Recently I was thinking I was going to be laid up for a while and have to be forced into "couch potato" mode, so I looked into upgrading my stereo system, since about all I would be able to do is lay around and listen to things. Sheesh! I can't believe how things have changed! The last time I fiddled around with my stereo stuff, adding in a subwoofer was about the most exotic thing you could do for a stereo system. And there was that word "Dolby", that some of the higher priced amplifiers and receivers claimed that they were capable of. Most people walking into a stereo store didn't have a clue what that was, but most were certain it was a *good* thing.
Now there are 4.1, 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1 systems where you put speakers all over a room and defy death by strangulation from all of the cables snaking across the floor. (BTW, death by strangulation can come either via becoming entangled in the web of speaker cables, or from the spouse after getting tired of all of YOUR speaker stuff all over the house. Either method is valid.)
After reading a bunch of reviews and thinking my brain was going to melt, I settled on a 6.1 system by Onkyo. Not the cheapest, and not the most expensive, but certainly one with a lot of positive reviews about it. I figured I might be able to use my old Polk Audio speakers as the front left and right speakers in this system, but found that my old Klipsch subwoofer has a giant hornet in it that buzzes angrily whenever I turn on the juice to it. Well, the Onkyo system has it's own subwoofer, so no big deal.
So I get this huge box delivered and setting on the porch several days ago, and had to get the wife to help me unbox all that stuff. I couldn't lift much weight with my right arm, so getting that receiver and subwoofer out of the box would have been a chore doing it one handed. So I have
ALL of this stuff scattered all over the floor, thinking where in the WORLD am I going to put all of those speakers? I found the remote (stereo systems with a remote? Who'd a thunk it? Used to be you adjusted the volume ONCE, and it stayed that way until something broke somewhere.). Well anyway, this remote would be at home sitting as a moveable section of jet airliner cockpit. Not only are there more buttons there then any one place I have ever seen, but they all have multiple functions depending on what other buttons you press beforehand. Yikes! Where is that manual?
Well the manual got a lot lost in the translation, apparently. Seems that the important setup steps are way in the back and the manual makes you wade through all kinds of stereo (is it still called "stereo" when you are using more then two speakers?) high tech arcane topics. (Neo:6? What does the movie "Matrix" have to do with this? Optical input? Upmixing? Pro Logic IIx? DTS-ES Matrix/Discrete?) Well to heck with this! I've hooked up speaker systems before. How tough can it be? The wires are even color coded!
So I positioned all the speakers and ran all of the wires to everything that LOOKED like they belonged together. Seemed easy enough. Then the "smoke test". Everything still A-OK. Not even an ominous hum anywhere. Let's try out a CD and see how it sounds...... Hmm. Well music is coming out of all of the speakers, for sure, but darn, I expected more...... Bass is weak and vocals are muffled. Well, one thing I learned back in the old days of stereo is that if it doesn't sound good, you don't have it loud enough. So I cranked up the volume (I got to 40 on a scale of 1 to 75 before I was in danger of permanent hearing damage. All total this system can crank out 1000 watts, it says.) Well the bass was definitely there, but not what I had expected. I even found some settings on the receiver to boost the bass, but still, it wasn't what I had expected. Guess I expected too much, huh?
Not to be thwarted in my search for a killer system, I decided I needed to get a better subwoofer. So I read some reviews and found a brand called
Definitive Technologies that reviews claimed that their subwoofers were more directly responsible for sound system related divorces then any other brand on the market. But whoooeee! They are expensive! So I decided to do a quick spin around Ebay and as luck would have it, some kind soul was selling one of these for a REAL reasonable price and the auction had been placed not more then a few minutes before I spotted it. Best of all, he had a BUY IT NOW button on the auction! Thinking that no less then 50 other people were preparing to click on that BUY IT NOW button as well, I scorched the desk with the mouse. And I won! Now I had a killer subwoofer coming my way to take care of the weak bass problem.
In the meantime, I figured I might as well read over that manual...... Hmm, speaker setup.... crossover settings... double hmmm... After an hour or two THOROUGHLY looking over the options and fiddling with the settings, I could not believe the difference in the system I now have compared to what I THOUGHT I had just an hour ago. I was playing CDs I had played years ago and it was like I had never really heard them before. Having speakers all around you and the system working correctly is a very profound experience. It takes stereo to a level I never would have imagined beforehand. Oh, and DVD movies? Well, you have to experience them to believe it. THIS is the way they are supposed to be heard!
I would have to say absolutely that if you have not REALLY heard a home theater system, and have the slightest interest in audio, you really OWE it to yourself to check it out. You WILL be impressed! You WILL buy one! If your spouse does not share your enthusiasm, you WILL have problems!
BTW, for those of you wondering, the system I got was the Onkyo HTS770B. Very modestly priced and well worth the money. I did use different front speakers, but I don't think they made THAT much difference in the overall sound. But read the blasted manual THOROUGHLY and set it up correctly! It WILL make a difference. Trust me on this.
Oh yeah, guess what showed up on the porch this morning? Yup, my new subwoofer........
Linear Mode
