| Nearly 13 months ago, I had the idea for Home Theater. Christmas 1999, I got a VCR. I figured I'd buy my favorite movies on VHS and build a huge collection. The DVD revolution was in its early stages, but it was still on my mind. Then in January, prices started coming down, and in Februay 2000, I bought my first DVD player, Phase 1... First, my friend Mark Bellan and I went to Best Buy, but they had nothing I liked, yet I bought two DVDs knowing I'd own a player later that day. We went to Sears, and they had an open box DVD player...Fisher's DVD-S1000. I bought it without hesitation, and rushed home to try it out on my 3-year old Sony 20". I was impressed with the quality of the picture; it was the first time I used RCAs to connect anything! Phase 2: I saved up some money for a TV because my Sony wasn't cuttin it. I went to Circuit City a week before my paycheck to make sure they still had 27" V models....I really wanted a Wega, but they were out of my price range. A week later, I went to my local hi-fi shop to learn about receivers and speakers. They asked about my TV, and I told them I was goin to Circuit City to get a $450 Sony. Then the salesman told me they just got in 27" $600 Flat screens. Two days later, I had the KV-27FS12 in my room...weeks before Best Buy and Circuit City stocked them. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it had component video; I originally wanted S-video at the most. Phase 3: Finally, I had enough money saved for 5.1 surround. In September, I drove down to HH Greggs, a Midwest electronics store near my college, to check out speakers. They had one pair of Mission 704s left. They said that they weren't trained to sell such a good speakers, so they stopped selling them. Besides, the 700 series Missions were discontinued, so I saved $350 on a legend! When I got back, I ordered the 575x based on reviews. It seemed like a no brainer, and it was! The guys at Crazy Eddies sounded like crooks, but they did a great job. I went back to HH Greggs to get the JBL S-Center (the Mission center was next to impossible to get). I ordered the Mission 701 rears on eBay brand new. Phase 4: The setup took three hours, but that's because I had everything sitting in boxes waiting for the 575x to arrive. Preparing the Acoustic Research 12 gauge was a real pain. I had my roommate do it with his wire cutters. After reading the manual and making some adjustments, I was ready to rock, but since everyone throughout Miami University was sleeping, I held out for another day. Later the next day, I popped in Twister-DTS and blasted it. I had to block my ears. My RA was knocking on the door the whole time, but I couldn't hear him, I just saw the door rattling back and forth with his every knock. I took home everything but my TV and DVD player in Novemeber because of complaints and size issues. Phase 5: 64 DVDs later, I needed a new DVD player. My Fisher couldn't handle dual layered discs. So after reading reviews and forums, I ordered the Panasonic DVD-RV80 from J&R. Although it's only been a week, it has lived up to my expectations, and I highly recommend it. FUTURE (updated 4.3.01): Although the 704s put out thunderous bass, I'm gonna get a sub this May. Since I crave reference level sound and video, I'm going to drop the most amount of cash I've ever spent on one object starting with the subwoofer....the SVS 20-30CS with the 700 watt Samson amp! My major plan is the front projector system I'm working towards buying in 2003. I'll never be happy enough, and I know some of you guys feel the same way!! This is only the beginning, and now that I'm on my second DVD player and TV, I've been corrupted. What started out as an innocent idea to watch movies in the privacy of my room has turned into all out madness, but it has been well worth it!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Update (2.1.01): There have been many changes since April 3, 2001. For one, it's another year of college, and I'm more than half way done. I'm also much more audio/video savvy, and there have been some additions to the theater, so here's what has happened: 6-01: I raised over $900 for a SVS subwoofer, but backed down at the last minute in order to save for college. Instead, I paid about $140 for a small, effective Velodyne VA-810x subwoofer from a fellow AV message board member. I wanted a small subwoofer because of the small size of our dorm. 10-01: During a visit home, I found my Mission 704 speakers collecting dust. Meanwhile, my brother frequently used my Panasonic RV80 and Sony Wega. So I raised money for a surround receiver (Denon AVR-1801, $350) to be used with the 704s for my and my brother's pleasure and even my parents' pleasure. This way, every time I went home for breaks, I'd be able to have home theater at home and at the dorm! 1-01: I bought a pair of JBL S38 speakers to accompany my JBL S-Center as my first step to have two matching home theaters with 5.1 surround. 2-01: I bought a second pair of JBL S38s for the dorm. Before, I had a pair of Mission 701s for the rears. On Valentine's weekend, I plan on taking home that pair of Mission 701s to go with the 704s. Near Future: The ultimate goal is to find a Mission Center channel and a sub for the At-Home Home Theater, and at long last, I'll have two complete home theaters. Read about the evolution of my home theaters. |
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| Copyright 2001, 2002 |
| EXPLANATION OF CHUCKSTER'S HT |
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