If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!  Although not offering the advanced audio processing and video upscaling featured on higher-end units, the TX-SR307 offers essentials for today’s entry-level user. Excellent sound quality is bolstered by both Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound, plus new surround sound processing technology for two-speaker listening setups: DTS Surround Sensation. For connectivity, the TX-SR307 provides 3 HDMI inputs with 1080p pass-through and switching for use with HDTVs, front panel input for digital audio players, and both digital and analog audio inputs. Also, to get the most out of the TX-SR307, as well as making initial setup as easy as possible, it is equipped with Audyssey 2EQ, Dynamic EQ, and Dynamic Volume. In addition, another convenience is built-in AV Synch control, which corrects for lip-synch problems between your TV and receiver. It has been about 3 years since the introduction Onkyo’s last entry-level receiver, the popular TX-SR304. The new TX-SR307 is definitely a worthy successor deserving of consideration. Read the rest of this entry »
No Comments »
There are many kinds of headphones and depending on what your needs are you have an easier decision on what kind you will actually need. There are five kinds of headphones: earbuds and in ear which stick in your ears, on ear which sit on top of your ears, over ear which cover your ears completely, wireless which are cordless, and finally headsets which add a microphone to the mix.
Earbuds and In Ear Headphones
Earbuds and in ear are great for commuters as the sound is in your ear and does not “leak” out to others around you. The real advantages are that these headphones are very very portable and kind of hidden within your ears. There are however drawbacks to these earbud style headphones. With a small size of headphone you will not have the big soundstage and range of sound that a larger speaker can give you. One of the biggest problems is that since these headphones sit inside your ear and this can be dangerous at large volumes leading to hearing problems in later life. Read the rest of this entry »
No Comments »
I have had several home theater systems over the years before building my current home dream theater, and I have known many people with home theater systems as well. Advances in technology have greatly increased the quality of the home theater experience. We know have very thin flat screen television, gone are the date of the cathode ray tubes and rear projection big screens are quickly becoming a thing of the past.
Most recently high definition has made an incredible impact and will soon become the new standard definition, as blu-ray discs will replace DVDs. But with all these improvements in picture quality, there is a persistent weakness in home theater systems. The sound. Invariably home theaters will have a great picture, big vibrant and detailed, but paired with a mediocre sound system. This comes from the misconception that a great movie watching experience comes solely from your screen. Nothing is farther from the truth.
A great picture will give you the illusion that you are looking through a window frame into what the director envisioned for the film. Having a equally good sound system will take you through the window and put you right in the middle of the film. You can be transported into the middle of a jungle, where you hear a howler monkey off in the distance on your right, footsteps behind you. Suddenly someone in the front of your search party has stepped on a mine, and you feel the impact of the chest-pounding explosion throughout your body. Out of nowhere gunfire comes out the jungle brush to your left, you flinch and feel compelled to take cover… Read the rest of this entry »
No Comments »
Let’s say you’re not quite satisfied with the 37-inch flat-screen TV you bought a few years back. You’re looking for something a little bit more impressive, a system to give you that gasp-inducing, jaw-dropping, toe-curling movie theater experience. Maybe it’s time for your own home theater.
What kind of equipment to buy depends on your budget, how much time you have on your hands, your technical prowess and - of course - how much you tend to drool over the latest high-tech gizmos. Those inclined toward do-it-yourself projects can buy a high-definition set or projector, hook it up to a DVD player and surround-sound system for $3,000 or less.
But if money is no object, you can get your home cinema professionally designed, acoustically engineered, installed and tricked out to look like a real movie theater … for $25,000 and up. Like luxury cars or motorboats, there’s practically no upper limit for those with money to spend. Read the rest of this entry »
No Comments »
Three-quarters of recent television, audio, and home theater equipment purchasers ranked online product reviews and comments from other shoppers as having some or significant influence on their buying decision, according to the Fall 2008 Ad-ology Media Influence on Consumer Choice survey.
Consumers were also influenced by information from blogs, manufacturer, and store Web sites prior to buying.
The Ad-ology survey also indicates consumers consider quality, price, and availability the most important factors when purchasing TV, audio, or home theater equipment.
“Considering the importance consumers place on quality, it’s no surprise that product-review Web sites are a major influence on their purchases,” said C. Lee Smith, president and CEO of Ad-ology Research. “Manufacturer Web sites list technical specs, but consumer reviews give real-world experiences — what happens when you get the set home — that consumers feel they can trust.”
Despite doing online research for these products, the study shows 80.3 percent of consumers still prefer to purchase TV, audio, and home theater equipment in-person at a store.
No Comments »
Over the past years it was common to think How to choose a 1080P HDTV only worked the best on the smaller sized TV’s.
But with the advancement of technology in HDTV 1080p Flat Panel Televisions, they are becoming more and more amazing to watch as the screen pictures are crisper and cleaner even with all the larger size Flat Panels.
So, How to choose a 1080P HDTV?
Pixels play the major role in the newer quality screen shots as it helps focus light into a mirror which is called fluorescent back light. It also helps to match the right color tones which adds to the sharper and more realistic, true-to-life images. Read the rest of this entry »
No Comments »
Now you can sling HD video a your local network to a nearby PC-or, theoretically, to a Net-connected laptop that’s thousands of miles away. Sounds cool, but unless you’ve got megabit-level uploading speeds on your home broadband connection, you’d better keep your high-def expectations in check.
The PRO-HD ($299, shipping now) isn’t the first Slingbox capable of receiving an HD signal (both the low-end Solo and the high-end, four-input Pro can accept 1080i sources), but it is the first to actually sling HD-quality video (maximum resolution: 1280 by 768) to a remote laptop or desktop PC. And when I say PC, I mean PC-the SlingPlayer software is available for both Windows and Mac, but you’ll need the latest version (2.0) to receive HD video, and for now it’s Windows-only (although a Mac version is “coming soon”).
Anyway, setup for the PRO-HD is essentially the same as with previous Slingboxes; you just connect your various set-top boxes (such as cable/satellite boxes, DVRs, DVD players, or even an Apple TV) to the PRO-HD’s A/V inputs (component, composite, and S-Video inputs are available, along with analog and Toslink audio inputs), then connect passthrough cables from the PRO-HD to your TV. After that, you connect the Slingbox to your home broadband connection via wired Ethernet, while a three-way IR blaster lets the PRO-HD control all your video components. Read the rest of this entry »
No Comments »
 The best contemporary technology combined with traditional Marantz quality. That’s what the Marantz AV8003 is all about. It’s more than just an outstanding A/V processor. It unites all the entertainment possibilities you want: Movies, music, photos, streaming audio and video. And the AV8003 does it in a single room or throughout your home. Enjoyment? You bet. But enjoyment raised to the level only Marantz panache can reach.
Let’s start with the basics. For a “net-friendly” A/V pre/pro/tuner, or for any home entertainment component, that means a high capacity and well shielded power supply so each circuit has all the current it needs and stray leakage from the transformer doesn’t interfere with data signals. To that end, Marantz engineers specified a low-flux toroid transformer and encased it in an anti-magnetic steel shield for even greater stray flux control.
This baby has a price tag of $2500 or so.
And because interference can come from outside as well as inside, they gifted the AV8003 with a heavy copper-plated steel chassis to lock out electromagnetic and radio frequency noise as well as external vibrations. On the practical side, the chassis is shallower than conventional designs, too, so the AV8003 fits where others don’t. Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment »
 With most endeavors, it’s the devilish details that distinguish the great from the also-rans. And the Marantz SR6003 surround sound A/V receiver definitely ranks as one of the greats.
You’ll see this immediately in the elegantly simple front panel where aluminum extrusions and glass-reinforced resin meld their respective qualities to shield internal circuitry while absorbing extraneous resonances. Only three controls interrupt the smooth three-dimensional flow – power/standby, input selection, and volume. A drop-down door hides secondary controls until you need them. The result is another visual milestone in the Marantz pantheon of superb industrial designs.
A high-density fluorescent front panel display gives you all the feedback you need to set up and operate your SR6003. In addition, a color GUI (graphical user interface) appears on your TV to help make system setup simple and error-free. Read the rest of this entry »
No Comments »
|
Entries (RSS)