not only—shock,
horror!—Windows PCs, but with a
variety of other devices, from staid-
black surround receivers, to far-
flung multizone empires, to slick
standalone compact systems like
Monitor Audio’s i-deck.
The British-accented i-deck is a
two-channel minisystem that pro-
vides easy docking for an iPod.
With a central module flanked by
two visually complementary speak-
ers, it looks as though it might have
sprouted from an iPod—and, in a
sense, it has. Of course, Monitor
Audio is merely an admirer of
Apple, not a subsidiary. The con-
trol module contains the dock, a
rated 18 watts per channel of
amplification, and a blue LED so
bright you could read by it.
Viewed from the side with all its
front surfaces inclined backward,
the system looks like a series of
trapezoidal sculptures.
Supplied necessities include a
large external power supply,
solder-tipped cables that slip easily
into wire-clip speaker terminals,
and a thin remote control with
volume and transport-control keys.
There is no scroll wheel on the
remote, but you may perform any
chores that require interaction with
the iPod interface before docking.
Cordero Studios
The rear panel includes a multi-
pin jack that accepts iPod’s propri-
etary patch cord. That allows the
system to transfer music directly
from your Mac or PC when the
iPod is docked. Also on the back is
a 0.125-inch minijack that uses a
supplied interconnect cable to patch
the headphone outputs of non-iPod
devices into the system. While
that’s not as elegant as using your
iPod with the i-deck, it’s nice to
have the option to add, say, a radio,
or something else that falls outside
the Apple domain.
Interchangeable angled panels
of gray plastic adapt various iPod
models to the multipin male con-
nector at the bottom of the docking
area. Installing the panel is easy—it
clicks into place and is not easily dis-
lodged. Whether you’ve got an iPod
Mini, iPod Photo, a third-generation
unit, or a fourth-generation unit, the
i-deck has a panel for your baby. Got
the iPod nano? A compatible panel
is on the way. First- and second-
generation iPods without the now-
standard 30-pin connector must
use the analog input in the back.
You can literally drop the iPod
into the dock. After the first few
docking maneuvers, you needn’t
even push it into place. It just goes
right in, and, if it was playing
before docking, it keeps on playing
after docking. That makes it easy
to pick a playlist, hit start, dock,
and start ransacking the fridge.
When the music stops—after all,
we all have to allocate time for
other necessities, like watching
television—the battery will quietly
charge itself for tomorrow morn-
ing’s hellish commute.
Although its fit and finish are
pleasing, the system is constructed
of lightweight molded plastic. You
might accept this limitation as a
virtue and move the system around
as needed. You might tuck the con-
troller, speakers, and power supply
under one arm while you use the
other one to carry a six-pack out
onto the patio. If I had a patio, I cer-
tainly would have done that.
If this were no more than an
amiable minisystem with an iPod
dock, we wouldn’t have bothered
to review it, but Monitor Audio
This end run results in greater systems, and, for that reason, I’ve
clarity and the difference is not given up using them at home.
subtle. Now look, I’m no iPod The iPod’s analog circuitry is sub-
purist. I have a whole bunch of ject to the same limitation—
portable audio players, and some there’s only so much fidelity you’re
of them I truly love, including a likely to get out of a miniaturized
6-gigabyte Archos Jukebox that’s headphone output.
taken me to Europe and back sev- The i-deck turns the iPod into a
eral times and an MSI SD-memory true home audio server, feeding a
player with a beautiful color digital signal directly into a high-
OLED. While they sound fine with quality DAC. The signal remains in
headphones in a noisy environ- the digital domain as it moves
ment, their puny analog preamp through the digital amplifier and
circuitry limits their performance converts to analog only when it
with my higher-resolution music reaches the volume-control stage.
AT A GLANCE MONITOR AUDIO I-DECK
> FEATURES
Connections: iPod multipin dock, PC sync port, speaker-
level (wire clips), 0.125-inch minijack
Enclosure Type: Vented
Tweeter (size in inches, type): 0.5, Mylar
Woofer (size in inches, type): 4, treated paper
Nominal impedance (ohms): 4
Power Rating (watts): 18 per channel
Available Finishes: White/Gray/Silver
Dimensions (H x W x D, inches): 7.5 x 17.33 x 8.25
Weight ( pounds): 19.8
Price: $349
These listings are based on the manufacturer’s stated specs; the HT Labs box
below indicates the gear’s performance on our test bench.
HT Labs Measures: Monitor Audio i-deck
This graph shows the quasi-anechoic (employing
close-miking of the woofers) frequency response of
the i-deck speakers ( purple trace). The loudspeak-
ers were measured at a distance of 1 meter with
grilles in place.
The listening-window response (a five-point
average of axial and +/–15-degree horizontal and
vertical responses) measures +5.68/–2.07 decibels
from 200 hertz to 10 kilohertz. The –3dB point is at
82 Hz, and the –6dB point is at 69 Hz. Impedance
C

reaches a minimum of 5.18 ohms at 4.9 kHz and a

puts their high-end chops to good
use with the i-deck. At that magic
moment when player meets dock-
ing connector, a profound event
quietly occurs: Monitor’s digital-
to-analog converters take over
from Apple’s, and the player feeds
a digital bitstream to the i-deck.
> Two channels driven continuously into 8-ohm
loads:
0.2% distortion at 1.4 watts
1% distortion at 2.3 watts
> Two channels driven continuously into 4-ohm
loads:
0.2% distortion at 3.5 watts
1% distortion at 4.7 watts
phase angle of –49.31 degrees at 143 Hz.
Crosstalk at 1 kHz driving 2.83 volts into an
8-ohm load was –60.56 dB left to right and
–59.99 dB right to left. THD+N from the ampli-
fier was less than 0.143 percent at 1 kHz when
driving 2.83 volts into an 8-ohm load. The signal-
to-noise ratio with 2.83 volts driving an 8-ohm
load from 10 Hz to 24 kHz with “A” weighting
was –101.17 dBrA.—MJP
from the test bench MONITOR AUDIO I-DECK

Even with 18 watts per channel while retaining the smoothness of

feeding molded-plastic-enclosed
speakers, you can hear the differ-
ence. The veiling effect I’ve noticed
on puny analog preout circuits is
conspicuous by its absence. It’s a bit
like putting tap water through a
filter pitcher. The taste is better
because of what isn’t there.
It was easy to verify the differ-
ence. While Linda Thompson’s
Fashionably Late played on my iPod,
I pulled the device out of the dock
and connected its headphone
output to the auxiliary analog
input in back of the system. High-
frequency detail all but vanished,
the midrange lost much of its pres-
ence, the soundstage collapsed,
and the genetic vocal blend of
Linda and her children Kamila and
Teddy lost its luster. It didn’t
sound bad exactly, just not nearly
as clear as before.
With the iPod docked, the
system reproduced the harmonic
architecture of a sensuous piano
recording—the Debussy Preludes
as performed by Paul Jacobs—
without letting the left-hand part
roll off into nothingness. It did
well with violin, cello, and piano
on the Golub/Kaplan/Carr per-
formance of Rachmaninoff’s Trios
[
this excellent recording.
On Robyn Hitchcock’s Spooked,
the i-deck delivered the singer’s
distinctively adenoidal voice, the
gold dome tweeter emphasizing
his enunciation without excessive
sibilance or spittiness. (You’ve got
to love a guy who addresses tele-
vision as though it were a lover
and throws out lines like, “You’re
the devil’s fishbowl, honey.”) Bass-
guitar lines were fully intelligible
but demonstrated a de-emphasis
of the bottom string that’s not
surprising in a small system. The
i-deck is rated at –3 decibels
down at 75 hertz.
I happen to like compact sys-
tems. They take music places
where it couldn’t otherwise go,
including my kitchen—and I’ve lis-
tened to a lot of them. This one has
the familiar compression and edgi-
ness at high volumes. It seems to
have been voiced to work best at
low to moderate volumes. At a
conversational level, its perfor-
mance is way above average.
Incidentally, all of my demo
tracks were MP3s that I dragged
onto the iPod from a PC running
Windows XP (so shoot me). As the
owner of 1,600 CDs and some
HIGHLIGHTS
 Turn your iPod into a home
audio server of sorts with this
sleek minisystem
 Drop your iPod in the dock, and
it’ll keep playing (and recharge)
 Fits iPod 3G, 4G, Mini, Photo,
and nano
expecting my Good Citizen Award
from the music industry any day
now. I ripped every track at either
160 kilobits per second with
Musicmatch or 192 kbps with
Windows Media Player 10, the first
version to encode MP3 without a
plug-in. On my six-month-old IBM
PC, it does so at blinding speed.
Altogether, the i-deck is an
excellent way to keep your iPod
going at home. It won’t play
extremely loud, process signals in
surround, or fling music through-
out the home in a multizone
system. But it will continue a musi-
cal conversation begun during your
commute without missing a beat,
and it’s a lot less awkward than
booting up a PC (or even a Mac)
just to play music. Monitor Audio

90
Élégiaque. The strings were vivid obscenely incalculable number of has successfully reinvented the
well into the presence region LPs, I tend to roll my own, and I’m compact audio system.

MONITOR AUDIO I-DECK OVERALL RATING

Build Quality
> Speakers feature
two-piece molded-
plastic enclosures and
fabric grilles
> Lightweight construc-
tion makes system easy
to shift from place to place
Value Features
> Moderately priced by > Monitor substitutes
minisystem standards their own digital-to-
analog converters for
> For the cost of the iPod’s
another iPod, make your
iPod do double duty > Auxiliary input accepts
other devices
Performance Ergonomics
> Clear, articulate > Interchangeable panels
sound that makes full fit any size of iPod
use of system’s rated
18 watts per channel > Battery automatically
charges when iPod docked
> Volume and bass
extension are average > Small, thin remote
for a minisystem has volume and trans-
port buttons Bobbing in a sea of iPod-compatible

90 92 91 89
wannabes, Monitor Audio pro-

88 vides a home-docking solution

that’s a cut above average in
sound quality and is as easy to
use as the iPod itself. It’s an eco-
General information nomical, attractive, intelligently
i-deck, $349 designed, distinctive alternative
Monitor Audio, ( 905) 428-2800, www.monitoraudiousa.com > Dealer Locator Code MNT to conventional minisystems.

96 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com

Pure. Strong.
Glass.

Designed for
Entertainment

Sense united with sensuality – this is the concept underpinning the

new stainless steel collections from Schroers & Schroers. Well conceived
structures, reduced to the essentials that support audio and video
systems as though they were weightless.

MID-STATE Co.
2600 Bell Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50321
Phone: 515-244-7231
Fax: 515-244-0828
National Wats: 1-800-798-2568
e-mail: mstate@m-state.com
from the
test bench ENTRY LEVEL
Maxent MX-26X3 LCD
HD Monitor
The little TV that could.
BY ADRIENNE MAXWELL
You might be a little surprised
to learn that this Maxent monitor
has a 26-inch screen. Why would
Home Theater devote precious space
to a display with such a small screen
size? Sure, there’s the fact that it’s
an LCD, and flat panels are the
thing consumers care about right
now. But, hey, if that’s all there
is to it, why not start reviewing
20-inch computer monitors, too?
98 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
$–$$
This Maxent HD monitor caught
our eye for another reason. In a
recent study of LCD TV sales,
Quixel Research determined that
this 26-inch TV was the fourth best-
selling LCD in the nation in the first
quarter of 2005. More notable still
was the fact that it was the only
16:9-shaped TV in the top five.
Given all of the widescreen LCD
displays that the big names in home
theater are marketing, how did
this little guy from a little-known
company earn that honor? That’s
what we had to find out.
A Multipurpose Monitor
That 16:9 aspect ratio isn’t just a
novelty, as the MX-26X3 is an HD
monitor with a 1,366-by-768 res-
olution. It doesn’t include an inter-
nal ATSC tuner or a CableCARD
slot, but there are plenty of HD-
capable inputs to accommodate
your sources: one DVI, two com-
ponent video (this is especially
important for performance reasons
that I’ll get to in a moment), and
one 15-pin RGB input for HDTV
or computer applications. For
enhanced computer interaction,
Maxent also includes an RS-232
port and an RGB output that lets
you daisy-chain this display to
another computer monitor. On the
Cordero Studios
audio side, the TV doesn’t have a
digital audio output, but it does
have a subwoofer out to connect an
external sub, and the two internal
speakers are impressively robust.
The onscreen menus are easy to
navigate and don’t cover up the
screen when you’re trying to adjust
color, brightness, and the like. I was
happy to find color-temperature
adjustments for both the compo-
nent video and DVI inputs, but
there aren’t global red, green, and
blue adjustments.
At first glance, the remote seems
simplistic, but Maxent has hidden
more advanced functions, includ-
ing dedicated input buttons, under
a slide-down panel. The Wide
button lets you scroll through the
available aspect-ratio adjustments.
While there are several aspect
ratios to choose from, you can
menu structure as one of Maxent’s different. Off-axis, the black level
higher-end displays that does offer rises a fair amount, and screen uni-
this kind of black-level adjustment. formity and light spill are concerns.
Off-axis viewing is often a con- When I displayed an all-black test
cern with LCDs, and this one is no pattern, parts of the image took
AT A GLANCE MAXENT MX-26X3 LCD HD MONITOR

only access 16:9, 4:3, or 1:1 > CONNECTIONS

through the DVI and RGB inputs; Inputs:
the same is true for the compo- Video: DVI (1), D-Sub 15-pin (1),
nent video inputs if you feed them component video (2),
S-video (2), composite
a signal with a 480p, 720p, or video (2), RF (1)
1080i resolution. One truly sur- > FEATURES Audio: stereo analog (6),
Type: LCD
prising inclusion on such an inex-
Screen Size (diagonal) 26 inches
pensive monitor is the ability to Outputs:
Native Resolution / Aspect Ratio: 1,366 x 768 / 16:9
Video: D-Sub 15-pin (1)
adjust the aspect ratio of HD Lamp Life: 60,000 hours
Audio: stereo analog (1),
sources. Maxent also includes hor- Wall Mount or Stand Included?: Stand
subwoofer out (1)
Dimensions (H x W x D, inches): 19 x 34.3 x 8.9 (with stand)
izontal and vertical shift options,
Weight (pounds): 28.6 (with stand)
should your cable or satellite signal Additional: RS-232 (1)
Price: $1,099
not completely fill the screen—
another feature not always found HT Labs Measures: Maxent MX-26X3
on far more expensive displays.
LCD HD Monitor
Classic LCD
Features are nice, but perfor- 9500
0.7

Maxent Green
mance is what matters most, and 9000
0.6
Green

I couldn’t wait to see how the 8500 0.5

Color Temperature

8000
MX-26X3 measured up, literally 7500
0.4
Maxent Red
and figuratively. In general, this 7000 0.3
D6500 K
Red

display exhibits the strengths and 6500

0.2 DTV Phosphors

weaknesses common to LCDs. It 6000

Color Temp - 0.1
D6500
Color Temp - Before
5500 Before Blue
has excellent light output, which 5000
0
Maxent Blue Color Temp - After

20 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100
gives it an above-average contrast IRE
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7

ratio and allows you to see a well-

saturated image in a bright view-
ing environment.
By the numbers, the Maxent has
an average black level for an LCD,
but I didn’t feel that the image had
much depth in a darkened room.
Not surprisingly, this TV doesn’t
have an adjustable baklight set-
ting that would allow you to
improve the black level at the
expense of light output for night-
time viewing. The onscreen menu
does have a “black level extension”
option, but you can’t access it; pre-
sumably, this display uses the same
0.169 128.5 is bright white). The gray scale as set by the factory,
> Full-On/Full-Off Contrast Ratio—760:1; in the warm color-temperature mode, measures
cool with dark images and warmer but still rather
ANSI Contrast Ratio—725:1
cool with brighter images. After making adjust-
> Measured Resolution with the Leader LT-446:
ments using the Photo Research PR-650, the gray
480: 480 (per picture height) scale measures better, within 154 Kelvin of D6500,
720p: 590 (pph) the accurate color temperature, across most of
1080i: Out to the limits the range. It still peaks at the very bottom end at
> DC Restoration ( poor, average, good, excellent): 518 degrees Kelvin over 6500K.
Excellent The right chart shows the gray scale (or color
temperature) relative to the color points of the dis-
> Color Decoder ( poor, average, good, excellent): play’s red, green, and blue color filters. These are
Good somewhat off those specified by SMPTE. Red is
slightly reddish-orange, green is slightly oversatu-
> Measured Color Points:
rated and somewhat bluish-green. Blue is slightly
Red Color Point: x=0.642, y=0.342
oversaturated and very slightly purplish-blue.
Green Color Point: x=0.269, y=0.615
After calibration and using a full-field 100-IRE
Blue Color Point: x=0.146, y=0.055
white (128.5 foot-lamberts) and a full-field 0-IRE
The left chart shows the MX-26X3’s gray scale rela- black (0.169 ft-L), the contrast ratio was 760:1. Using
tive to its color temperature at various levels of a 16-box checkerboard pattern (ANSI contrast), the
intensity, or brightness (20 IRE is dark gray; 100 IRE contrast ratio was 725:1.—GM
from the test bench MAXENT MX-26X3 LCD HD MONITOR
on a purplish hue, and I noted a
few patches of dim light around
the screen’s edges that weren’t
evident on-axis. These effects
were more pronounced through
the DVI input than through the
component video input.
Light uniformity wasn’t the only
issue through the DVI input. Images
were generally noisy, especially with
solid, dark colors and transitions
from light to dark. Grays often had
a noticeably green tint, and I saw a
good deal of color shifting in Adrien
Brody’s dark-blue jacket in the
opening scenes of The Jacket on
DVD. In general, the darker the
scene, the noisier the picture got—
making it difficult to enjoy a movie
like Collateral, which takes place
almost entirely at night.
When I switched to the compo-
nent video input, the picture qual-
ity improved a great deal. The
quantization test on Video Essentials
revealed a generally smooth transi-
^ The cleanly designed
remote features additional tion from light to dark, except for
buttons located under a one noticeable jump in deeper
slide-down panel.
blacks, which manifested itself as
noise in light-to-dark transitions,
like the smoky, spotlit backgrounds
in the “Cell Block Tango” scene
from Chicago. For the most part,
though, images had less noise in
solid colors, and the scenes from
Collateral and The Jacket looked
much more natural through the
MAXENT MX-26X3 LCD HD MONITOR
Build Quality Value Features
> Constructed mostly > HDTV and LCD for a > Includes a well-
of plastic and weighs little more than $1,000— rounded input panel
only 28.6 pounds and you don’t have to
sacrifice performance > No CableCARD, ATSC
> The remote lacks tuner, or card reader
backlighting
84 93 89
General information
MX-26X3 LCD HD Monitor, $1,099 > Maxent, (888) 373-4368, www.maxentusa.com > Dealer Locator Code MAX
100 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
component video input. It’s a good
thing Maxent put two of them on
the back panel to accommodate a
DVD and an HDTV source.
Needless to say, we calibrated the
monitor using the component video
input. As you can see in the mea-
surements box, the gray scale before
calibration tracks fairly consis-
tently around 7,500 degrees Kelvin,
except with the darkest images. The
color points are a little off, but I
found the color palette to be pleas-
antly natural with both DVD and
HD images. Likewise, detail with
both sources was very good, as it
should be on a 26-inch screen. You
don’t need to calibrate this display,
although the gray scale tracked very
close to 6500K after calibration.
The MX-26X3 did not success-
fully pick up the 3:2 film sequence
in either the test signals from my
Silicon Optix demo disc nor my
reference scenes from Gladiator
and The Bourne Identity. You’ll defi-
nitely want to mate this TV with
a good progressive-scan DVD
player. While it handled the video-
based test signals on the Silicon
Optix disc fairly well, it created
noticeable jaggies with real-world
video material from DVD and cable
sources. In general, the TV doesn’t
do a great job of upconverting
standard-definition NTSC signals,
rendering a very noisy picture. If
Performance
> Produces good
colors, solid detail, and
great light output
> Inconsistent image
quality through DVI, but
the component video
image is quite good
86
[
HIGHLIGHTS
 It’s a bright TV with a good con-
trast ratio
 A nice image through the compo-
nent video inputs
you’re shopping for an LCD on
which to watch a good deal of
NTSC TV, the MX-26X3 may
not be the best choice.
Given the 26-inch screen size,
the MX-26X3 obviously isn’t a dis-
play we’d recommend for a home
theater, but it does do a nice job
with DVD and HDTV sources. So,
if you’ve got a DVD player and/or
a second HD receiver in your den,
bedroom, or office that needs a
mate, this unit is worth a look.
Those RGB connections make it an
especially good fit for an office,
where it can pull double duty as a
TV and a computer monitor.
We can sleep a little better at
night knowing that folks aren’t just
buying this TV because it’s flat, it’s
priced lower than some of its com-
petition, and it’s sold at Costco and
similar retailers. Those things prob-
ably had something to do with it,
but it’s nice to know that perfor-
88
mance made the list, too.
OVERALL RATING
Ergonomics
> Dedicated input but-
tons on the remote
> Aspect-ratio adjust-
ment for HD sources
The MX-26X3 is a fine choice
91 for a second-room TV, ren-
dering attractive DVD and
HDTV images through its
component video inputs.
The next time you’re buying
80 pounds of trail mix at
Costco, give this one a look.
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from the
test bench
Potpourri 2
Three quick glimpses into what’s hot in the convergence world.
Apple iPod nano
BY CHRIS CHIARELLA
I don’t talk much about my one
and only year at NYU Business
School (short version: not a good
fit), but I did learn this: Making a
successful product is only the
beginning. To survive and thrive,
manufacturers need to enhance,
improve, and give consumers the
102 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
CONVERGENCE $$—$$$
added value and new features
that will keep them coming
back. Here then are three essen-
tial pieces of audio gear from
Logitech, Creative, and Apple;
refreshed, redesigned, and
rethought for an ever-changing
market of technophiles.
Apple iPod nano
If MP3 was originally an “outlaw”
format, the Apple iPod was the first
product line to bring status to the
technology. Now, it’s a must-have
lifestyle accessory in a sea of com-
petitors. With an uncluttered design
and a winning user interface, iPod
helped even computer illiterates
embrace digital music. The models
have evolved quickly to offer smaller
form factors, photo display, and now
even video on some models. While
it lacks the video playback, the flash-
memory-based iPod nano is a real
sliver of a device. Flash-based players
can’t hold as much music as hard-
disk-drive players. However, since
flash-based players have no moving
parts, they’re more stable during
rigorous activity and more reliable
overall. They need no spin-up time
and therefore provide faster data
access. Plus, the nanos typically
enjoy longer battery life. I absolutely
could not make the iPod nano skip,
as you would expect from a player
without moving parts.
Unlike Apple’s first flash-based
player, the iPod shuffle, the nano
has a display, a backlit color screen
measuring 1.5 inches diagonally
with a 176-by-132-pixel resolution.
Storage capacity is also up from the
shuffle: The nano comes with 2 or
4 gigabytes, in a package that is
smaller than a business card, wafer-
thin, and only 1.5 ounces. The non-
user-replaceable lithium-ion battery
charged in less than the purported
three hours and lasted every minute
of twelve hours of nonstop use. It
requires a high-power USB 2.0
port, and it comes with a USB cable
for charging and transfers. An
optional cable will connect to
FireWire for charging only, or
you can use an optional iPod
USB power adapter for more direct
AC charging. Also bundled with
the nano are a pair of Apple’s dis-
tinctive white earbuds and an iPod
dock adapter to mate with various
iPod accessories, such as a host of
home-audio systems.
The iPod nano worked seamlessly
with iTunes. It loaded songs in less
than one second each, soon giving
me a sense of just how vast 4 GB
can be. (The software CD carried
the latest version of Apple’s music
software.) Using iTunes, I easily
located all of my digital photos,
optimized them for display on the
small screen, and transferred them
to the player. Before I knew it, I was
creating slide shows in the palm of
my hand—with musical accompa-
niment. The nano also displays
album cover art, if available, in a
variety of sizes.
While the tiny shell and sensi-
tive click-wheel navigation were
 “ … incredible performance … simply spectacular … you’re in
the presence of EXTRAORDINARY SOUND.”
– Marc Mickelson, SoundStage! on the S8

In designing Signature our objective was clear—to move significantly beyond anything
currently available by applying the highest level of design and technical innovation.
Signature’s tweeter is just one example. The deep gold-anodizing process used on the
G-PAL™ dome provides exceptional rigidity, without adding mass. Innovative ARB™
Aperiodic Resonance Breakup fins capture and disperse even the smallest residual
internal resonance. Super Neodymium magnets and unique external heatsinks ensure
vastly superior power handling. Power response is uncompressed and immediate, with
lightning speed.

What emerges is an audiophile’s dream—breathtaking clarity, exquisite detail, completely

© Paradigm Electronics Inc. & Bavan Corp.

uncolored, uncompromised sound. In reviewing Signature, perhaps SoundStage! puts it

best: “… a technical tour de force … one of the best … the one others have to rival.”

We invite you to visit your local dealer to experience the extraordinary sound of Paradigm®
Reference Signature for yourself.
w w w . p a r a d i g m . c o m
 from the test bench POTPOURRI 2
sometimes a challenge to my oafish
hands, I am still marveling at
the nano’s physical beauty and its
quality—and at how Apple man-
aged to squeeze so much enter-
tainment in there.
> 2 GB $199, 4 GB $249
> www.apple.com/ ipod
Creative Sound Blaster
X-Fi Elite Pro
This is certainly the most impres-
sive sound card in Creative’s long
and illustrious history, and it is
perhaps the finest consumer-
grade sound card ever released.
Their Sound Blaster X-Fi (Xtreme
Fidelity) promises performance
in the realm of true audiophile-
quality CE componentry. Creative
maintains all of the benefits of their
previous Audigy sound card line,
namely Dolby EX, DTS ES, and
Neo:6, as well as DVD-Audio sup-
port for up to seven speakers and a
subwoofer. A variety of permuta-
tions of the X-Fi technology ranging
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro
Creative X-Fi Elite Pro Breakout Box
104 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
of
onboard
X-RAM ded-
icated audio
X-Fi Elite Pro Card
m e m o r y e n a bl e
from $130 to $280 address superior gaming per-
everyone from MP3 music X-Fi Elite Pro Remote formance on even the
fans to high-end gamers. I newest and most demanding
reviewed the THX-certified X-Fi titles. You can control all the func-
Elite Pro, the top-end configuration tions via a mouse and a keyboard.
that pairs their best card with their The large X-Fi I/O console also
best breakout box, for Windows supplies hard control knobs for the
XP (Service Pack 2) PCs only. CMSS-3D, the 24-bit Crystalizer,
With proprietary technolo- volume, and more. There’s also
g ies that work faster at these a full complement of connectivity
specific tasks than a Pentium 4 in front and back: MIDI, digital
processor, X-Fi’s 24-bit Crystalizer coaxial, and digital optical inputs
upsamples individual tracks to true and outputs, analog stereo with
24-bit/96-kilohertz sample rates. a switch to set phono levels, DIN
Plus, X-Fi CMSS-3D (Creative connection, plus a trio of 0.25-inch
Multi-Speaker Surround) exe- TRS jacks for microphones and
cutes a “smart” remix of stereo to headphones. And, as expected, the
5.1 channels. Perhaps best of all, included RM-1800 is one of the
X-Fi can carry out both of these most sophisticated remotes I’ve
enhancements simultaneously— seen for anything, ever.
and on the fly.
Compressed video files benefit, > $400
as the processing techniques know > (405) 742-6655
to send dialogue to the center > www.soundblaster.com
channel, ambience to the sur-
rounds, and so on. Even DVDs that Logitech Z-5450 Digital
were not mastered for true 5.1 are 5.1 Speaker System
rendered with a new, Hollywood- Consistently, Logitech has manufac-
esque mix. Onscreen settings tured some of the best-performing
match the operations to your spe- 5.1 multimedia solutions I’ve
cific gear, be it a 7.1 speaker setup evaluated: hearty speaker suites
or simple headphones, which them- with mighty subwoofers and ample
selves can now deliver a convincing built-in decoding options, some
surround experience. The SuperRip even boasting THX Multimedia
application of the Creative Media certification to remove all doubt.
Source 3 software can also enhance While 2004’s Z-5500 Digital might
the creation of new MP3s, forever have taken this configuration as far
changing the fidelity of tracks at as it could go, the next frontier was
the time of capture. wireless surround speakers, the
The digital-to-analog convert- gotta-have-it feature for cluttered
ers yield a signal-to-noise ratio of desktop scenarios, where style and
116 decibels, while 64 megabytes simplicity are always welcome.

Logitech Z-5450 Digital 5.1 Speaker System
The new Z-5450 Digital deliv-
ers all of its predecessor’s key
features: hardware decoding for
Dolby Digital, Pro Logic II, DTS,
and high-resolution DTS 96/24.
The hardware has been sleekified
yet again. The nifty black satellites
incorporate 2.5-inch drivers with
aluminum phase plugs that pull
double duty, covering the range of
both the tweeters and the mid-
range drivers. The dual-chamber,
band-pass sub with a 6.5-inch
driver plays low and loud. Total
system power is down from
Logitech systems past, but this one
efficiently uses the 315 total watts
RMS, so I can still recommend the
Z-5450 for desktop home theaters.
The compact, horizontal Digital
SoundTouch Control Center is the
new brain of the system, where all
of the components are connected.
It includes rear-panel inputs for two
digital optical sources, one digital
coaxial, one six-channel direct (via
three stereo miniconnectors) for
SACD/DVD-Audio or three sepa-
rate analog stereo components.
There’s also another analog
stereo mini input on the side
panel to easily patch in
portable devices. A wireless
remote controls it all.
Setup of the wireless sur-
rounds is automatic
upon initial installation.
The instructions state
that reconnecting in
times of trouble
is a painless
process involv-
ing a paper
clip. I never
found out,
though, as
mine oper-
ated without
incident. This
first-ever THX-certified wireless
surround multimedia speaker sys-
tem relies upon adaptive hopping
between all 38 available channels
in the 2.4-gigahertz range, and
redundant transmissions ensure
uninterrupted entertainment.
When needed, the system sends
the signal twice, once on each of
two different channels. The signals
are compressed before transmission,
with less than a 20-millisecond
delay from front to rear. Logitech’s
proprietary technology uses a
low-latency 48-kHz sample rate;
therefore, it downsamples any
96-kHz streams to 48 kHz for the
surrounds only. Each of the sur-
rounds has an internal amp and thus
requires AC connection.
At $500, this is Logitech’s most
expensive audio solution to date. It
has outstanding sonic quality and a
hot new wireless technology that
combines dependability and enjoy-
ably natural sound.
> $500
> (800) 231-7717
> www.logitech.com
Every Theater Needs A Stage.
No one understands the role of home entertainment furniture better than
Salamander Designs, where we devote ourselves to the art. Choose from base
modules in various widths and heights. Customize your unit for enclosed storage
and/or open shelf space. Add accessories, from a panel TV mount to interior
lighting. Then get a comfortable view of it all from one of our lush theater chairs.

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See your many choices, including luxurious seating options, and plan your furniture system on-line at SeriousFurniture.com. Phone: 800-350-6859
Visit our booth at CES.
 PRESENTS

NEW!
Step-by-Step Guide for
Tips from an
Building Your Audio Insider
Theater Harman engineer
Dr. Floyd Toole’s
practical home theater

Shhh! You’ll
Wake the Neighbors
Advice from pros on apartment home theater
FROM THE EDITOR HOW TO NAVIGATE AVI

AudioVideoInteriors.com
As you read the magazine, you will notice an
AudioVideoInteriors.com logo in the margin

On Displays next to certain underlined text, which represents a Web-

exclusive story. Go to our Website, and you will see the
same text as a link that you can click on for additional
A look at what’s happening features, installer portfolios, biographies, and more!

in the display market. How It Works For You

You’ll find the “How It Works for You” sidebar in every
BY KRISSY RUSHING audio/video interior in AVI. This helps you immediately
identify how you can relate the principles and ideas you
see in the pages of AVI to your own budget, space, and
lifestyle.

T his week I went up to Stewart Filmscreen in Torrance, California,

to take a tour of their facilities and see how they make their projec-
tion screens. The process is really quite amazing, and we plan to
cover it in a future feature. As I talked with director of sales Joaquin Rivera and
president Grant Stewart, I realized that this company is trying hard to make
AUDIO VIDEO INTERIORS
TABLE OF CONTENTS / JANUARY 2006

110 READER FEEDBACK

111 READER HOME

projection screens exciting for home theater consumers and emphasize their THEATER
This do-it-yourself reader builds a
importance in creating a stellar picture from a projection system. When buying 1950s-style theater, and offers
a two-piece projection system, you really need to think about the projector and tips on how you can do the same.
the screen as two parts of a puzzle that should fit together perfectly, rather by Thomas Kern
than putting all the importance (not to mention budget) on the projector and
114 ASK THE EXPERTS
111
then using a subpar screen. Live in a multi-unit apartment
Then I got to thinking about video quality and where we are in the indus- complex or building? Here’s how
try today. Five to six years ago, high-definition was just beginning to catch on to build a theater, without annoy-
ing the neighbors.
as the next best thing. 480i and 480p were the buzz around tradeshows and in by Nancy Klosek
A/V magazines. Now, the thrilling prospect of getting absolutely perfect video
is upon us. Sure, 1080p content is scarce at the moment; you can really only 116 HOME THEATER
BUILDER
get it from a PC. But PS3 promises to make high-def 1080p games standard Part 1 of this new series tells
(Xbox 360 does not support 1080p). And let’s not forget HD-DVD or Blu-
ray high-def DVDs (or both, when the format war ends).
you how to budget and plan for
your home theater haven.
114
by William Clark
There are a lot of displays currently on the market that have a native reso-
lution of 1080p but won’t accept a 1080p digital input signal except occa- 120 THE BALANCING ACT
sionally on the RGBHV (computer) input. “1080p displays are not the holy A wild theater with a sonic
grail that consumers perceive them to be—at least, not until they have 1080p edge shows you how to bal-
ance acoustics, design, and
inputs,” says Josh Allen, product manager of system products for DVDO, living space.
which makes state-of-the-art video scalers that upconvert any source to 1080p. By Rebecca Day
“Those buying a first-generation 1080p display with no 1080p input are poten-
124 ADVICE FROM
tially going to feel like they got burned when 1080p sources come out and AN AUDIO INSIDER
they can’t hook them up directly.” Harman engineer Dr. Floyd Toole’s
Other trends to watch, according to Sharp, which is big in the LCD market,
include larger screen sizes for flat-panel displays and growing competition in
media room is surprisingly devoid
of formal acoustic treatment.
120
Learn why in this article.
this category, as well as the TV as the center of the networked home. The by Krissy Rushing
company also plans to streamline its products, expanding their appeal to
women. Toshiba, in addition to its HD-DVD initiatives, is touting SED as the HIGH-DEF HORROR
next big thing. STORIES?
Did you recently buy a TV
We’ll see how these predictions pan out at the Consumer Electronics Show, that was touted as high-
which is this month in Las Vegas, and we’ll keep our eye on the state of the def but isn’t? E-mail me
video industry in the coming year. Stay tuned. at Krissy.Rushing@
primedia.com.
124
READER FEEDBACK
The letters are coming in from readers who are
responding to our second issue of Audio Video
Interiors in Home Theater. Please, keep the feed-
back coming! Email me at Krissy.Rushing@
primedia.com. Any topic is fair game.
Readers Chime in On iPod-Related Audio
I have the Sonos digital music system at home, and it’s
wonderful. I have about 600 discs, however, that I’ve been
waiting to rip and load on my Buffalo Tech TeraStation (a 1-
terabyte networked-attached storage device that will allow
me to have all my music on my Sonos system without having
the computer running all the time). What’s holding me back
from ripping my CDs is that I would like to wait for Sonos to
support the protected WMA and AAC formats so that I can
have the best of both worlds—all the benefits of digital files
(album art, metadata, and so on), as well as high-quality sound.
WAV formats don’t quite cut it. As you implied, who wants
to pipe subpar music through expensive audio gear? FLAC files
may be the interim solution.
Other than the audio- and data-quality issues of digital
music files, it would take me forever to rip my 600-CD
collection, but I have a solution with the ReadyToPlay rip-
ping service. It’s going to cost $1,000 to get all of my CDs
digitized into the FLAC format and loaded onto a hard
drive, but, in the long run, I think it will be worth it. What
the industry needs to sort out now is how to network mul-
tichannel formats like DVD-Audio and SACD.
Rich MacCabe, Via E-mail
I too hope that someday we will hear at least CD-quality
sound from our portables and digital home-media servers. I
have my doubts, however, as there doesn’t seem to be a
demand for it. There is a small vocal group requiring it and,
at this point, they (we) have CDs. If the future is one with-
out physical media, our group will demand to be heard, and
something will be provided to us. It won’t be mainstream,
but it will be available. I have yet to purchase a portable, not
because of sound quality issues (for portability, I’d sacrifice
sound quality), but because of the prices. Their popularity is
causing an inflation of their true price point, so I’ll hold out
for a 4-gig player that retails for $99.
Brian Huempfner,Via E-mail
Credit Where Credit’s Due
Anna Shay, of Solanna Design, LLC, was responsible for the
amazing interior design in the home in our November cover
story “The Finer Points of Home Theater” (see cover, above).
Contact her at (949) 644-8890, or log on to www.solanna.com.
110 Audio Video Interiors / January 2006 • www.audiovideointeriors.com
DIY READER HOME
THEATER
BY THOMAS KERN, HOMEOWNER
I ’ve always loved going to the movies. Most of my
childhood Saturday mornings were spent at the
Palace Theater in Winchester, Virginia, where I
could watch two films, cartoons, a newsreel, a short,
and coming attractions—all for a quarter. About three
years ago, I was surfing eBay and ran across a listing for a
movie poster from the 1956 horror film The Mole People. I
became obsessed with that poster and soon found myself in
a fierce bidding war. Later, I realized what was really going
on. The Mole People poster had rekindled those childhood
memories, and I somehow wanted to go back in time and
relive those special Saturdays. That’s when I decided to
design and build an ornate 1950s style home theater.
The space I chose for my theater was a 14- by 38-foot
upstairs bonus room that I’d designed into our house when
my wife, Patricia, and I built it in 1993. The room had an
alcove at one end, and we realized later that it would be
perfect for a home theater stage and screen.
I began doing research immediately, searching the Inter-
net for information on all aspects of home theater design
and equipment. I read back issues of Home Theater and any
similar pubs I could find. I visited A/V dealers and pestered
them with technical questions about types of projection
systems, acoustics issues, construction, and so on. The
more I learned, the more I didn’t know. In some cases, I
got conflicting information, which just confused me more.
Getting that ’50s Look
I’d been unable to locate examples of 1950s style home
theaters. I saw either very modern or simple earth-toned,
HOW IT WORKS FOR YOU
• Persevere If You Want Vintage. If you like
the idea of doing a vintage theater, the stuff
is out there, but be prepared to spend a lot
of time and money finding it. It took Thomas
Kern three years and $6,000 to acquire all
the vintage items for his theater.
• Don’t Reinvent the Wheel. Learn the tricks
from the ones who have done it. Avoid
warped lumber—always check boards by
laying them on the floor before you buy.
Avoid rattles by using wood glue and deck
screws for all joints and roofing felt between
plywood sheets. Measure twice, cut once.
 > >
From Concept To Construction
sedate rooms. But I wanted the gaudy, over-the-top, out-
rageous look of the old movie palaces. By this time, I had
acquired many reference books on the history, con-
struction, renovation, and preservation of the grand
movie houses, and I began to develop my own vision for
a theater. I also found a couple of theater owners’ equip-
ment catalogs from the 1930s and ’40s, so I knew exactly
what the various vintage theater items looked like. But
where was I to find them?
Looking in antique shops for theater items wasn’t getting
me anywhere, and I was getting discouraged. I wanted my
theater lobby to have original movie posters from my
favorite 1950s science-fiction and horror films, and these
posters were hard to find, as well. I tried eBay again. I set
up searches for posters and vintage theater items that I ran
every day for almost three years! I really had to persevere,
because these types of vintage theater items are getting
harder to find as time goes by. Sometimes, I would search
for weeks and find only one item. The hardest items to
find were the wall sconces. I had no trouble finding two or
three, but I needed six! Finally, after almost three years
of searching, I saw a listing for two 1930s sconces from
a theater in Ontario, Canada. I e-mailed the seller to
see if there were any more. To my amazement, she
replied that she had eight altogether, six with their orig-
inal parchment shades!
Up to this point, I’d spent two years researching home
theaters. One day, I was telling my son, Tom Jr., that I
was still analyzing my theater design, and he said, “Dad,
you’ve got analysis paralysis! You need to start building
something!” He was right. Although I have good working
knowledge of A/V components and systems, I had never
tried to build anything like this, and I had become consumed
by the fear that I would do something wrong that could not
be corrected.
Using my drawings, I made an initial list of building mate-
rials and supplies I would need and headed to the nearest
Home Depot. During the course of the project, I visited
Home Depot so often that I came to be known as “that
theater dude.” I don’t have a formal workshop, so I cleared
To Reality
>
out my garage, set up a few tables, and went to work. I worked
carefully, frequently referring to my drawings. I religiously
followed the carpenter’s adage: “Measure twice, cut once.”
First, I painted the ceiling a very dark blue to simulate
the night sky. I used a tinted primer and was surprised to
find that it took four additional coats to completely cover
the previously white ceiling. I also painted the theater and
lobby walls using a warm gold color. Meanwhile, I ordered
my projector and screen, having settled on the Sanyo PLV-
Z2 LCD projector and the Da-Lite Cinema Vision Da-Snap
45- by 80-inch screen.
I used two-by-four studs to build the screen wall,
painted them flat black and mounted the screen. I also
painted the wall behind the screen flat black to eliminate
any reflections and stapled black Acoustone speaker-grille
cloth around the perimeter of the screen to allow maxi-
mum sound transmissibility from the speakers, which
would be located near the screen. Then, working with the
projected image and the manufacturer’s recommendations,
I determined the optimal location for the projector, seats,
and seating platform. I also used two-by-fours for the stage
foundation and added a subfloor made of two sheets of ply-
wood interleaved with 30-pound roofing felt and a top
layer of Pergo laminated wood flooring. The roofing felt
To Enjoyment

helps eliminate rattles caused by low-frequency sounds. I
From Stairwell
to Lobby recommend using wood glue and deck screws for all joints.
Thomas Kern spent Predrill holes for the screws, apply the glue, and fasten
three years searching
eBay to find vintage with deck screws, and you will have tight, solid joints and
movie posters for the no rattles. I used the same technique for the seating plat-
lobby—a space that
was transformed from
form. Always lay the beams on the floor at the hardware
ordinary (top right) to store before you buy them to make sure they aren’t
outrageous (top).
Now, all the Kerns
warped. I didn’t pay attention with my first batch and made
(below right) can enjoy the mistake of trying to screw together warped beams.
the theater , which I get the most compliments on the columns flanking the
seats at least nine. For
more images, check stage. They are pine with resin capitals, available by special
out our website, order from Home Depot. I had been experimenting with
www.AudioVideo
Interiors.com. a variety of gold paints and didn’t like anything I tried. A
decorator told me that the only paint that looked like real
gold was Ralph Lauren Duchesse Satin Ballroom Gold,
which had been discontinued because it streaked badly
when people used it to paint entire walls. After calling all
over the country to find some, I checked eBay, where I
bought two quarts for $100. The paint is very thin, almost
like a glaze, so, when I painted a test piece of molding, I
was very disappointed with the
result. Then, I noticed that the flat
paint I had put on the walls was
about the same gold hue as the
Ballroom Gold, so I primed a
piece of molding with it and then
painted the Ballroom Gold over it.
It looked dull at first, but, when it
dried, it shone with the most gorgeous, vibrant gold color
I’ve ever seen!
I have 2,000 laserdiscs, so I located a preowned Pioneer
Elite CLD-99 laserdisc player. I also purchased a Samsung
DVD-HD931 DVD player and a Monster Power
HTS2600 power conditioner. The final compo-
nent I bought was a DVDO iScan HD processor,
which provides high-resolution video scaling of
standard-definition video content. The receiver (the
Yamaha RX-V2090 with an external Yamaha DDP-1 AC-3
decoder), B&W speakers (DM602s and CC6 center chan-
nel), and a Velodyne 10-inch sub were from my previous
system. For the time being, I decided to ignore all of the
information on acoustic treatments, and I think the sound in
the theater is excellent. At some point, I will engage a
sound engineer to properly calibrate my system.
My original goal was to faithfully recreate the nostalgia
and charm of the fabulous movie palaces of the 1950s, and
I think I have accomplished that. When it’s show time in
the Kern Theatre, the chandeliers and wall sconces gradu-
ally dim, and the main curtains slowly open, revealing a
gold curtain behind them. Sound fills the room as the gold
curtain slowly rises from the stage floor. At that moment
Patricia and I are eight years old again, and it’s Saturday
morning at the movies!

My Budget
Building Materials & Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,500
Electrical Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,100
Carpet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,500
Curtains & Motorized Curtain Rods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,100
Palms, Ferns & Stage Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,350
Slipcovers for Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $600
Vintage Movie Theater Seats (8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $550
Vintage Lamps, Chandeliers & Wall Sconces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,150
Vintage Movie Theater Items. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,000
Antique Concession Area Display Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,000
Star Antique Design Popcorn Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $350
Archival Movie Poster Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,800
Sanyo PLV-Z2 LCD Projector & Ceiling Mount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,250
Da-Lite Cinema Vision Da-Snap 45- by 80-inch Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,000
DVDO iScan HD Video Scaling Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,700
Pioneer Elite CLD-99 Laserdisc Player (used) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $550
Samsung DVD-HD931 DVD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $300
Power Conditioner, Equipment Rack & Cables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,050

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $31,850

112 Audio Video Interiors / January 2006 • www.audiovideointeriors.com

 C A PT IVAT ION
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converting all of your video sources. Whether it’s your 480i cable feed, 480p DVD player, or 720p or 1080i HD set-top-box signal — the
iScan VP30 scales your video output to perfectly match the optimum resolution of your
display, up to 1080p! Plus, it’s HDCP compliant over each of the 4 digital HDMI
inputs, and accepts any legacy 480i/480p analog sources.

Providing complete picture control for each of its 11 separate video inputs and aspect
ratio controls for both input and output, the VP30’s settings may be saved into 4
“display profiles” for driving a variety of display types.

It also provides complete pan and zoom capability to position and/or stretch your image on the screen with overscan, underscan,
and border controls to eliminate “black bars” and fill the entire screen. The VP30 accommodates both analog and digital audio
streams and can be set to automatically delay the audio to ensure perfect lip-sync.

Serving as your complete A/V hub, the iScan VP30 provides simultaneous audio/video switching with “any rez in — any rez out ”
video conversion and one clean wire to your display. Add the iScan VP30 to your home theater today and prepare to be
visually CAPTIVATED!
See the difference!
Visit any authorized DVDO reseller or go to:
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ASK THE EXPERTS
N EIGHBORLY HOME THEATER
Making sound and video work in shared buildings.
I
n a city like New York, one might assume that creating a theater within
the confines of an apartment would take a backseat to enjoying the city’s
dizzying amount of alternate entertainment diversions, such as a good
Broadway play. Not so. Even in Manhattan, where living space is parsed
within large buildings in close proximity to neighbors, city dwellers want a
quality home theater experience as much as their suburban cousins.
We polled three of Manhattan’s seasoned custom installation experts
about how they ply their trade given the unique circumstances presented in
multiple-dwelling structures. Evan Fusco, vice president of custom sales
and design of Park Avenue Audio, Kim Michels, president of Electronic
Environments, and Andy Singer, president of Sound By Singer
offer advice to help you build and enjoy your home theater, with-
out ticking off the folks next door. Be sure to check out
www.AudioVideoInteriors.com for Part 2 of this article.
Q: I live in an older apartment building. What are some of
the pitfalls of working in that environment?
AS: With a retrofit, you never know what’s behind the
wall. Spanning one 5-foot spot to get a wire from point
A to point B can take five seconds—or it can take two
hours. We try to manage expectations by letting you
know that if you want to hide all the wires, we can’t
always say how long it’s going to take or how much
Evan Fusco money it will cost. That’s something you need to
understand, going in.
Also, no matter what kind of internal wall wiring
you’re doing—whether it’s going behind Sheetrock,
Andy Singer (below right) which is simple, or working with plaster or brick, which
outfits an apartment in means furrowing out the walls—there’s going to be a
Manhattan’s Battery Park certain amount of disruption to the living space.Under-
City with audio and
video. stand that there will be carpentry, painting, and some-
times masonry required. If you run wires around the
114 Audio Video Interiors / January 2006 • www.audiovideointeriors.com
BY NANCY KLOSEK
walls, you can save yourself time and aggravation.
KM: Solid walls in pre-War apartments are a good thing
as long as you know what to do and what not to do. We use
speakers with integrated backboxes. These fully enclosed
in-wall speakers are engineered to perform in the volume
of space provided. This reduces the degree of sound leak-
age to adjacent rooms and improves bass response. You
also need to make sure to use the proper wire if there are
plenum air spaces as part of the HVAC system. Plenum-
rated wire is required in these spaces by code.
EF: The structure in older apartments is important. In
pre-War buildings, where you have thick, block walls
and plaster, you have to get pretty out of hand to annoy
your neighbors. If the landlord changed the heating
system over the years, there might be a bit of space
around the pipe between floors, and that’s an area to
stay away from because sound can be transmitted.
Downtown architecture in New York is very differ-
ent. In SoHo, converted loft warehouse buildings are
brick or stone on the outside, but the inside flooring is
often wood, with big wood joists and ceilings under-
neath that. So, you have shockingly little insulation
between floors. You’d never put an in-ceiling speaker in
a loft like that without having a sealed back on it, because
as much sound goes out the back of an in-wall speaker as
goes out the front. People don’t realize that.
We use steel spikes on the bottoms of subwoofers to
decouple them from the floor a bit and stop some
vibration. It’s also a good idea to be aware of where
your neighbor’s bedroom is versus their living room—
particularly in stacked loft apartments, where people
tend to vary their apartment layouts dramatically.
In new concrete skyscrapers, contrarily, very little
sound transmission happens between floors, thanks to
the concrete slabs in the building. (You can, however,
run into problems horizontally, where there are usually
just two pieces of Sheetrock separating apartments.)
Q: I’m worried about bothering my neighbors. What sorts of
issues can arise, and how do you prevent them?
KM: Post-War buildings are very difficult, as the isola-
tion is not good to begin with. Good contractors know
how to substantially reduce the transmission of sound,
but you will need to give up some space for additional
Sheetrock and acoustic material. Make sure to insulate
pipes well, as sound jumps onto them and freely
travels up and down the building. It is a good idea
to hire an acoustical engineer to evaluate the space
and provide a noise specification. Many buildings, at
least in New York, require that you allow the
acoustical firm retained by the building to evaluate
your construction and make sure that it meets the
building’s requirements. In many cases, the require-
ments for new renovations are much stricter than
those grandfathered in for existing apartments.
Q: Can you insulate my apartment so sound doesn’t escape?
KM: Yes. There’s limp mass material, which is a flexi-
ble but very heavy mat that has the properties of lead
and is easy to work with. There are also special materi-
als that you can use in place of Sheetrock that will pro-
vide very substantial sound isolation, but these materi-
als are quite expensive. If you have the space, build a
fully isolated room within a room—and go to town!
EF: Soundproofing can be extremely expensive and
often can’t be done properly without a near-gut reno-
vation. Essentially, you’d need to “float” the floor. It’s
really quite a process. But things can be done to mini-
mize sound for not a ton of money.
Q: Can I do a wireless system in a multidwelling building?
AS: Wireless. When I’m asked about that, I shudder.
First, there’s no such thing as a good wireless speaker—
it doesn’t exist. Second, wireless control is one thing.
Wireless signals are another.
Now that people are going into Wi-Fi at breakneck
speed, you’re hearing more about how they’re having
difficulty operating their wireless systems because their
neighbor’s Wi-Fi is interfering with theirs. I know of
lawsuits in buildings where one neighbor is suing
another because the plaintiff had the Wi-Fi first!
Q: What about street-noise issues, or the noise of construction?
KM: If you want peace and quiet, move to the suburbs.
Noise is part of the allure and action of the city. Embrace
it, and learn to live with it. Of course, you need spaces
to get away from the noise—and music plays a big role in
that. Last resort: We can construct a special double-paned
window with a large air space as an insulator between the
main window. We don’t see this much any more, because
new insulated windows do a such a good job.
Q: What can I expect from the electrical wiring in my
older building?
Kim Michels (above)
installed a plasma inside cus-
tom cabinetry (above left) in
this small apartment. The
KM: Sorry, but 90 percent of our projects include a full cabinet not only ascends when
overhaul of the electrical system. One of the first ques- it’s time to watch a film, but
tions I ask is about wiring. Our systems require a lot of it swivels so that these
dwellers can enjoy it from the
power, so, without good, clean power, we simply can’t
bed or the living area.
install the level of systems that our clients desire. On
rare occasions, we install filtering, UPS backups, and
voltage regulators if we are concerned about the elec-
trical supply.
A/V AND THE CITY
Strange circumstances and unusual requests.
An Impossible Wireless Situation. We worked on one job in which we wanted to put a
wireless controller in one room, which typically has a range of 200 to 300 feet. The
controller was within 15 feet of the receiver, and it should’nt have been a problem for
the receiver. And, indeed, in every place else in the house, it worked just fine.
But we constantly had dropouts, and, no matter what we tried (the manufacturer
even came down to do complex tests), nothing worked. Then, one day, I stopped my
car in front of the building next door because my cell phone dropped out. Two guys in
nondescript uniforms walked over to my car, held up badges and said, “This is a
secure Federal building. You have to move. Now.” And I did. I can assure you that
they’re doing frequency jamming, and it’s affecting other buildings around it. This is
something to be aware of when considering a wireless system—wireless signals can
be unpredictable.—Andy Singer
Don’t Flood Your Neighbors. Clients rely on us not to let them do anything stupid,
regardless of how cool or logical it seems at the time. I recently talked a client out of
including the ability to fill the Jacuzzi in their master bathroom via the Internet,
before they arrive home. That cool factor and convenience wears off immediately
after you flood your downstairs neighbor! There’s a difference between living near
your neighbors and living right above or next to your neighbors. If you listen to loud
music, you’d better prepare your space for this—or hope that your neighbors like
your choice in music.—Kim Michels
Lighted Lilies. I’m doing an apartment for a bachelorette who likes to entertain, and
her bathtub is one of the focal points in the apartment. It’s centrally located, it’s a
very large apartment, and the floor plan is incredibly open. The bathtub is white, and
the tub has lights in the bottom. She likes to float water lilies and have the light
underneath the lilies shining on the black lacquer ceiling. When she gets home at the
end of the day, that’s how she’s greeted. That was a challenge for the lighting-control
system. She’s got more than 50 light switches in the apartment. She wanted to press
only one button to toggle through the different lighting scenes when she gets home.
And she also wants to be able to control the system from the tub—so we are providing
her with a waterproof remote. It just goes to show you that you can do as little or as
much as your imagination and wallet allow.—Evan Fusco
 Home Theater Builder
Part 1: The beginnings of budgeting.
ow do I build a home theater or media room? The
H question is a complicated one that every reader wants
answered. That’s why we created this new, ongo-
ing column in AVI. Whether you’re going to build the room
yourself or hire a custom installer, there’s information you can
use in Home Theater Builder. We’ll discuss all facets of build-
ing a home theater here—from construction, to equipment
selection, to room tuning. Our first column is devoted to bud-
geting. How much can I spend, and how do I allocate my
budget? Building a theater is a personal experience, so how far
you want to go and the design of your system and room will
determine your budget. This overview will help you start to
think about how to spend your hard-earned cash.
Dollars and Sense
Whether you use a custom installer for your room or you build
it yourself, you’re almost always going to end up spending
more than you expected. Home theaters can be expensive. If
you’re trying to save money by doing it on your own, you
need to ask yourself if you know what you are doing. Certainly
not everyone who has ever successfully built a home theater
was an expert on the subject, and learning on the job can
happen here, as it could on any other project. But, as with
116 Audio Video Interiors / January 2006 • www.audiovideointeriors.com
BY WILLIAM CLARK
other construction projects, learning on the job can lead to
mistakes, which can be more expensive to have someone fix
than if you hired an expert in the first place. If your budget
will allow for a custom installer, this is certainly a
good route to take. In fact, they’ll do most of the
budget work for you, though it’s still a good idea
to research and know what you are paying for. In
terms of the cost of their services, it will vary from installer
to installer, but a good rule of thumb is to expect to devote
15 to 22 percent of your overall budget to their services.
You could get professional help in some areas and handle
other parts of the theater on your own. For example, you
may be capable of doing room construction but not have any
experience assembling an A/V system. In this case, you
could save money by doing the construction work. Your
custom installer, however, needs to be in on the initial plans.
Getting Started
Determining your final budget number is quite a different
thing than allocating your budget. Figuring out how much
you can afford is the easy part. You got a $10,000 bonus at
work? There’s your budget. It’s a simple question of how
much you can afford to spend.
 Unfortunately, however, there’s no set formula for dis-
tributing your budget or any golden ratio that says how much
you should spend on video versus audio, and so on. Before
you sit down to outline your budget, start by asking yourself
several questions. First of all, what is the most important
aspect of your theater? Are you going to use it primarily to
watch blockbusters and are therefore looking for intense
audio? Or are you more interested in a stunning high-def
visual display? Do you have a room awash in sunlight during
the day that will require extensive blackout drapes? Do you
want to listen to CDs? LPs? Time-shift TV on a DVR? These
lifestyle decisions will directly affect your purchasing deci-
sions and the bottom line. If you have an installer, it’s his job
to help you answer these questions.
It is helpful, when you first hit the drawing board, to make
a list of priorities—the things you must have in your theater,
followed by the things you’d like to have in your theater, and
even things you will add to your theater down the road.
For example, a family that is designing a multipurpose media
room with a budget of $10,000 might have the following items
on their must-have priority list: a 42-inch flat-panel display
($2,500); an Xbox 360 console for the kids ($300); a 5.1
speaker system ($2,000); a receiver ($1,000); and the necessary
A/V cables ($200), for a total of $6,000. While that may not
seem like a lot of items, it’s a huge start and can help you figure
Photo courtesy of Getty Images
how much money is left over for other aspects of your theater,
in this case, $4,000. You could allocate the family’s leftover
budget to the “would like to have” list, which might include: a
media server that will aggregate CDs and media files ($1,000);
a DVD player ($250); a nice but basic remote ($200); and a
prefab acoustic treatment kit ($2,500), for a total of $3,950,
leaving $50 in the budget. The “things to add to the theater
down the line” list could include items like theater seating or
custom plasma cabinetry with a motorized lift.
Eventually, when you get a rough idea of where you want
to allocate your resources, you can go back over the budget
and make compromises. In the previous example, the family
forgot to add on some sort of rack to put the plasma on until
they can afford their dream motorized plasma cabinetry. This
might come, say, at the sacrifice of the Xbox. Remember,
you can continually upgrade and add to your system as time
goes on. Home theater is not a one-shot deal—that’s why it’s
a hobby for a lot of people. A great resource when planning
your budget is our own Home Theater Buyer’s Guide, which
breaks down almost every type of A/V component you could
need by size, price, dimensions, and more.
In order for your system to be effective, you don’t want
anything less than a 32-inch diagonal screen and a 5.1 sur-
round system. A good place to start planning your budget is
the room itself. Determine along which wall your video dis-
play will go, then extrapolate from there the maximum size
your screen can be at the viewing position. Once you figure
out how big your screen can possibly be, everything will fall
in to place. At that point, you can comparison shop for TVs,
projectors, plasmas, or front-projection screens and find a
good fit for your needs and your room.
After you determine the screen wall, you can determine how
many speakers to put in your room. A 7.4 system is going to
be more expensive, logically, than a 5.1 system and will also
determine what kind of receiver, processor, and amp you need.
Are the extra speakers and subwoofers something you feel are
important? Consider the amount of people you want to be able
to enjoy the room at once. If you have a dedicated space that
seats eight, you might need four subwoofers for uniform bass.
(See Dr. Floyd Toole’s “The Case for Multiple Subwoofers,”
on page 128.) If that’s something you value, it might be worth
including in your budget and holding off on something that is
less of a priority. If you know the amount of people you’d like
to seat, you can determine how much you’re willing to spend on
comfortable theater seating or casual couches. It’s a snowball
effect. Once you get rolling, it’s not as difficult as it might seem.
As we broach individual topics, such as video and audio, we’ll
break down budget even further, giving you several examples of
budgets at different prices. Stay tuned next month. We’re going
to pick apart the family room of a traditional tract home to show
you the good and bad aspects of various room constructs.
My Budget
The following budget shows how I would allocate a $50,000 budget for my 12- by 15-foot
room. In this case, I am not going to hire a custom installer, since I have some knowledge
of how to assemble my own system. I will, however, hire a general contractor to help me
build out the room and an electrical contractor to fix any electrical problems. I am inter-
ested in great audio, so I splurged there. You can use this budget as a guideline and
scale it up or down in order to calculate your own budget.
Construction & Electrical: . . . . . . $6,120 Interior Design:
Audio Components: Casual Seating Area. . . . . . . . . . . $3,000
5.2 Surround System . . . . . . . . . . $8,000 Carpeting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,000
Surround Processor . . . . . . . . . . . $4,000 Curtains/Drapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $500
Amplifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,000 Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $800
Speaker Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,000 Stand/Racks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,000
Subtotal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $17,000 Subtotal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9,300
Video Components: Automation & Lighting:
DLP Projector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,000 Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,000
Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,000 Lighting Fixtures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,500
Video Processor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $800 Subtotal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,500
Video Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $500
Additional Hardware:
Subtotal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $8,300 Power Conditioner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $400
Sources: Video Calibration DVD. . . . . . . . . . . . $30
High-Def DVR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $700 SPL Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $50
DVD Player/Recorder . . . . . . . . . . $1,000 Subtotal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $480
Subtotal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,700 Miscellaneous:
Acoustics: Unanticipated Costs . . . . . . . . . . . $1,000
Acoustic Room-Tuning Kit . . . . . . $2,600 Grand Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $50,000
 Flat
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 T HE BALANCING ACT
A wild theater with a sonic edge shows you how to balance
acoustics, design, and living space. BY REBECCA DAY

IT’S JUST PURR-FECT

Forget red velvet curtains. uilding a home theater is a balancing act. It could be interior design and A/V equipment going head to head, or
How about lipstick-red
velvet seating and a play-
ful leopard-inspired
carpet (above)?
B acoustics and building materials, or the desired number of seats versus available space. It could be all of the above,
but, in the end, something’s got to give. In this California project, the opposing forces were optimum acoustics,
along with excellent A/V, gorgeous interior design, and ample living space. The homeowner wanted to eke out as much elbow
COOPERATION IS KEY room for entertaining while giving up nothing on sound quality—all under the watchful eye of a discerning interior designer.
In the home’s cozy The long, narrow concrete room is the basement of the home, which had served as a storage bunker before being con-
upstairs media room (fac-
ing page), editor Krissy verted into a combination home theater/wine cellar. According to Jeff Wetzel, vice president of Manhattan Integrated
Rushing gets insight from Solutions, who installed this theater, the first decision in any theater is to determine on which wall the screen will
architect Larry Peha,
contractor Dave Baldwin, be located. “After that, you know how the room will be oriented,” he says.
lighting designer Neil In any theater, acoustics should be a consideration, but here, the homeowner emphasized the importance of perfect
Splonskowski, and inte-
grator Jeff Wetzel (left to sound, so MIS brought in Performance Media Industries from Fairfax, California, to handle technical aspects of the acoustic
right) on how the various design. PMI’s goal was to recreate the same volume levels and overall experience a film’s sound mixers heard when they
trades work together to
accomplish an HT project. 120 Audio Video Interiors / January 2006 • www.audiovideointeriors.com
 mixed the soundtrack—and that required using acoustic
treatments, careful seat and speaker location, and equaliza-
tion to ensure a 105-decibel peak level from every speaker
at every seat in the room. “These design specs aren’t opin-
ion,” says PMI chief engineer Evan Reiley. “They’re well-
established industry standards from film studios.”
Before PMI could begin its room-treatment plan, the
room itself had to be isolated from its concrete shell. “Con-
crete is an acoustical nightmare because it’s reflective,” says
Wetzel, “so Baldwin Construction had to build a room-
within-a-room that was isolated from the rest of the house.”
Step one for building a room-within-a-room is to attach a hat
channel to the concrete wall. Here, industrial-strength strips
of sheet metal provided a surface to attach particleboard for
the interior isolation wall. MIS installers ran all cabling and
Photography by Cordero Studios
conduit for speaker wires on top of the isolation wall, which
also accommodates speakers, acoustic treatments, and wire
chases. At this stage, you (or your general contractor) should
coordinate with your electrical contractor to install wiring,
A/V equipment, wall sconces, lighting cans, and junction
boxes before the fabric wall goes up. MIS specified dedicated
circuits for A/V equipment and plugged the gear into a Pana-
max AC regenerator for surge protection. “You run the risk
of a power surge from an appliance inside the house or from
the power company, which could burn up your components,”
says Wetzel. “The Panamax stabilizes the house current for
the surround sound processor and other pricey components.”
The subs are exempt from the Panamax and plug directly
into house current instead. “When the bass hits hard at a par-
ticular point in a soundtrack, that could trip the circuit
breaker within the regenerator,” he adds.
PMI acoustical engineers determined everything from seat
and speaker placement to acoustic treatments and projector
location. They use proprietary computer models to crunch
PMI’s Acoustical Strategy
By Evan Reiley
As the homeowners’ allocated space for the home theater was a rather long
and narrow concrete basement, we had to devise a balance between audio,
video, and acoustic design needs. Each required some compromise in
response to the others. Additionally, the narrow space with many seats and
creative aesthetic design required us to be inventive with acoustical treat-
ment shapes and sizes. We had to maximize the front LCR speaker separa-
tion to target 45- to 60-degree subtended listener angles from left and right
speakers at the three seating rows. Resulting angles were
51, 44, and 36 degrees. The rear row had an accepted com-
promise on front speaker imaging, while the front two rows
were essentially within spec.
Due to the theater’s length, three side surrounds were
required on each sidewall, and two rows of 45-degree inclined-
firing, ceiling-mounted rear-channel speakers were required
to achieve even coverage and high sound-pressure level over
the whole seating zone. The sightlines are pretty tight but
required close study of screen height and video projector
optics. Ultimately Jeff Wetzel of Manhattan Integrated Solu-
tions selected a projector capable of optical vertical shift
(rather than electronic shift, which degrades the image) to
handle the offset. The large cubic volume of this room left as
untreated drywall and concrete would have had approximately
a two-second reflection decay time, which is totally inappropriate for home the-
ater. We created a computer model of the room geometry and surface treat-
ments (see illustration, below). Then we inserted acoustical absorbers, diffusers,
and bass traps (from CinePanel by Media Specialty Resources) into the model
until we had the correct amount of treatment to reduce the reflection decay time.
We later confirmed the decay time as being on spec by measurement during
audio calibration. The result is spectacular dialogue clarity and smooth sound-
stage imaging. While there are absorber panels in the theater, the diffusers
balance those by scattering sound energy, maintaining a desired amount of
reverberant ambience in the room so as not to sound too “dry.”
We topped that off with optimized speaker and listener locations in our layout
and judicious use of electronic equalization during audio calibration. For more
acoustical drawings, go to www.AudioVideoInteriors.com.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL
No stone was left unturned
in this striking theater.
Automation is handled by
Vantage (above right) and
Crestron. Vantage keypads
with preprogrammed light-
ing scenes are located
throughout the home
(above right, middle).
Even the Imagine Audio
in-ceiling speakers in the
upstairs media room are
faux finished to match the
tongue-and-groove ceiling
(above right, bottom).
BEHIND THE FABRIC
The fabric wall houses
speakers, acoustic diffusers,
and acoustic absorbers, all
neatly covered with acousti-
cally transparent fabric.
Right, you can see the guts
of the wall before the fabric
goes up.
installer has between 6 and
12 inches of depth between
an isolation wall and the
fabric wall where they can
easily place subwoofers.
Here, they had to minimize
the space between walls to
preserve more interior room
space, and that required cut-
ting into each of the four
isolation walls to accommo-
date the quartet of subs. It
also required custom-made
12-inch subs and amplifiers,
which Triad provided accord-
ing to PMI specs for depth
and volume.
Spacing the four 12-inch
subs at the midpoint of each
wall limits the amount of
low-frequency dead spots
throughout the room. “If you
put the sub in one or two
corners of the room, then the
guy who’s writing the check
the numbers. Most of us putting in a home theater for the theater—the guy in
don’t have the luxury of choosing our room’s dimen- the money seat—experi-
sions. PMI was likewise stuck with room dimensions ences very little bass because
that weren’t created with a home theater in mind. The of the way low frequencies
room’s unwieldy length created acoustical challenges, travel in a room,” Wetzel
particularly at the lower frequencies. says. “To eliminate that, you
“We didn’t have the option of resizing the space to put the subs at the midpoint
reduce bass resonances from its geometry,” says on four walls and then figure
Reiley. “We designed the room with resiliently sus- out how much power you
pended walls, floor, and ceiling,” he says. A rubber need to eliminate the dead
bushing with a metal clip that’s used to screw the spots and even out the bass.”
drywall to the stud face provides resilience. The The 39-foot-long theater
result is a springy surface, rather than a rigid one, space required three sets of
that’s suspended on the framing. The springiness has surround speakers, supple-
two benefits. First, sound striking the surface doesn’t mented with two pairs of in-
re-radiate on the other side of the wall. Second, it ceiling rear-channel speakers.
minimizes sound reflections. This not only radically The extra speaker coverage
improved sound isolation but also damped the room’s bass compensated for differing delay times. “The rows in this the-
resonances, establishing smooth bass response over the entire ater were so far apart that time delays wouldn’t correspond
seating area. See the sidebar, “PMI’s Acoustical Strategy,” between rows and you wouldn’t get enough sound pressure
for more on the acoustic design of the room. from the speakers,” Reiley says.
On the installation side, Wetzel of MIS, had to juggle sub- The equipment room behind the screen is big enough to
woofer placement with the architect’s and homeowner’s hold four A/V equipment racks, which allows for plenty
desire to have more usable space in the room. Typically, an of system expansion. The fan is programmed for enough
122 Audio Video Interiors / January 2006 • www.audiovideointeriors.com

air changes per hour to prevent the equipment, particu-
larly the amplifiers, from overheating and to keep the room
at a comfortable temperature.
The room behind the screen stores all the equipment,
except, of course, for the InFocus 777 projector. The
InFocus DLP had to be mounted in the wine cellar oppo-
site the screen to clear three rows of theater seating plus an
informal sitting area in front of the wine cellar. MIS tapped
the InFocus for its exceptionally long throw distance and
vertical shift capability. “We could throw the image 42 feet
and still have high def,” Wetzel says.
The finishing touch is the fabric wall that puts the pretty
face on the overall theater. The sonically transparent Guilford
of Maine fabric from Acoustical Solutions comes in various
colors to please any interior designer but also plays a role
acoustically. “Sound passes through the fabric, hits the
acoustic treatments on the isolation wall, and either reflects
or scatters sound back into the room,” says Reiley.
The theater coalesces in a symphony of beautiful interior
layout and design, courtesy of interior designer Jeff Rigby of
Modern Interiors, general contractor Dave Baldwin,
and architect Larry Peha (for Peha’s own home theater,
log on to www.AudioVideoInteriors.com), gorgeous light-
ing design by Neil Splonskowski, PMI’s acoustical exper-
tise, and Jeff Wetzel’s integration imagination. This carefully
orchestrated room is a study in how various disciplines come
together to create an amazing space.
Contacts: Manhattan Integrated Solutions, (310) 414-1128, PMI
Ltd., (800) 497-2087; Baldwin Construction, (310) 378-4812;
Neil Splonskowski Lighting Design, (310) 370-6664; Modern
Interiors, (310) 886-8864; Peha & Associates, (310) 372-1755
YOU WON’T MISS
A THING
Now you don’t have to hit
pause when you go to the
bathroom (far left). You
can watch the exact same
thing that’s playing in
the theater on the bath-
room’s 20-inch Sharp
LCD. Luxurious red
leather padded doors not
only look handsome, they
help keep the sound inside
the theater where it
belongs.
HOW IT WORKS FOR YOU
• Set a Budget and then Balance It Out. Don’t spend too much
on any one piece. That includes blowing $10,000 to $12,000
on that glitzy flat-screen and leaving just $100 in the budget
for a DVD player. For more information on budgeting, see
our “Home Theater Builder” column on page 116.
• Reserve Sufficient Funds for a top-notch surround sound
processor or A/V receiver. Look for lots of video inputs
and outputs to handle a wide variety of source needs for
satellite receivers, DVD players, game boxes, and other
gear you’ll want to add in the future. Of course, pack in as
much HD capability as possible. If you think an advanced
control system is in your future, look for a processor or
receiver with RS-232 control.
• Acoustics Are Important. If you don’t have the budget to
hire an acoustical engineer to treat room-acoustics prob-
lems, take on some of those duties yourself. Hat channel,
soundboard, and drywall are available at home-improve-
ment stores. Add-on treatments are also available for fin-
ished spaces. Room tuning kits like those from PMI can
enhance the sound of your theater. Says Jeff Wetzel of
Manhattan Integrated Solutions: “Prefab sound kits give
better room acoustics than if there’s nothing there at all.”
• Protect Your Equipment with a surge protector. Microproces-
sor-controlled electronics are sensitive to power spikes.
• Ready, Aim, Fire. Front speakers should be placed so that the
tweeter is as close to the center of the screen as possible.
Use an acoustically transparent video screen so the center-
channel speaker fires directly through it. “The sound from
the talking head in the movie had better be coming from
the location of the talking head, or there will be a discon-
nect,” says Evan Reiley of PMI. “You want to be convinced
that the sound you’re hearing directly from the speaker cor-
relates to the picture.”
Audio Video Interiors / December 2005 • www.audiovideointeriors.com 123
 A DVICE FROM AN AUDIO INSIDER
Harman engineer Dr. Floyd Toole’s own home theater is sur-
prisingly achievable. That’s because he’s a regular guy like you.
BY KRISSY RUSHING
FRIENDLY HOME
THEATER
r. Floyd Toole lives a charmed life. He’s lucky enough to have a career that is also a lifelong passion. As he
Dr. Floyd Toole’s life is
not spent in a deathly
quiet anechoic chamber
studying speaker mea-
surements. He enjoys a
glass of wine (opposite
D leans against his kitchen counter, glass of Pinot in hand, he muses on his life and career as an audio and acousti-
cal engineer. Now as the vice president of acoustical engineering for Harman International, he spends his
days helping others understand acoustic design, conducting research, and designing audio products that will sound
page) as much as watch- good in any room, not just the anechoic chamber of a speaker lab or a highly treated dedicated theater.
ing a movie in his media The son of a teacher and an accomplished do-it-yourself dad, Toole grew up playing with his father’s power tools and
room (above, with wife building model airplanes. He had a natural curiosity for how things work. As early as the 1950s, Toole and his dad
Noreen) and applies
practical principles to his were building loudspeakers from scratch. That was just the beginning of his insatiable audio hobby, which has now
audio hobby. spanned decades and includes, oh, minor stuff—like holding the senior research officer position in the acoustics and
signal-processing group of the National Research Council Canada, receiving an Audio Engineering Society (AES) Pub-

124 Audio Video Interiors / January 2006 • www.audiovideointeriors.com

 lications Award for papers on technical mea-
surements of loudspeakers and listeners’ percep-
tions, and being honored with a fellowship and
the AES Silver Medal Award for his work on sub-
jective and objective evaluation of audio devices.
For Toole, the line between career and hobby
is enviably blurred. In fact, his professional audio
career has been shaped in direct response to the
real-world issues he encounters in his private life.
“Several of the significant knowledge break-
throughs I’ve experienced in my career have come
about from my personal experience at home,”
explains Toole. “When my wife, Noreen, and I
were planning our A/V room, for example, we
realized that a dedicated theater didn’t fit our
lifestyle. We are not the kind of people who disap-
pear into the dark for two hours with a bowl of chips
and a drink. We enjoy the view from our media
room of the garden and pool outside. We want to
experience the space of the rest of the house, and
not feel totally compressed by blackness.”
The desire to have an A/V room that would
function as a regular living room for entertaining, reading books, complicated acoustic treatment. On first glance, in fact, there
Photography by Cordero Studios

and enjoying life—but that would also look and sound good—
presented a challenge for Toole. Like most of our allocated A/V
spaces, his great room, which he’d earmarked for the main A/V
system, was not the ideal space for good audio. While the room
is rectangular, which makes acoustics a bit more manageable,
it’s slightly asymmetrical, with large windows along one wall.
A third of the opposite wall opens up to the kitchen area.
“In a stubborn sense, I felt there had to be solutions to my
own problems,” says Toole. “Well, we’ve found those solu-
tions and, to a large extent, have incorporated them into
Harman products.” Because of the unique circumstances of his
own room, and the unpredictable nature of rooms everywhere,
Toole wanted to design speakers that would sound awesome in
any room. Instead of taking your speakers home, hitting play,
and crossing your fingers, new speakers would be designed to
sound great, regardless of wildly varying acoustics from one
consumer’s room to another’s. “In speaker design, we treat
sound above 300 to 400 hertz very differently than sound below
this frequency range,” says Toole. “If you design a speaker to
have a smooth and flat on-axis response above this range, and,
if they have relatively constant directivity, speakers become
room friendly, increasing the probability that they’ll sound
good in a wide variety of room spaces.” All of the loud-
speakers designed at Harman aspire to this objective.
Toole’s own media room takes this practical
approach to design. It is a friendly room without
is no obvious acoustical treatment at all. However, the carpet
is dense clipped pile with a half-inch of felt below it, acting as
an acoustic absorber. Toole believes that the wall immediately
behind the listeners should be acoustically absorptive, so the
drapery at the rear of the room is heavy velour. Above the
velour drapes, Toole has completely disguised five inches of
fiberglass, which acts as a broadband absorber, removing any
opportunity for sound to bounce between the front and back of
the room. The back wall is also mostly dark, preventing the
reflection of light back onto the front-projection screen.
Bookcases, which are wonderful diffusers and absorbers,
help to break up the sound reflecting between the side walls.
Toole has done a rather novel thing by putting rear surround
speakers in his bookshelves and actually putting books in the
bookshelf, as well. “When you put a speaker in a cavity, it
reacts with the space around it. If you have a bookshelf, read
some books, and use them to fill up the space,” says Toole.
“A lot of entertainment furniture encourages poor audio per-
formance by showing pictures of speakers in empty cabi-
nets.” Four subwoofers (see sidebar, “The Case for Multiple
Subwoofers”) are either hidden or somewhat disguised and
are equipped with proprietary signal processing to achieve
similarly good bass in all of the seats.
It’s certainly interesting that such an accomplished
acoustic engineer hasn’t given his room a complete
acoustic remodel, using professional devices such as bass

BEFORE
Due to the fireplace tak-
ing up the ‘ideal’ wall,
Toole was forced
to situate his display and
front speakers in a cor-
ner. Later, he moved
the fireplace and relocat-
ed the screen wall
(facing page).
traps, diffusers, and acoustic panels. But Toole, like you or
me, is a practical person living a normal life. He effectively
tamed his room’s acoustics by
HOW IT WORKS FOR YOU using traditional room con-
• Are Your Speakers Big Enough? Make sure the capac-
ity of your room jibes with the capability of your speak-
ers. “I often see large rooms with totally inadequate
loudspeakers,” says Toole. Your installer/salesperson
can help you determine which speakers might be appro-
priate for your room. Have your room measurements on
hand when you shop, and think about your listening
habits. Do you want to play movies at cinema sound
levels, or are you forced to keep the volume down? It
can make a big price (and size) difference!
• Invest in a Good Center Channel. The bulk of the
audio in TV and movies comes out of the center chan-
nel speaker. If it isn’t up to snuff, your system will
suffer. In fact, the left, center, and right speakers
should be similar in performance.
• Find a Shaded Wall. If you have a room with windows
and you have the choice, put your video display along
a wall that the sun does not reach. Obviously, the time
of day matters. You can place a direct-view display
with its back towards the sun, if nothing else works.
• Get Creative With Acoustics. Bookshelves, alcoves,
and heavy carpet can all help tame your room’s
sound. Try to put absorptive acoustic material, such
as heavy drapery, at the rear of your room, but don’t
go overboard with absorption. Remember that fur-
nishings that reflect, scatter, or diffuse sounds actu-
ally make the existing absorption more effective.
126 Audio Video Interiors / December 2005 • www.audiovideointeriors.com
BEFORE
structs, which makes the room look like a room.
The challenge then becomes finding a speaker that
combines excellence in audio performance with
some degree of aesthetics. “People talk about
WAF [Wife/Woman Acceptance Factor] as if
only women respond negatively to an unattractive
room or object,” says Toole. “The goal is to find ways to inte-
grate speakers into the fabric of your room in a way that
allows them to function well acoustically—and yet not dom-
inate the visual landscape.” The Tooles, in fact, find enough
pleasure in audio that they are willing to look at their speak-
ers, so the visual “damage” they impose is minimal.
What about in-wall and in-ceiling speakers? Don’t they
provide an aesthetic audio solution? This acoustic engineer
advises that, while a wall or ceiling can make an excellent
acoustical environment for a loudspeaker from the sound-
quality perspective, the problem is that we localize the sound
as originating from the loudspeaker location—if that is a ceil-
ing, we will forever be entertained by ‘heavenly’ voices. “My
recommendation to installers is to use all of their abilities in
human persuasion to convince their clients that at least the
left, center, and right channels should be in-wall, on-wall,
or free-standing speakers placed close to ear level,” says
Toole. “You can get away with ceiling locations for surround
channels, but even then it’s not ideal. This is why we now
are enjoying the luxury of seriously competent engineering so
that good sound can be achieved in visually interesting and
aesthetic packages. Speakers are now like little pieces of
sculpture.” The JBL TiKs , for instance, reside in Toole’s
bedroom, adding to rather than detracting from the appear-
ance of the space. He compares the visual presence of speak-
ers to that of a grand piano: “A grand piano is an imposing
sight, dominating a domestic-sized room. It’s not necessarily
visually beautiful, but it’s interesting and attractive in our
associations with the sounds that can emerge from it—
hopefully there is someone in the house who can actually play
 AFTER
it. A visually appealing set of loudspeakers can be similarly
pleasing but more rewarding in that they can play any kind of
music or movies for everyone to enjoy.”
Improperly placed speakers can also be disorienting
because the sound may not attach to the visual image
onscreen. A major part of Toole’s craft is psychoacoustics, a
science that relates what we perceive to what really exists in
the physical world. Psychoacoustics also explores the rela-
tionship between what we hear and what we see. “Vision is
a factor in the localization of sound,” explains Toole. “Where
we perceive sounds to come from is dependent on what we
see. When you close your eyes and focus, you’ll notice that
a lot of the sound in a home theater comes from the center
channel. The left and right speakers play a supporting roll,
not a dominant one.” That’s why paying attention to the qual-
ity of your center channel is important. According to Toole,
95 percent of broadcast TV comes out of the center channel
and about 80 to 90 percent with movie soundtracks. This is
because, in the film business, audio is often simplified due to
the fact that directors chop and change right up to the last
minute. While visual edits can be made instantaneously, the
soundtrack is much more complicated. If filmmakers do a
quick and sloppy sound edit, the visual image might be fine,
but the audio will suffer. Subtle differences in ambiences,
such as a voice coming out of the left and then the right
speaker, can be upsetting, so filmmakers simply don’t allow
that to happen by keeping the soundtrack fairly simple. If
GOOD BOOKS
your center doesn’t perform well, your system is crippled. AND GOOD LOOKS
While Toole is an audio-oriented guy, one of the first things Above, Toole placed
Infinity speakers in book-
he considered when buying a home was the video wall. “I tried shelves among his various
to find a house where the family room would allow me to have volumes—which not only
looks handsome, but helps
a rectangular viewing arrangement with the display on one the speaker perform opti-
wall and not in a corner. I failed. So we ended up with a house mally on the shelf.
designed with the horse-and-cart-era wisdom that the hearth is WAITING FOR
the center of family life,” says Toole. “But you don’t find many THREE-CHIP
people sitting around the fireplace, telling stories, or simply The Stewart Firehawk
masking screen, in all it’s
talking anymore. There are many houses with fireplaces in the 10-foot glory, eagerly
center of a wall where the video display should be, forcing you awaits the arrival of
a practical three-chip
to put a video display in the corner.” For a short period, Toole DLP (below).
did as many do, and resigned himself to relegating the video
display to the corner of the room.
But, finally, the desire to have a seriously large screen
Audio Video Interiors / January 2006 • www.audiovideointeriors.com 127
 HEAVENLY GOOD
LOOKS
In the bedroom, JBL
TiKs point skyward in
parallel with the wood
support beams to create
a sophisticated design
statement.
The Case for Multiple Subwoofers
By Dr. Floyd Toole
At low frequencies, room interactions take on a special flavor because of the way
acoustical standing waves dominate what we hear. The quantity and quality of bass
sound is determined as much by the room and how it is set up as it is by the sub-
woofers themselves. In the investigation of many rooms over the years, I would esti-
mate that 80 percent have serious bass coloration—too much, too little, boomy,
uneven, and so on. Add to this the inevitable seat-to-seat variations in bass, and it is
clear that a lot of consumers need help. This situation is an enormous frustration for
speaker manufacturers. Short of hiring an acoustical consultant, and being willing to
rearrange the furniture and possibly rebuild the walls, what can be done? There are
two steps in the solution. The first step is to decide how many listeners should have
expectations of good bass. Seat-to-seat variations in bass quality can be huge. One
subwoofer is fine for one listener, but multiple listeners means multiple subwoofers.
The approach we adopted was to look for a more general solution to the problem, one that
could be trusted to work in many rooms. It turns out that there are, in fact, two solutions:
one for simple rectangular rooms, and one for rooms with more complicated shapes.
Rectangular rooms. These rooms must have mostly flat walls, floor and ceiling, and
no large openings to other spaces. Summarizing the results of an elaborate study,
the diagram below shows some of the recommended subwoofer arrangements.
Non-rectangular rooms. Things get much more complicated in these rooms; there
are no safe generalizations, so every room must be treated individually. Inevitably,
acoustical measurements are necessary, and some form of optimization algorithm is
needed to work through the variables. We are currently working on products in the JBL
Synthesis speaker and Harman Kardon receiver lines to be announced within months
of this writing (possibly by the time you read this), that provide signal-processing
solutions using multiple subwoofers to achieve uniform bass for multiple listeners in
rooms of arbitrary shape.
128 Audio Video Interiors / January 2006 • www.audiovideointeriors.com
required moving the fireplace and turning the room completely
around. He relocated the fireplace to a corner and put an equip-
ment rack and front projector in the cavity left by the original
fireplace. He then moved the video screen to the opposite wall,
which was advantageous because it is always shaded. Here you’ll
find a 65-inch Sony CRT rear-projection TV, which Toole and
his wife can view comfortably in the daytime with the windows
open. Around the video wall, there are lighted alcoves for
sculpture, which also serve as acoustical diffusers. A 10-foot-
diagonal 16:9 Stewart Filmscreen Firehawk screen descends
from the ceiling for more serious viewing, with a Sharp DLP
projector doing the video honors. “But, for a screen this size, I
need more light output, a three-chip device. I’ve been waiting
for that part of the industry to develop smaller, quieter, and
less-expensive products—we may now be there,” Toole says,
relating to the rest of us who can’t yet afford these projectors.
It’s comforting to know that Floyd Toole is a practical guy
that deals with the same issues we all deal with when we’re
trying to install our systems—despite the fact that he is essen-
tially a god in the world of audio. But the one overarching
theme that I took away from my time with Toole was the
mantra that audio equipment is “science in the service of art.”
Toole’s philosophy, which he applies to all his audio endeavors,
is that the audio industry exists to help us enjoy our music
and movies. In fact, Toole might not be so interested in the
pursuit of audio if it weren’t for the jazz that pumps through
his system in the evenings, the Mozart he listens to on Sunday
morning, or a screening of Some Like it Hot on a Friday night.
Let’s hope Dr. Toole keeps pursuing this audio science in the
service of art, because if he keeps applying his personal audio
struggles to his professional life, we’ll all benefit.
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 CRITIC’S COUCH movies and music reviewed

ON THE SHELF
DECEMBER DVDS ANNOUNCED AFTER LAST MONTH’S DEADLINE:
December 6th:
Broken Lizard’s Puddle Cruiser (Key Video)
Cinderella Man (Universal)
Jackass Volume One (Paramount)
Ladies in Lavender (Sony Pictures)
The Magnificent Seven Season One (Sony Pictures)

December 13th:
The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Universal)
Airplane! Don’t Call Me Shirley Edition (Paramount)
Bad News Bears (Paramount)
The Beautiful Country (Sony Pictures)
Harryhausen Gift Set (Sony Pictures)
The Island (DreamWorks)
Must Love Dogs (Warner Brothers)
Pretty Persuasion (Sony Pictures)
Reba: Season Two (20th Century Fox)
Roll Bounce (20th Century Fox)
Tour of Duty: The Complete Series (Sony Pictures)
Valiant (Disney)

Bibbidi-Bobbidi- December 20th:

The Amazing Race Season Seven (Paramount)
The Great Raid (Miramax)

Woo-Hoo!
November (Sony Pictures)
Party of Five Season Two (Sony Pictures)
Rebound (20th Century Fox)

December 27th:
The last great Disney princess arrives on DVD. by Chris Chiarella Empire of the Wolves (Sony Pictures)
The Exorcism of Emily Rose (Sony Pictures)
The Shield Season Four (20th Century Fox)
Perhaps no fairy tale is as satisfying as a Cinderella story, one that lets you believe that
anyone can transcend the lowest lows to the most triumphant highs if you keep the December 30th:
faith and keep your integrity intact. It’s no surprise that Walt Disney’s Cinderella tugs at Four Brothers (Paramount)
the heartstrings as effectively as ever, and thank our fairy godmother it is finally
here in a Platinum Edition DVD. JANUARY DVDS ANNOUNCED BY PRESS TIME:
Restored by John Lowry and his crew, the 1.33:1 image offers vibrant colors and January 3rd:
Alien Nation (20th Century Fox)
a spectacularly pure presentation. All that’s up on the screen is ink and paint—and Cloud 9 (Key Video)
the talent that brought it to life, frame by frame. The movie looks like it was made Timeless Tales Volume 3 (Disney)
Secuestro Express (Miramax)
yesterday, except that modern animation lacks this handmade artistry, down to the
subtle difference in the shades of mice Jacques and Gus and the deliberate use of shad- January 10th:
ows throughout. Accompanying the better-than-ever visuals are a new Disney enhanced 5 Heartbeats Special Edition (20th Century Fox)
home theater mix—Dolby Digital 5.1, to be precise—and a restored original theatri- Beggars and Choosers Season One (Buena Vista)
Black History Classics (20th Century Fox)
cal soundtrack for the purists, in mono. The remix shares musical instruments and the Boy Meets World Season Four (Buena Vista)
chorus with the surrounds. This being a fairly tame movie, the differences between Chumscrubber (DreamWorks)
The Man (New Line)
the two tracks are not day-and-night disparate. But, since music carries most of the Red Eye (DreamWorks)
movie and the remix is so faithful to the original spirit, the multichannel option is Sam Peckinpah’s Legendary Western Collection (Warner Brothers)
Transporter 2 (20th Century Fox)
definitely recommended. Valentine’s Promotion (20th Century Fox)
The many extras are conveniently indexed on screen, and there’s a handy printed
guide, as well. Two deleted scenes are presented as unused songs played over produc- January 17th:
Dead Poets Society Special Edition (Touchstone)
tion art, with demo versions of additional dropped tunes—audio only—elsewhere. Fun Factory Volumes 1 and 2 (Disney)
The pertinent radio programs, clips from a Perry Como TV special and The Mickey Good Morning Vietnam Special Edition (Touchstone)
The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season Three (20th Century Fox)
Mouse Club, as well as a 1922 Cinderella cartoon all impart a Trigun Limited Collector’s Edition (Geneon)
happy kitchen-sink feel to this generous second platter. The
multipart making-of tells of a complete live-action version January 24th:
Hill Street Blues Season One (20th Century Fox)
of the movie filmed to help guide the animators, but this Thunderbolt (New Line)
footage is nowhere to be found, which is a pity. Or am I The Time Tunnel (20th Century Fox)
just being a wicked (and nitpicking) stepfather?

www.hometheatermag.com > Home Theater / January 2006 131

 CRITIC’S COUCH
DVD: The Interpreter—Universal
The Interpreter is an intelligent political
Reference CORNER thriller, a definite cut above the action
movies trying to pass themselves off as
thrillers nowadays. Nicole Kidman plays
The Dark Knight United Nations interpreter Silvia Broome,
who overhears a possible assassination plot
Returns against the dictator of her native African
country. Secret Service agent Tobin Keller
A survey of Batman movies, (Sean Penn) is assigned to protect the pre-
new and not so new. sumed target, so it falls on him to deter-
by Chris Chiarella mine if Silvia is lying or perhaps even
involved in the plot.
Batman Begins is quite simply the best live-action inter- The 2.35:1 anamorphic picture has a
pretation of the iconic hero, ever. Drawing heavily upon rich, filmlike look, with good detail, accu-
the works of writer/artist Frank Miller, Begins explores rate fleshtones, and nat-
a credible genesis of the troubled, restless rich boy who ural colors. Dialogue is
becomes the ultimate vigilante in a city desperately in generally clear through-
need of one, with a well-chosen cast under an intellec- out the Dolby Digital
tually gifted director. The two-disc Deluxe Edition DVD 5.1 soundtrack, but I did
presents the movie in 2.40:1 anamorphic and Dolby find the subtitles useful
Digital 5.1. (In recent Warner fashion, a single-disc edi- in a few spots. The sur-
tion is also available.) It has a modern audio slickness, rounds handle music and
but there is also inspired creativity in the swarms of bats that swirl around the listener and impactful ambient effects well.
bass appropriate to this operatic drama. Complementing the film’s realistic new approach is a clean, The bonus content
solid picture with some pretty hues that contrast the urban grit, averaged by an array of honest grays. focuses on director
There is no commentary, but disc two carries nine featurettes that blend extensive interviews with Sydney Pollack. He dis-
director Christopher Nolan and others with interesting behind-the-scenes footage, plus a few sur- cusses the making of the
prises. The two-disc package also includes a custom-bound comic-book sampler. film in a 10-minute interview, gives an
For better or worse, the four live-action films made between 1989 and 1997 were the only game in interesting diatribe on the evils of pan-and-
Gotham for Batman fans who did not like animation, and they have now been reissued on DVD with scan that our readers will love, and provides
special-edition status. The character shed, for a time, the tongue-in-cheek ghost of TV’s Adam West full-length commentary that intersperses
and went mainstream with the wildly popular Batman, which was more serious than any dramatiza- insight with complete silence. Other extras
tion that had come before, if a bit talky and out of control. The film presents the Dark Knight’s dark- include an alternate ending, a featurette
ness visually, with exquisitely rich and inky colors. You might want to bump up the brightness on your about shooting at the United Nations, and
TV, as I did, just to see what’s going on. This DVD makes an awesome disc to test your black levels, interviews with actual U.N. interpreters.
but some halos are evident, and the special effects have not aged well. Dynamic range is limited over- The Interpreter isn’t without its flaws. As
all, and the overabundant Prince songs sound fuller than Danny Elfman’s score. Pollack mentions in his commentary, they
As the very first Dolby Digital 5.1 movie of the re-releases, Batman Returns swings for the fences, were never certain how far to take the
delivering more bass and crisper sound effects in a wide, powerful spread. This sequel better bal- romantic chemistry between the two stars,
ances the dark and light canvas, with mild digital artifacting. Sadly, the newfound thematic tone was and that ambivalence comes through, mar-
short-lived, as the movies became very campy very quickly. From 1995 to 1997, I was convinced ring some otherwise poignant scenes with
that Batman Forever was the worst movie I had ever seen, until I saw Batman & Robin, the all-time unnecessary sexual tension. The plot can
winner and still-reigning champ. These last two are extremely colorful and extremely loud, and be confusing at times, but isn’t that what
that’s about the best I can say, artistically or technically. DVD is for? A second viewing is quite
This quartet has been reissued in two-disc Special Editions, remixed and remastered in anamorphic revealing and just as engaging.
1.78:1, with Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS soundtracks. They are sold separately or in a handsome black —Adrienne Maxwell
boxed set. Director Joel Schumacher is a brave man, returning to provide commentaries on his contri-
butions (he admits that a 6-year-old counseled him on Batman & Robin), and the celebrated Tim Burton
waxes nostalgic in great detail. Dozens of featurettes plumb every aspect of these elaborate produc-
tions, along with the star-studded, six-part “Shadows of the Bat” documentary. There are also music
videos, deleted scenes, and a motion storyboard sequence voiced by Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill,
the Batman and Joker from the one constant of quality over these years, Batman: The Animated Series.

132 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com

H I G H E R - F I
Neil Young—Prairie Wind (Reprise)
[Two-disc CD & DVD-Audio set]
I guess I shouldn’t have counted him out, but,
after Neil Young’s last few efforts—Silver & Gold,
Are You Passionate?, and Greendale—I was start-
ing to feel like he was in a rut. The recordings had
their high points, all right; but, when I’m in the
mood for Neil, I’ll spin Comes a Time or Sleeps
With Angels. Although I’ve only spent a few
weeks with Prairie Wind, I think it’ll stand beside
Young’s earlier triumphs. It’s that good.
As you’ll see on the DVD, Young recorded
most of the songs in a studio with all of his musi-
cians playing together to give the music a live
quality. Likewise, the video doesn’t rely on flashy
editing or glitzy lighting; it’s a no-frills, you’re-in-
the-room-with-the-band document of each tune.
The musicians forge easy rolling grooves for
Young’s meditations on family life, growing old,
and 9/11. The music’s gentle melodic sweep is
occasionally interrupted with something more
playful, like Young’s rollicking Elvis tribute, “He
Was the King.” I just wish Young had rocked a
little harder on that one.
The sound accompanying the video is higher
than CD resolution—it’s 48/24 stereo—with no
alternate Dolby or DTS surround mixes, which is
fine with me. The DVD comes with a sweet-
sounding CD, but I mostly listened to the higher-
resolution DVD-Audio 96/24 stereo mix. Ah yes,
the sonic purity brings more of the music’s soul
to the fore, so you can almost feel Prairie Wind’s
soft breeze.—Steve Guttenberg
Dire Straits—Brothers in Arms
20th Anniversary Edition
(Warner Brothers)
[DualDisc]
Brothers in Arms was a monster seller of the
1980s and yielded Dire Straits’ MTV anthem,
“Money for Nothing.” Beyond the pop successes,
the band’s music was coveted by audiophiles for
its sweet sound; back in the day, I wore out
countless Brothers in Arms LPs at my job selling
high-end audio gear. Reconnecting with the music
in this new 20th Anniversary Edition, remastered
to DualDisc, was a total pleasure.
The main attraction was the DVD side’s 96/24
surround mix, which keeps the band mostly up
front, with Mark Knopfler’s vocals solidly in the
center channel and the surround channels supply-
ing the keyboards, percussive accents, and spacey
guitar licks. The spacious mix will raise goose
bumps, but it’s craftily executed to maintain the
integrity of the original stereo version. Don’t have a
DVD-Audio player? No problem—you’re still in the
game with the DualDisc’s Dolby Digital 5.1 mix.
At first, I didn’t bother listening to the CD
side, but I felt duty bound to report whether the
48/24 stereo mix really added anything to the
sound; and, sure enough, it did. The CD side is
more than respectable on its own, but it pales
beside the richness of the high-rez mix that
bests even the original LP! I bet this DualDisc
will sell its fair share of speakers and maybe win
a few converts to multichannel audio.
Addendum: Dire Straits’ guitarist/vocalist Mark
Knopfler has two solo efforts out on DVD-Audio:
Sailing to Philadelphia and Shangri-La. They sound
just as amazing as Brothers.
—Steve Guttenberg
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CRITIC’S COUCH
A Peek at Star Wars Episode III
By Gary Frisch
Lucasfilm and Fox Home Entertainment
used the Force of star power to unveil the
DVD of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the
Sith to the media in October. Amid the
rolling hills and grape fields of George
Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch—“the cradle of
all things Star Wars,” according to a PR
pitch—producer Rick McCallum, Yoda-
incarnate Frank Oz, as well as the Emperor
(Ian McDiarmid) and Lord Vader (Hayden
Chr istensen)
himself discussed
the films, future
Lucasfilm plans
(can you say Star
Wars 3-D?), and,
of course, the
particulars of
the DVD.
Christensen
said the feeling
he experienced
near the end of
the film’s shoot-
ing by finally taking Anakin to the dark
side was “orgasmic. It was the end of a
five-year journey.” It was a privilege he
had to lobby hard for, as conventional
wisdom called for a larger, more athletic
actor to wear the cape and helmet. He
ultimately got his wish—with the help of
some platform boots.
McCallum, meanwhile, owned up to
plans in the works to digitize Yoda’s appear-
ances in Episode I, bringing the green
guy’s appearance into line with the last
two movies. Fortunately, he added under
intense questioning, Yoda will forever
remain a puppet in the original trilogy.
And that ultimate Star Wars DVD box?
“What ultimate box?” came the flip
134 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
response from Lucasfilm senior vice
president Jim Ward.
As for Episode III, Ward gave a THX
demo of the DVD, along with a look at
the supplements. After playing around
with an advance copy, I’ll simply warn
you: Get set for a great DVD experi-
ence, my young Padawan. The film pre-
sentation itself, created directly from the
original digital source material, is stun-
ning in its richness of colors and amaz-
ing details. Everything you saw theatri-
cally, from helmet glare to the subtle
reflection of animated characters, is pre-
sent and visible on the home screen.
There is simply no flaw in the 2.35:1
anamorphic picture, ranking this as one
of the best DVD presentations you’ll
see. Predictably, the Dolby Digital EX
soundtrack is also superb, highlighted
by frequent hard-hitting bass punches.
A commentary track cobbling together
Lucas, McCallum, animation director
Rob Coleman, and the visual-effects
team rounds out disc one.
Disc two serves up an impressive array
of extras. The centerpiece is “Within a
Minute,” which examines every depart-
ment and function needed to create a
49-second sequence from the climactic
lava-planet duel between Anakin and
Obi-Wan. Nothing is left out, from pre-
visualization, to costumes, to catering.
It’s an eye-opening program, and you’ll
come away with a greater appreciation
for the art of modern-day filmmaking.
From there, you’ll find two shorter
featurettes, a 15-part documentary
created for www.starwars.com, poster art,
a Star Wars: Battlefront 2 game demo
(for Xbox), and six deleted scenes,
including Yoda’s touching arrival on
Dagobah. The diminutive Jedi master
also stars in a hilarious Easter egg, which
shouldn’t be hard to unearth for long-
time treasure hunters.
This one to your collection add, you
must.

THE B O X O F F I C E
A Not-So-Ultimate Collection
“You just wait. I’m going to
be the biggest Chinese star
in the world.” —Bruce Lee
by Aimee C. Giron
Bruce Lee first spoke these words many decades
ago, and he certainly hasn’t disap-
pointed. It’s been nearly 25 years
since the martial-arts world lost one
of its greatest icons, and, to this
day, Lee remains the most influen-
tial and revered martial-arts hero to
ever grace the silver screen. It’s no
wonder we’re still seeing products
associated with his name today. In
this hard-hitting five-disc collection,
the Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection,
Fox revisits the timeless classics that catapulted
Lee’s image to the rest of the Western world.
As far as plots go, each story scarcely differs
from the last. Martial-arts films are notorious
for having cliché story lines, many of which
involve avenging the death of one’s teacher or
the battle between the underdog and an above-
the-law warlord.
Lee made his feature-film debut in 1971 as
Cheng in The Big Boss, an ice-factory worker who
must save his cousin after the company’s under-
ground drug traffickers kidnap her. His next film,
Fist of Fury (a.k.a. The Chinese Connection), proved
to be as much of a political statement as it was an
action-packed film, with
several outbursts and
aggressive gestures made
in reference to the Chinese
animosity against the
Japanese. Here, Lee plays
Chen Zhen, a martial-arts
student determined to
avenge the murder of his
kung fu instructor. In 1972,
Lee brought us Way of the
Dragon, also released as Return of the Dragon,
which showcases one of the greatest fight scenes
ever filmed. In a most exciting conclusion, Lee
faces off against karate champion Chuck Norris.
Way was also the last movie ever to be filmed in
the actual Roman Colosseum.
After Lee’s untimely death in 1973, several of
his colleagues were left with the arduous task of
filling his shoes in Game of Death, which was still
Televisions Have Evolved.
Has Your Furniture?
• Casters
in production when Lee died. He plays Billy Lo,
a rising kung fu movie star who fakes his own
• Removable Backs
death to seek revenge against the people who
tried to exploit his career and kill him. Like Way
of the Dragon, the audience is treated to yet • Interchangeable
another legendary fight scene, as Lo fights his Door Panels
way through a multilevel pagoda, where, on
each floor, skillful martial-arts • High Capacity
masters from various styles await Media Storage
their chance to off Lo. On the final
level, he must fight Hakim, played • Internal Lighting
by basketball legend Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar. Because of Lee’s
passing in the middle of produc-
• Whisper Fan
Ventilation
tion, most of his scenes required a
double, who only merely passes as
the esteemed actor. Don’t bother • Integrated Surge
watching the entire movie; skip
Protection
ahead to the final 20 minutes where you’ll see the
real Lee in front of the camera. • Articulating
The Ultimate Collection also includes Game of Cantilever Arm
Death II, where Lee “returns” as Billy Lo, out for
revenge after his best friend dies from a sudden • R/L/C/Sub
illness. Feel free to use this disc as a coaster; it’s Speaker Storage
definitely not worth your 96 minutes.
Overall, the restorations show very little
improvement. The picture, in 2.35:1 anamorphic
• Steel Perforated
Shelves
presentation, is often grainy and soft, with visual
noise everywhere. However, compared with The
Master Collection, put out by Fox just three years • Internal Wire
ago, the digital remaster is praiseworthy for its
Management
vibrant color and higher level of detail. The Dolby
Digital 5.1 and DTS tracks, on the other hand, • Fully Assembled
deserve little recognition, as the sound is muffled,
and the dialogue is lost behind the cheesy score • Screwed and
inherent in many chopsaki films. Forget about Glued Joinery
checking if your speakers are plugged in correctly—
the audio really is that soft. The special features are
• Made in the USA
a pretty standard bag of outtakes and stills. Most
of these features are also available in previous
releases. The interviews, however, are always a
pleasure to watch and give every Bruce Lee enthu-
siast an unfamiliar glimpse at their legendary hero.
Since his death, many have tried to milk the
Bruce Lee legacy for all it’s worth by flooding Award winning home theater
the market with various products, ranging from furniture designed exclusively for
T-shirts, to books, to, of course, DVDs. While his
memory will live on, it becomes tiresome even for
Plasma, DLP, and LCD TVs.
the most devoted fan to try to keep up with the
redundant releases. If you already own The Master www.diamondcase.com
Collection, you’re better off saving your money
and sticking with that boxed set instead. 800-616-5354
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 CRITIC’S COUCH
DVD: Carlito’ s Way Ultimate Edition
—Universal
The companion piece to the 1983 Cuban
gangster epic Scarface, 1993’s Carlito’s
Way is another Al Pacino/Brian De Palma
pairing filled with confident camera move-
ment, high-tension set pieces, and a swag-
gering, Latino-accented Pacino.
The gritty, humid streets of 1970s
Spanish Harlem set the scene for Carlito
Brigante’s (Pacino) ascension back into
the criminal underworld after five years in
prison. Freed thanks to legal maneuverings
by longtime lawyer pal David Kleinfeld
(Sean Penn, who is fantastic in this sup-
porting role), Carlito swears he’s going
straight. But a bloody shootout lands
30 large in Carlito’s lap, which he sinks
into a bizarrely nautical-themed disco,
making him an instant ghetto celebrity.
Penelope Ann Miller is wonderful as
Carlito’s dancer love interest, and John
Leguizamo and Viggo Mortensen are
dynamic in small roles, the former as
up-and-coming hood “Benny Blanco from
the Bronx” and the latter as a down-and-
out, wheelchair-
bound homie fresh
from the joint.
Although the Dolby
Digital 5.1 sound-
track never really
leaps out (save for
some of the disco-
fueled club scenes),
the anamorphic
2.35:1 video presentation perfectly fits
De Palma’s skewed camera angles.
For an Ultimate Edition, the special
features are minimal, including some OK
deleted scenes, no commentary track, a
35-minute making-of that features the
author of the source material, the pro-
ducer, the screenwriter, the editor, and
the director, and an interview featurette
with De Palma segments left over from
the making-of.—Ryan Vincent
136 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
DVD: The Outsiders The Complete
Novel—Warner Brothers
When Francis Ford Coppola made the film
adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders,
it was at the request of students who
specifically wanted him to direct the film.
His portrayal of rebellious youths living in
1960s Oklahoma is moving, surrounded
by layers of brotherhood, rivalry, hope,
and class struggle.
When I first heard
about this release, I
was eager to see the
digital transfer, done
in anamorphic 2.40:1.
From first glance, I was
impressed with the
excellent restoration.
The video shows won-
derful detail, and the
colors come through beautifully, as demon-
strated by the sunset scene. The picture
still goes soft occasionally but is void of any
distracting artifacts. The movie also con-
tains 22 minutes of additional footage. The
Dolby Digital 5.1 sound brings the sur-
rounds to life with some of the best songs
from the 1960s, such as Van Morrison’s
“Gloria.” This is an excellent restoration,
with superior presentation.
Disc two contains the special features:
“Staying Gold: A Look Back at The
Outsiders,” screen tests, readings, the origi-
nal theatrical trailers, 10 minutes of addi-
tional scenes, and two featurettes—“S.E.
Hinton on Location in Tulsa” and an NBC
News Today segment of the student peti-
tion that catalyzed the making of this film.
While Coppola is best known for The
Godfather, The Outsiders is still one of his
best movies and stars many of today’s most
recognizable actors before they became
celebrities, such as Patrick Swayze, Rob
Lowe, Diane Lane, and Tom Cruise. This
film is profoundly touching, and, for many,
The Outsiders holds a special place in their
hearts. This set deserves a spot in your
collection.—Aimee C. Giron
 ®

2006 INTERNATIONAL CES.

TECHNOLOGY’S SEASON PREMIERE.
CES is the central hub for home theater. 2,500 exhibitors will take the wraps off new audio, video, gaming, wireless,
IT and networking products at the 2006 International CES–the world’s largest tradeshow for consumer technology.
HOTTESTPRODUCTSPEOPLEPLACE JANUARY 5-8, 2006 LAS VEGAS, NV www.CESweb.org

Look for these icons to navigate CES.

 Before you run out to buy some new, exciting product you’ve seen Optoma
Orb Audio
OPT
ORB
featured within the pages of HT, find a quality dealer near you in our Outlaw Audio OUT
Panamax PNX
Dealer Locator. The three-letter codes to the right can also be found Panasonic Consumer Electronics PAN
Paradigm PDM
under each dealer’s name, denoting which product lines they carry. If Parasound Products PAR
Phase Technology PHA
you don’t enjoy your experience at any of the following dealers, we Piega/Sanibel Sound PIE
Philips Consumer Electronics PHL
want to be the first to know. This list is designed to serve you, so tell Pinnacle Speakers PIN
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Extron EXT NuVision NUV Xantech XTH
Faroudja Laboratories FAR One for All ONE Yamaha Electronics YAM
Final Sound LLC FIN Onkyo USA ONL Zenith Electronics ZEN
Focal-JMlab JML ZVOX Audio, LLC ZVX
Focus Enhancements FOC

www.hometheatermag.com > Home Theater / January 2006 139

DEALER LOCATOR
CALIFORNIA
(southern)
Sunny’s Home
Theater
Covina, CA 91724
(626) 966-6259
www.sunnycomp.com/
theater.php
ARC, B&K, CEC, DMV, JML, LGE, MLN,
MSU, RGP, T + A, YBA
Sound Factor*
31 years of excellence in
audio and home theater.
17265 Ventura Blvd.
Encino, CA 91316
(818) 501-3548
Also Located at:
2 S. Rosemead Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91107
(626) 577-4945
2936 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90403
(310) 264-5457
AUQ, B&W, BEL, CON, DEN,
DYN, EPS, FUJ, GRA, KRE, LEX,
LIN, LOV, MAR, MCC, MON, NAD,
NIL, NHT, PIO, ROT, SHA, STW,
SUN, TAR, THL, VEL
Elite Custom
Audio Video
5505 Moreno Avenue
Montclair, CA 91763
(909) 931-2835
www.elitecustomaudiovideo.com
AMX, B&W, BRY, CAN, DAL, HIT, ITG,
KRE, MON, NAD, PDM, PIO, REV, ROT,
RUN, SPE, STW, VEL, TRB, XLO
FLORIDA
Stram Electronics’
Home Theater
Gallery
Tampa's most beautiful
showroom - Established
1988. Professional Quality
Systems with by
appointment services.
Tampa's largest AMX and
Vantage Lighting Control
dealers.
2825 S. MacDill Ave.
Tampa, FL 33629
813-831-8551
www.HomeTheaterGallery.com
AIN, AMX, ATL, ADA, CAN, EXT,
FUJ, JBL, MAR, NIL, PAN, PAR,
ROC, RUN, SON, SNY, STW, TRI,
VEL, WWR, XTH, ZEN
Home Theater
Productions,
Inc. *#
Imagination...
Designed to Perfection
State of the Art Home
Theater Rooms, Multi Room
Audio & Video, Outdoor
Audio Design, Wholehouse
Automation, Fiber Optic
Designed Lighting
*Showroom by appointment
Parkland, FL 33076
Phone: 954-753-9997
hometheaterproductions.com
Audio Command
System, Inc. *#
The finest custom installation
worldwide for more than 25
years.
6590 W. Rogers Circle
Boca Raton, FL 33487
phone: (561) 997-0550
fax: (561) 997-0552
www.audiocommand.com
AIN, ADC, AMX, ACT, B&W, BST,
BRY, CAN, CLP, COM, CRE, DAL,
DWI, ESR, EXT, FAR, FUJ, JLC, HIT,
IFY, ITG, JMF, JBL, 997-5800 RE,
LEX, LOE, LUT, MAR, MR997-5800
MCI, MON, NEC, NIL, PNX, PAR,
PIN, PIO, REV, ROC, ROT, RUN,
SAM, SHA, SEL, SNE, SON, SNY,
SAE, STW, SUN, TER, ROS, VEL,
YAM
Creative Media
Designs #
Winner of CEDIA’s
Best Home Theater Award.
4160 NW 1st Avenue #15
Boca Raton, FL 33431
(561) 392-1153
www.creativemediadesigns.com
AAS, ATL, CAN, CRE, DEN, DI-
RECTV, EXCIENT, FUJ, LUT, MAR,
MID, ATL, MSU, NIL, PNX, PAN,
PAR,ROC, SHA, VUTEC
GEORGIA
The Home
Theater Store
390 Barrett Parkway, Suite #C
Kennesaw, GA 30144
(770) 792-0250
http://www.
theHomeTheaterStore.TV
STEALTH ACOUSTICS, RAVA,
DEN, ITG, SUN, ADC, MNT, TNY,
ENY, ANY, EAR, MTX, DWI, DMV,
INF, EPS, SHA, MAR, IXOS, LUT,
PNX, MON, VEL UNV, ROC, STW,
RCA, SAM, MSU, APPLE
Gwinnett TV Audio Resource #
Audio Video Sales and Service
since 1977. The finest home entertainment
391 Killian Rd. shopping experience in
Lilburn, GA 30047 New Orleans and the Gulf
(770) 921-0000 South. Professional system
www.gwinnetttv.com
design, in-home installation
DEN, ELA, FUJ, LUT, MIS, MSU, and the best equipment in
MON, NHT, PNX, POL, RSD, SAM,
every price range.
SAS, SNY, STW, TOS, XTH, ATI,
AUD, CHA, CLP, CVN, DAL, HIT, JVC,
3133 Edenborn Ave.
RTI, SHA, TER, ZEN, CRE, IFY, LUT,
Metairie, LA 70002
RCA, PAN
(504) 885-6988
www.audioresource.com
ILLINOIS ASC, B&K, B&W, Billy Bags,
CLS,CRE,FUJ,KIN,KRE,MLN,
MER, Middle Atlantic, Musical
HTmarket.com Fidelity, NIL, PIO, RGP, ROT,
RUN, SLD, SAM, SON, STW,
Home Theater Marketplace
Transparent Cable, TRB, VTL
Custom Showroom
3257 N. Sheffield Avenue
Suite 103
Chicago, IL 60657
Custom home theater sales &
installation. Visit our
showroom by appointment
and website anytime.
In State: (773) 244-1986
Out of State: (888) 764-9273 MAINE
Fax: (773) 244-1986
http://www.htmarket.com
Custom Home
ATL, SUN, INF, NEC, Optoma,
Theater Systems &
Berkline, Audioquest, STW,
DVDO, HAR, JBL, SAM
Automation
Harpswell, Maine 04079
(207) 373-1147
www.customhometheater.biz
INDIANA AER, DAL, DVO, ELA, ITG, LUT, NHT,
PIN, RBH, RSD, SEL, SAE, STW
Advanced Home
Technologies
Inc.
Specializing in the design,
installation, integration and
programming of Media
Rooms, Home Theaters,
Multi-room music systems,
and lighting control MARYLAND
systems through simple,
user friendly automated
control systems. Applied Media
Showroom by appointment Concepts, Inc.
Michigan City, IN www.appliedmediaconcepts.com
(219)-874-3333 Waldorf, MD
www.advancedhtinc.com (866) 843-8185
Brands Sold: ADA, AMX, B&W,
DAL, CHA, CLP, CVN, EPS, DEF, DEN,
CRE, DBX, DAL, ELA, EPS, EXT,
ITG, JMS, JBL, LEX, LGE, LUT, EPS, FAR, GLC, HAR, HIT, INF, JBL,
M&K, RBH, ROT, RUN, RSD, JVC, NEC, PAN, PHL, PIO, SEL, SPE,
SAE, STS, STW STW, TEC
LOUISIANA
Custom Audio &
Video by Poole#
The north shore’s premiere MASSACHUSETTS
retailer for high-end audio and
video equipment
1815 N. Columbia St. New England Home
Covington, LA 70433 Theater, LLC
(985) 892-4500 Littleton Common
Fax: (985) 892-9625 23 Stevens Street
www.customaudioandvideo Littleton, MA 01460
.com (978) 952-8555
ARC, B&K, BRY, CAN, DEN, DWI, www.newenglandhometheater.com
ENY, EPS, FUJ, JAM, JMS, MAR, info@newenglandhometheater.net
MOR, NIL, PAR, PIO, RGP, SEL, ARC, ART, ATL, DEN, DWI, ELA, EPS,
SNE, STW, TNY, TRB, VEL, VONS,
FIN, INF, LGE, M&K, MNT, MRL, NAD,
XLO
NHT, PAR RGP, RSD, SLD, SAS, SEN,
TNY, UNV, WRF ZVX
140 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation.
1. Publication Title: Home Theater. 2. Publication
Number: 1096-3065. Filing Date: 10/01/05. 4. Issue
Frequency: Monthly. 5. Number of Issues Published
Annually: 12. 6. Annual Subscription Price: $23.94. 7.
Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication: NEW JERSEY
PRIMEDIA CMMG, 6420 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
90048-5515. Contact Person: Jack Sunkes. Telephone:
323-782-2402. 8. Complete Mailing Address of Audio///////
Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher: Connection
615 Bloomfield Ave.
PRIMEDIA CMMG, 260 Madison Ave., New York, NY
10016. Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Verona, NJ 07044
Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor: Publisher: Dave 973-239-1799
Colford, 261 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. Editor: www.audioconnect.com
Maureen Jenson, 6420 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA Audioquest, Cardas, Cary,
90048. Managing Editor: Patricia Nolan, 261 Madison ProAc, Vandersteen B&W,
Ave., New York, NY 10016. 10. Owner: PRIMEDIA Inc, KIM, LEX, LNN, MAG, NIL,
PSA, PSB, ROT, SLD
745 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10151 USA. 11. Known
Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders
Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of
Bonds, Mortgages, or Other Securities: None. 12. Tax
Status: Has Not Changed During Preceding 12 Months.
13. Publication Title: Home Theater. 14. Issue Date for Hi Def of
Circulation Data Below: September 2005. 15. Extent and Freehold, Inc.
Nature of Circulation; 15A. Total Number of Copies (Net
Entertainment Systems for
press run)—Average No. Copies Each Issue During Every Home
Preceding 12 Months: 142,842; No. Copies of Single 3585 Route 9 N Shoprite
Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date: 137,641. 15B. Plaza
Paid and/or Requested Circulation (1) Paid/Requested Freehold, NJ 07728
(888)-HiDEF-4U
Outside-County Mail Subscriptions Stated on Form 3541 www.hidefoffreehold.com
(Include advertiser’s proof and exchange copies)—
Coming May 2005
Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12
Hi-Def of Wall, Inc.
Months: 91,035; No. Copies of Single Issue Published 2410 Route 35 North
Nearest to Filing Date: 89,220. (2) Paid In-County Orchards at wall
Subscriptions Stated on Form 3541 (Include advertiser’s Manasquan, NJ 08736
ATL, B&K, B&W, BDI, BOS, BOX,
proof and exchange copies)—Average No. Copies Each CHA, CLP, CVN, CRE, DAL, EPS,
Issued Published During Preceding 12 Months: 0; No. EXT, FOC, HIT, JVC, KRE, LOE,
LUT, MAR, MER, MON, NAK, NIL,
Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date:
PIO, RBH, ROL, ROT, RUN, SLD,
0. (3) Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street SAM, SHA, SEL, SPE, STW, SUM,
Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Non-USPS Paid TER, TIV, TOS, TRB, UNV, VEL,
VIE
Distribution—Average No. Copies Each Issue Published
During Preceding 12 Months: 15,514; No. Copies of
Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date: 15,300. (4)
Other Classes Mailed Through the USPS—Average No.
Copies Each Issue Published During Preceding 12 Premier
Months: 0; No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest Home Theater #
to Filing Date: 0. 15C. Total Paid and/or Requested 11 Lawrence Road
Circulation [Sum of 15B (1), (2), (3), and (4)]—Average Newton, NJ 07860
No. Copies Each Issue Published During Preceding 12
(973) 940-1100
Months: 106,549; No. Copies of Single Issue Published www.premierhometheater.com
Nearest to Filing Date: 104,520. 15D. Free Distribution by
AIN, CRE, FUJ, ITG, MAR, MSU,
Mail (Samples, Complimentary, and Other Free); (1) RUN, SEL, SON, TRI, TRB
Outside-County as Stated on Form 3541—Average No.
Copies Each Issue Published During Preceding 12
Months: 1,661; No. Copies of Single Issue Published
Nearest to Filing Date: 4,238. (2) In-County as Stated on
NEW YORK
Form 2541—Average No. Copies Each Issue Published
During Preceding 12 Months: 0; No. Copies of Single
Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date: 0. (3) Other NYSS HOME
Classes Mailed Through to USPS—Average No. Copies
THEATER
Each Issue Published During Preceding 12 Months: 0;
No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing
20 Industrial Drive
Date: 0. 15E. Free Distribution Outside the Mail (Carriers Middletown, NY 10941
of Other Means)—Average No. Copies Each issue 845-692-9000
Published During Preceding 12 Months: 458; No. Copies
www.nysshometheater.com
of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date: 0. 15F.
Total Free Distribution (Sum of 15D. and 15E.)—Average B&W, JBL, KLI, LEX, MAR, MLN,
MRK, MCI, PIO, RUN, SHA, SNY,
No. Copies Each Issue Published During Preceding 12 STW, VEL, LGE, MSU, CRE
Months: 2,119; No. Copies of Single Issue Published
Nearest to Filing Date: 4,238. 15G. Total Distribution
(Sum of 15C. and 15F.)—Average No. Copies Each Issue
Published During Preceding 12 Months: 108,668; No.
Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date: Sound Insight
108,758. 15H. Copies Not Distributed—Average No. Creating Home Theatres that
Copies Each Issue Published During Preceding 12 excite the senses. From
Months: 34,174; No. Copies of Single Issue Published Plasmas to Projections.2
Nearest to Filing Date: 28,883. 15I. Total (Sum of 15G.
Channel to 7.1
and 15H.)—Average No. Copies Each Issue Published All personnel are Custom
During Preceding 12 Months: 142,842; No. Copies of Installers not salesmen.
Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date: 137,641. 414 New York Avenue
15J. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation (15C. Huntington Village, NY 11743
(631) 271-4434 HIFI
Divided by 15G. Times 100)—Average No. Copies Each
Issue Published During Preceding 12 Months: 98.1%; No. www.sound-insight.com
Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date: AEN, ARC, BOS, BST, CAB, DAL,
DEN, ELA, ENY, FAR, FUJ, INF, JAM,
96.1%. 16. Publication of Statement of Ownership. LOE, LUT, MON, NAD, NIL, PAN,
Publication required. Will be printed in the Dec ‘05 issue
PDM, PIN, PIO, SLD, SAM, SHA,
of this publication. 17. Signature and Title of Editor, SEL, SNY, STR, TOS, XTH, ZEN
Publisher, Business Manager, or Owner: I certify that all
information furnished on this form is true and complete. I
understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading
information on this form or who omits material or
information requested on the form may be subject to
criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment)
and/or civil sanctions (including civil penalties). Kevin
Neary, Senior Vice President, CFO; Date. 10/01/05.
* Indicates Certified Home THX Dealer
# Indicates CEDIA Dealer
Preludeaudio.
com
Bringing you exceptional
values in audio-video cables
and accessories. For
interconnects, speaker
cables, digitals, videos, pro,
and more.
Headphone amps just added!
PreludeAudio.com
(518) 382-1411
Caig, Canare, Cardas, Pelican,
Prelude Audio
Audio Command
System, Inc. *#
The finest custom installation
worldwide for more than
25 years.
694 Main St.
Westbury, NY 11590
Phone: (516) 997-5800
Fax: (516) 997-2195
www.audiocommand.com
AIN, ADC, AMX, ACT, B&W, BST,
BRY, CAN, CLP, COM, CRE, DAL,
DWI, ESR, EXT, FAR, FUJ, JLC,
HIT, IFY, ITG, JMF, JBL, 997-5800
RE, LEX, LOE, LUT, MAR, MR997-
5800 MCI, MON, NEC, NIL, PNX,
PAR, PIN, PIO, REV, ROC, ROT,
RUN, SAM, SHA, SEL, SNE, SON,
SNY, SAE, STW, SUN, TER, ROS,
VEL, YAM
IDS
Audio/Video & Technolgies
Experience over 20 years of
personalized service and
custom installation
Roslyn Heights, NY
(800) 570-6464
www.idsaudiovideo.com
ACR, ATL, B&K, B&W, BDI, CAN,
CHA, CLP, CIN, CRE, DAL, DEN,
DVO, DWI, ELA, FAR, FUJ, HNS,
ITG, KLI, LOE, LUT, MAR, MNT,
MON, NAD, NEC, NIL, NHT, ONK,
PNX, PAN, PDM, PAR, PHA, PHL,
PIO, POL, REP, ROT, RSD, SLD,
SAM, SAS, SHA, SEL, SON, SNY,
SPE, STS, STW, TER, TRI, TRB,
UNV, XTH, YAM, ZEN
Audio Video
Experience
Providing over 20 years
experience in personalized
music & theater systems
for discriminating clientele.
CEDIA-certified.
15 Island Bay Avenue
Middle Island, NY 11953
(631) 205-1410
KELVINATE@AOL.COM
www.audiovideoexperience.co
m Tacoma• Pacific Sight & Sound: Wenatchee.
ATL, DEN, JAM, MNT, NIL, PHL,
ROT, SEL, SHB, SNY, STS, SUN,
WWR
Authorized Dealers
AK- Alaska A/V: Juneau.
AL- Audio Insight: Huntsville• Cohen’s Electronics: Montgomery• Fidler HiFi: Mobile•
Hooper’s: Birmingham• Kincaid TV: Tuscaloosa• Tennessee Valley Protection: Huntsville.
AR- Custom Audio Video: Little Rock.
AZ- Audio Plus: Prescott• Jerry’s Audio Video: Phoenix, Scottsdale• Magnolia:
Chandler, Glendale, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tucson• The Specialists: Tucson•
Ultimate Electronics: Glendale, Phoenix Metro Area, Scottsdale.
CA- Access to Music: San Rafael• Accurate A/V: S. Lake Tahoe• Ahead Stereo: Los Angeles•
Audio Concepts: Long Beach, San Gabriel• Audio Video City: San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria•
Boots Camera: Fresno• Century TV: Garden Grove• Convoy Big Screens: San Diego,
San Marcos• Creative Stereo: Santa Barbara• David Rutledge Audio: Rancho Mirage•
Discount Sales: Ontario• Magnolia: Costa Mesa, Dublin, Elk Grove, Irvine, Los Angeles,
Marin City, Milpitas, Mission Viejo, Modesto, Murrieta, Palm Desert, Pleasant Hill, San Carlos,
San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Santa Clarita, Thousand Oaks, Torrance, Tustin•
Magnolia A/V: Colma, Costa Mesa, Emeryville, Palo Alto, Roseville, Sacramento,
San Francisco, San Ramon, Santa Clara, Santa Monica, Santa Rosa, Torrance, Woodland Hills•
Pacific Coast A/V: Corona Del Mar• Paradyme Audio/Video: Roseville, Sacramento•
Performance Audio: San Francisco• Systems Design: Redondo Beach• Visual Sound: La Habra.
CO- Advantage Sight & Sound: Montrose• Axxis Audio: Durango• Central Electronics:
Steamboat Springs• Magnolia: Broomfield, Lakewood, Littleton• Pro Home Systems:
Grand Junction• Summit Electronics: Frisco• Ultimate Electronics: Boulder, Colorado
Springs, Denver & Suburbs, Ft. Collins.
CT- Audio Etc: Orange• Carstons Stereo/Video: Danbury• Magnolia: Manchester• Planet TV:
Stamford• Roberts Audio Video: New London• Stereo Shop: Hartford• Westfair TV: Fairfield.
DC & Washington Suburbs- Myer-Emco.
DE - Hi Fi House: Wilmington.
FL- Absolute Sound: Winter Park• Audio Center: Deerfield Beach• Audio Connection: Ft. Myers•
A/V in Paradise: Key West• Bill’s A/V Innovations: Vero Beach• Bob’s TV: Ocala area•
Hoyt Stereo: Jacksonville• Magnolia: Plantation• Palm Audio: Destin• Seagull Electronics:
Juno Beach• Sound Components: Coral Gables• Sound Ideas: Gainesville• Sound Insights:
Jenson Beach• Sounds & Cinema: West Palm Beach• Stereotypes: Daytona Beach•
Tropical Video: Rockledge• Wee-do Home Theater: Pensacola.
GA- Audio Warehouse: Savannah• Evolution Home Theater: Atlanta• FusionPoint:
Macon• Magnolia: Atlanta, Buford• Merit TV: Columbus•
Stereo Connections: Valdosta• Stereo Shop: Martinez.
HI- Elite Electronics: Honolulu• Magnolia: Honolulu.
IA- Audio Vision: Sioux City• Nielsens: Spencer• Sound World: Mason City.
IL- Abt Electronics: Glenview• Barrett’s Home Theater: Algonquin• Naperville•
Magnolia: Aurora, Downers Grove, Niles• Sherman’s: Normal, Peoria, Peru• The Shoppe:
Bradley• Sound Forum: Lake in the Hills• Sound Living: Chicago• State Line Satellite:
Rockford• Sundown A/V: Springfield• Ultimate Electronics: Fairview Heights.
IN- Classic Stereo: Ft. Wayne• Kings Great Buys: Evansville• Ovation Audio: Clarksville,
Ft. Wayne, Indianapolis.
KS- Accent Sound: Overland Park• Advance Audio: Wichita• Audio Junction: Manhattan•
Kansas Audio Video: Topeka.
KY- King’s Great Buys: Owensboro• Ovation Audio: Lexington, Louisville.
LA- Acadiana Security Plus: Broussard• Alterman Audio: Baton Rouge, Mandeville, Metairie•
Home Theater Concepts: Slidell• Mike’s Audio: Baton Rouge• Wright's Sound Gallery:
Shreveport.
MA- Cameras Inc.: Arlington (Boston)• Home Smart Home: North Attleboro• Magnolia:
Braintree, Danvers, Dedham, Framingham, Watertown• Nantucket Sound: Hyannis•
Percy’s: Worcester• Pittsfield Radio: Pittsfield.
MD- Gramophone: Baltimore, Columbia• Magnolia: Annapolis, Gaithersburg, Timonium•
Myer-Emco: Bowie, Frederick, Gaithersburg, Rockville• Soundscape: Baltimore.
ME- New England HiFi: Scarborough.
MI- Contemporary Audio: East Lansing• Court St. Listening Room: Saginaw•
Hod’s Home Theater: Waterford• Paragon Sound: Ann Arbor• Paulson’s: Farmington Hills•
Pecar's:Troy(Detroit)• Superior Sound: Grand Rapids• Today’s Audio: Flint.
MN- Audio Designs: Winona• Dostal Electronics: Hutchinson• Magnolia: Maple Grove,
Minnetonka, Oakdale, Richfield• Ultimate Electronics: Minneapolis & Suburbs.
MO- The Entertainer: Jefferson City• Independence A/V: Independence• Q-Audio & Video:
Cape Girardeau• Ultimate Electronics: Ballwin, Fenton, Independence, St. Peters.
MS- Ideal Acoustics: Starkville• McLelland TV: Hattiesburg• Something Southern: Oxford.
MT- Rocky Mt. Hi Fi: Great Falls• Vann’s Inc.: Billings, Bozeman, Hamilton, Helena,
Kalispell, Missoula.
NC- Anderson Audio: Morehead• Audio Designs: Raleigh• Audio Unlimited: Jonesville•
Audio Visions: Wilmington• Comtec: Asheville• Elite A/V: Lewisville• Freeman’s Stereo Video:
Charlotte• Intelligent Electronics: Raleigh• Sound Systems: Charlotte• Tri City Electronics:
Conover.
ND- Custom Cinema & Sound: Horace (Fargo).
NE- Custom Electronics: Omaha.
NH- Magnolia: Nashua, Salem• State Street Disc.: Portsmouth.
NJ- 6th Avenue Electronics: East Brunswick, Jersey City, Livingston, Paramus,
Springfield, West Long Branch, West Paterson, Woodbridge• Camera and TV Stop:
Medford• Hi Def: Freehold, Wall• Magnolia: East Hanover, Manalapan, Princeton,
West Patterson• Monmouth Stereo: Shrewsbury.
NM- Ultimate Electronics: Albuquerque.
NV- Magnolia: Las Vegas, Reno• Ultimate Electronics: Las Vegas.
NY- Aarlington Audio: Poughkeepsie• Audio Breakthroughs: Manhasset• Audio Den:
Lake Grove• Clark Music: Latham, Syracuse• Hi Way HiFi: Ithaca• JSG Audio Video:
Binghamton• Magnolia: Huntington Station, Setauket, West Nyack, Westbury•
Media Room: Bedford Hills• Park Ave. Audio: Manhattan• Rowe Photo: Rochester•
Speaker Shop: Amherst• Stereo Exchange: Manhattan.
OH- Absolute Theater: Powell• Audio Arts: Youngstown• Audio Craft: Cleveland,
Mayfield Hts., Westlake• Audio Etc.: Dayton• Belden Audio: Canton• Classic Stereo:
Lima• Ohio Valley Audio: Cincinnati• Ovation Audio: Cincinnati• Stereovisions:
Columbus• Threshold Audio: Newark• Unique Home System: Cincinnati.
OK- Tumble Inn: Muskogee• Ultimate Electronics: Oklahoma City, Tulsa.
OR- Kelly's Home Ctr.: Salem• Magnolia A/V: Beaverton (Portland), Clackamas.
PA- Audio Junction: Pittsburgh• Audio Lab: Fairless Hills• Creative Audio Video: Selinsgrove•
Ed’s TV: Hatfield• Hi Fi House: Broomall, Jenkintown• Listening Post: Pittsburgh•
Palmer Audio: Allentown• Park Audio & Video: Altoona, Duncansville• Pat’s Stereo:
Greensburg• Stereo Barn: Wyomissing (Reading)• Stereo Shoppe: Williamsport•
Stereoland: Natrona Heights• Studio One: Erie• Wee Bee Audio Video: Lancaster.
RI- Magnolia: Warwick• Stereo Discount Ctr.: Providence.
SC- Audio Warehouse: Beaufort, Bluffton• Custom Theater & Audio: Murrells Inlet•
Fusion Systems: Greenville• Upstairs Audio: Columbia• Whole House Audio & Video: Aiken.
SD- Sound Pro: Rapid City• Sound Pro’s: Mitchell.
TN- College HiFi: Chattanooga• Hi Fi Buys: Nashville• Modern Music: Memphis•
Sound Room: Johnson City.
TX- Audio Video: College Station• Bjorn's: San Antonio• Bunkley's Sound Systems: Abilene•
Don’s TV: Tyler• D-Tronics: McAllen• Home Entertainment Inc.: The Woodlands•
Home Theater Store: Arlington, Austin, Dallas, Friendswood, Houston, Southlake• Krystal Clear:
Dallas• Magnolia: Farmers Branch, Fort Worth, Grapevine, Plano• Marvin Electronics:
Ft. Worth• Matt Panter Home Theater: Waco• Mesa Home Systems: Austin• Metex:
Laredo• Mike Massey, Inc.: Odessa• RNS Sound & Vision: Harlingen, McAllen•
Sound Perfection: Frisco• Soundquest: El Paso.
UT- Crazy Bob’s: St. George• The Theater Experience: Sandy.
VA- Audio Connection: Virginia Beach• Audio Video by Design: Williamsburg• Audiotronics:
Roanoke• Home Media Stores: Richmond• Magnolia: Fairfax, Reston, Springfield, Sterling,
Woodbridge• Myer-Emco: Arlington, Fairfax, Falls Church, Sterling, Tyson’s Corner.
VT- Toner’s Satellite: Milton.
WA- Bunch-Finnegan TV: Kennewick• Magnolia A/V: Seattle & Suburbs, Silverdale,
WI- Audio Video Pros: Onalaska• Flanner’s A/V: Milwaukee• Hi-Fi Heaven: Green Bay•
Suess Electronics: Appleton• Sound World: Wausau• Team Electronics: Manitowoc.
WV- Mack & Daves: Huntington.
WY- Electronic Design Assoc.: Jackson.
Puerto Rico- Precision Audio: San Juan.
Canada- Adrenalin Audio: Edmonton, Alb.• Advance Electronics: Winnipeg•
Audio Video Innovations: Dartmouth, N.S.• Bay Bloor Radio: Toronto• Canadian Sound:
Brampton, Ont.• Environment Electronique: Westmount, Que.• Furniture Factory Outlets:
Thunder Bay, Ont.• Geniers: Vernon, B.C.• K&W Audio: Calgary• Kebecson: Montreal•
La Boutique Electronique: Montreal• Lipton’s Elect.: Newmarket, Ont.•
Saskatoon’s Audio Express: Saskatoon, S.K.•Stereo Plus: Ottawa, Ont.• StereoLand:
Windsor, Ont.• The Sound Room: Vancouver, B.C.• Unifi: Waterloo, Ont.
Mexico- Contact Productos Exitosos S.A.: Mexico City.
www.definitivetech.com
 ®

2006 INTERNATIONAL CES.

MAKE THE RIGHT CONNECTIONS.
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exhibitors make CES the global meeting ground for consumer electronics. Experience the world’s largest tradeshow for consumer technology.
HOTTESTPRODUCTSPEOPLEPLACE JANUARY 5-8, 2006 LAS VEGAS, NV www.CESweb.org

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 I NSTANT INFORMATION forour READERS> > > www.
HomeTheaterMag.com
www.HomeTheaterMag.com
Page # Manufacturers Page # Manufacturers Page # Manufacturers

17, C3 . . . Audio Plus Services 29 . . . . . . Hewlett-Packard 106 . . . . . Salamander

Phone (800) 663-9352 1-877-BUY-ONHP Phone (800) 350-6859
www.audioplusservices.com
10-11 . . . . Hitachi 57 . . . . . . Sanus Systems
108 . . . . . Audioquest www.hitachi.us/tv Phone (800) 359-5520
Phone (949) 585-0111 www.sanus.com
www.audioquest.com 140 . . . . . Home Theater Interiors
Phone (800) 494-4020 7 . . . . . . . SharpVision
130 . . . . . B&K www.HTInteriors.com Phone (877)388-SHARP
Phone (201) 785-2600 www.sharpusa.com/hometheater
136 . . . . . Hsu Research
9, 55 . . . . B & W Loudspeakers Phone (800) 554-0150 97 . . . . . . Schroers & Schroers
Phone (800) 370-3740 www.hsuresearch.com Phone (800) 798-2568
www.bwspeakers.com www.mstate&m-state.com
39 . . . . . . Impact Acoustics
142 . . . . . Billy Bags Phone (877)AV-EXPERT 59 . . . . . . Sony HD
www.impactacoustics.com www.sony.com/HearHD
35 . . . . . . Bose
Phone (800) ASK-BOSE, ext.5011 81 . . . . . . KEF 133 . . . . . Soundations
www.bose.com Phone (732) 683-2356 Phone (201) 943-2404
www.kef.com www.soundations.com
16 . . . . . . Canton Electronics Corp.
Phone (888) 442-3269 77 . . . . . . Klipsch Audio Technologies 41 . . . . . . Stargate Cinema
www.d-box.com Phone (800) KLIPSCH Phone (866) 684-3843
www.klipsch.com www.stargatecinema.com
105 . . . . . CinemaShop.com
Phone (866) 246-1001 4-5, 65 . . Lexicon 37 . . . . . . Sumiko
www.cinemashop.com Phone (781) 280-0300 Phone (800) 301-0799
www.lexicon.com www.sumikoaudio.net/
19 . . . . . . Classé Audio viennaacoustics3
Phone (514) 636-6384 148 . . . . . LG Electronics
www.classeaudio.com www.LGusa.com/PlasmaDVR 40 . . . . . . Tannoy
cservice@classeaudio.com Phone (519-745-1158)
53 . . . . . . Linn www.inquiries@tannoyna.com
23 . . . . . . Crutchfield www.linninc.com
Phone (800)555-8347 51, 61 . . . . Toshiba America Consumer Products Inc.
www.crutchfield.com 14 . . . . . . LTB Audio Phone (973) 628-8000
www.listentobelieve.com www.tacp.toshiba.com
50 . . . . . . CSA Audio Design
Phone (973) 744-0600 13 . . . . . . Mitsubishi 101 . . . . . Totem Acoustic
www.csaaudiodesign.com www.mitsubishi-tv.com Phone (514) 259-1062
www.totemacoustic.com
142 . . . . . CustomHT 27 . . . . . . Monitor Audio
Phone (800) 246-5006, ext. 00 Phone (905) 428-2800 72 . . . . . . Tributaries
www.customHT.com www.monitoraudio.com www.tributariescable.com

85 . . . . . . Datacolor 31 . . . . . . NAD Electronics 137 . . . . . Velodyne

Phone (800)554-8688 Phone (800) 263-4641 Phone (408) 465-2800
www.spydertv.com www.NADelectronics.com www.velodyne.com

44-45, . . Definitive Technology, LLP 71 . . . . . . Onkyo C2-p3 . . . Winbook

67, 69, 141 Phone (410) 363-7148 Phone (201) 785-2600 Phone (800) 468-0878
www.definitivetech.com www.onkyousa.com www.winbook.com/mag/hometh

135 . . . . . Diamond Case Designs 62, 89 . . Outlaw Audio 134 . . . . . Zvox

Phone (800) 616-5354 Phone (866) OUTLAWS www.zvoxaudio.com
www.diamondcase.com www.outlawaudio.com

113 . . . . . DVDO 103 . . . . . Paradigm

Phone (866) 423-DVDO Phone (905) 632-0180
www.DVDO.com/hometheater www.paradigm.ca
Home Theater (ISSN 1096-3065) January 2006, Vol. 13, No. 1. Copyright
2005 by PRIMEDIA Specialty Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Published
15 . . . . . . Energy Spearker Systems 43 . . . . . . Pioneer monthly by PRIMEDIA Specialty Group, Inc., 6420 Wilshire Blvd., Los
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per year. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Home Theater,
49 . . . . . . Fujitsu General America P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235.
38 . . . . . . Projector People
Phone (888) 888-3424 or Phone (877)845-0042 Mailing Lists: From time to time, we make our subscriber list available
to companies that sell goods and services by mail that we believe
(973) 575-0380 www.projectorpeople.com would be of interest to our readers. If you would rather not receive
such mailings, please send your current mailing label or an exact copy
129 . . . . . Gallo Acoustics to: Home Theater, Mail Preference Service, P.O. Box 420235, Palm
47 . . . . . . PSB Speakers Coast, FL 32142-0235.
www.avspeakers.com Phone (888) 772-0000 Subscription Service: Should you wish to change your address or
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www.HANNspree.com 42 . . . . . . RBH
Phone (800)543-2205
www.rbhsound.com

Information listed in this index is done so as a courtesy. Publisher is not liable for incorrect information or excluded listings. Advertisers should contact their sales representative to correct or update listing.
 CURTAIN CALL
None More Black
IN
last month’s column, I issued a warning on the dangers of
the free home theater advice available on the Internet
because, sadly, there’s a boatload of bad information out
there—along with all the very good things cyberspace has to
offer, like jokes about cats and the many sites that sell shower
rings at incredible discounts. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a
chance to read my own column (I had planned on doing it
but then got bogged down in a sock-sorting project), and I
ended up taking some free advice off the Internet.
Before you judge me too harshly, hear me out: All I did
was ignore the explicit advice of the many experts and
trusted friends who told me not to mess around in my
TV’s service menu (used by TV techs and protected by a
secret code). It could have happened to anyone, right? As
a result, I threw off the TV’s geometry, causing onscreen
distortion. Baseballs looked like footballs. Joan Rivers’ face
looked as though it had been pulled and stretched in many
directions and then shellacked. Clearly, I needed help—so,
naturally, I turned to the Internet. Wait, stop yelling! All I
did was use it to find an ISF (Imaging Science Foundation)
tech in my area who could get my set looking good again.
The ISF, among other things, trains technicians in the
art of calibrating your TV in order to—and forgive the
technical jargon here—make it
look really, really, um,
good. If you are a
lunkhead who likes
to paw through your
TV’s service menu,
they will probably be
able to de-lunkhead-ify
it, as well.
I set up an
appointment
with Minneapolis-
area tech Mark
Gertgen of
Octavian Systems.
(I figure Octavian is
either a reference
to Roman emperor
Gaius Julius Octavius
or Spider-Man’s
146 Home Theater / January 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com
by Michael j. Nelson
enemy Doc Ock.) Gertgen arrived at my door with
so many cases, I imagined he either sold knives on
the side or planned to loosen me up with his wacky
home theater ventriloquist act, “Mr. Mark and Professor
Squiggy.” So, I was only mildly disappointed to find
that the largest case instead contained a color-analyzer
system used for calibrating my TV’s gray scale and
not a wisecracking ventriloquist dummy with a mor-
tarboard and monocle.
After unpacking, Gertgen got to work on my set’s
gray scale. A properly adjusted gray scale is critical and,
once set, will allow your TV to display inky blacks and
accurate, eye-popping colors. Adjusting it, however, is
quite frankly one of the most monumentally boring tasks
on God’s earth. I’ve been to four-hour meetings on my
SARSEP account that, in comparison, were brisk and riv-
eting. Next to setting the gray scale, an evening viewing
Aunt Cleo’s slide show of her trip to Duluth (punch and
cookies only—no beer) would seem like a rousing good
time. Bless his heart for doing it, though, because, when
Gertgen was finished, the picture looked amazing. Colors
were accurate, and the blacks were so, well, black. How
much more black could they be? To quote that chromatic
sage Nigel Tufnel, “None more black.”
Rear-projection TVs are susceptible to excessive over-
scan, too, meaning that too much of the edges of the
picture are lost. If I’m paying for an Arnold Schwarzenegger
movie, I want to see every inch of his meaty Teutonic face, so
Gertgen tamed that for me, too. It was then a small matter
to fix the geometry problems—small matter to me, that
is, as I was able to sit on my couch sipping coffee while
Gertgen wrestled it into shape.
The result of all his work: a truly stunning picture so
good that I nearly watched all of Pearl Harbor just because
it looked so darned good. My only nitpick about my
ISF-calibrated set: Joan Rivers’ face still looks tugged,
pulled, and shellacked.
* Michael J. Nelson is the former host and head writer of
Illustration by Joe Goebel
Mystery Science Theater 3000 and the author of three
books, most recently the novel Death Rat! (HarperCollins). He
has contributed commentary tracks for Fox’s re-release of Reefer
Madness, as well as the classics Night of the Living Dead
and Carnival of Souls.
 WELC OME H OME
© Focal-JMlab - SCFR050307/1

iCub : Hi-fi for the iGeneration

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to drive a pair of loudspeakers and one 200 W amplifier to drive the subwoofer. It is a very
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*Airport Express® and iPod® are registered trademarks of Apple Computer. Focal® is a registered trademark of Focal-JMlab®. the Spirit of Sound