" JimH" jimh_osudad@yahooDOT comREMOVETHIS wrote in message
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So what amp, subwoofer, front, center and rear speakers?

We have a fairly old system..........a pair of old Synergistic tower
speakers up front (with separate bass, midrange and tweeter with slate box
and teak tops and bottoms), KLM rear, Advent center and a Sony audio/video
control amp/receiver.....that still serves us well and provides clear kick
ass sound with movies and cd's.


Here's where home theater and high quality music applications start to
differ.

For high quality music listening I prefer conventional stereo and use a pair
of Martin-Logan SL3 electrostatic speakers driven by a B&K Components power
amp, an Adcom pre-amp, a Rotel single disk CD player and an old Dual 1219
turntable with a Shure V-15 cartridge for the LPs. Bass is supplied by a Rel
sub. This system is spectacular for acoustical and classical stuff, but does
not do "rock" music well.

For home theater you want good quality sound with speakers that precisely
image the presentation of the decoded multichannel source (5.1 Dolby
Digital, DTS or THX). Towers are good, but you need them about 3-4 feet
away from any wall and off the floor if possible. Of the several home
theater systems I've patched together, the best one had Aerial Acoustics
(not to be confused with Ariel speakers) front, rears and center with an
18", 2000 watt Velodyne sub. This system made you shiver watching U-571.

Right now I have a smaller system using Klipsch bookshelf fronts (I like the
horned tweeters), an Energy center, some small Mirage rears and a 10"
Velodyne powered sub.
The current amp is a Denon 100 watt x 5 amp. It's ok but I don't like the
mechanical switching between Pro Logic, Dolby Digital and DTS modes. A
similar powered Yamaha would be better. All of this is installed in a
smaller room and it sounds ok. You have to spend considerable time tweaking
and peaking all of the parametric tuning parameters to really make any
multi-channel system come alive, be it a 5.1, 7.1 or 9.1 system. When you
get it right, it will take on a holographic, 3 dimensional presence.

RCE