From the Home Theater Archives - My Favorites For The Year 2000
The following is list of my favorite home theater-related product picks for 2000. This listing is kept for archival and continued reference purposes.
Welcome to Part II in my "Favorite Products Of The Year" Series. Bear in mind that my favorites may not be your favorites or not be the favorites of other Home Electronic Journalists, but it wouldn't be fun if we all had the same list! Your own opinions are certainly welcome!
Literally thousands of new products are introduced every year, therefore it is impossible to personally evaluate every product or pin-down a best choice for every category. However, along with my own "hands-on" experience with many products and accessing reliable resources on others, I feel I have come up with some exciting picks for the year.
Instead of submitting my list to you in the form of "Top Ten", or picking products that my be indeed the best, but most of us couldn't afford, my picks primarily focus on practicality and the best value for the money.
This has been a shining year for home theater receivers, with prices of basic Dolby Digital receivers plummetting to the below $300 price range and the introduction of THX Surround EX and DTS-ES receivers on the high-end, there are audio/video receivers to meet the need any type of home theater installation. With that in mind, two AV receivers (the same Receiver under two model numbers) have stood out for this year that bring high-end performance into the mainstream.
My pick for this category is the Yamaha RX-V800/HTR-5280 (the RX-V800 is marketed to speciality and commission-based retailers, the HTR-5280 is marketed to authorized online and mass-market retailers).
Although with an MSRP of $799, these units are certainly not "bargain basement" but are still great bargains. Not only do these receivers have full Pro-Logic, Dolby Digital, and DTS surround decoding, but they also a phantom rear center channel, which allows for the reproduction of Dolby Digital 6.1 matrix and DTS-ES. The RX-V800/HTR-5280 also has rear panel input jacks to accommodate an external 6-channel decoder, which makes them upgradable for new formats, such as DVD-Audio, Surround EX, etc... In addition, Yamaha includes its famous DSP soundfield settings which allow the user to place their listening environment into actual theaters and halls found across America and Europe.
Also, with more than enough inputs, including component video for DVD and phono inputs for a Turntable, it will be a long time before these receivers will need to be retired.
These units have both audio and video switching capability, which means you can hook up all your audio and video sources into the receiver and just have a single monitor output to your TV; definitely a plus in the organization department.
Lastly, with an output of 100 Watts to each of its five channels (plus an output for powered subwoofer), and the ability to output power into 2/4/8 Ohm loads, this unit can support just about any speaker system available.
In conclusion, if you are upgrading an older AV Receiver, or want to make the plunge into home theater with something that won't be obsolete by next holiday season, definitely consider either the Yamaha RX-V800 or the HTR-5280 as your centerpiece. You won't be disappointed.
For more details on these units, click here for the RX-V800 and HTR-5280.
For some actual user reviews of the RX-V800, click here.
Guide Note: Even though I picked the Yamaha RX-V800/HTR-5280 AV Receivers as my favorites for the year, this choice wasn't easy. Another AV Receiver has garnered much attention this year that would also be an outstanding choice isn't even available in stores, but only online through its manufacturer, Outlaw Audio. It is the Model 1050, which at $599 is an excellent value. Like the Yamahas, it is 6-channel upgradable, but with less output power and no component video switching capabilities, also the unit does have composite and S-video inputs as well as host of audio inputs. Thus, the Outlaw Model 1050 is also worth your consideration.
Ever since the CD was introduced about 15 years ago (hard to beleive its been that long!), the quest has been to get the CD to reproduce music with the warmth of Vinyl recordings (without the scratches). Two new advances in digital recording technology, DVD-Audio and SACD claim to deliver the complete sound that current CD technology fails to deliver, however, the cost for the players is high and recordings are scarce and are not compatible with the millions of CD players already in use.
Enter HDCD, an excellent alternative by a small company named Pacific Microsonics. By squeezing in a meager 4 additional bits of information on both new and remastered CD recordings and pressing the information within the current CD format, these discs can be played normally on all existing CD players, but on specially manufactured HDCD CD and DVD players, these recordings can unleash their sonic realism. Although DVD-Audio and SACD hold promises for the future of CD technology, HDCD is here now, there are thousands of recordings available, and the CDs don't cost more than normal CDs.
Thus, the above information brings me to my next pick as my favorite CD Player, the Denon DCM-370. This unit is a full-featured 5 disc CD changer, with all the features you would expect to find in such a unit. However, with most CD players having 16-Bit D/A converters, the Denon has twin 18-Bit converters. Remember those extra 4 bits of info I mentioned earlier? Well, with its 18-bit D/A converters, this changer is HDCD compatible, which allows it to decode HDCD-encoded discs.
When playing HDCD discs, this player really shows how much depth and warmth CD recordings can have. Also, regular CDs also sound better as well. When comparing regular CDs played on my Technics SL-PD888 5-disc CD changer to when I play them on the DCM-370, there is a difference. Although the SL-PD888 loads and changes discs faster, the sound quality from the Denon is superior in warmth and depth.
With an MSRP of $299, it is more expensive than the bargain changers available these days, but is well worth the price and would be an exceptional addition to your system.
For some actual user reviews, click here.
In the age of Digital-this and digital-that it seems that the VCR is an anachronism. However, with hundreds of millions of VHS VCRs in use world-wide, the VCR will still with us for many years to come.
Although VHS has enjoyed great success and will continue to do so for some time, the need for a higher resolution video tape recording format in the wake of 21st century technology is in evidence.
Also, with more and more consumers becoming their own "Steven-Speilbergs" and creating their own home video productions, the typical $100 VCR lacks flexibility for video editing.
Thus, for my next year-end pick, I have chosen a VCR that provides for excellent recording quality and also has video editing flexibility. The model, JVC HRS-4800U, the price, about $250 on the street.
Being a Super-VHS capable VCR, this unit can record with up to 400 lines of resolution, which is perfect for today's higher resolution source material, such as satellite and digital cable. Also, with flying erase heads that provide un-interupted transitions from one cut or scene to another, now you can edit that holiday camcorder footage with out snow or blue screen between each cut. The front panel even has a Jog/Shuttle Dial, which makes cueing up the VCR much easier during editing.
Also, even though this unit is an S-VHS VCR, it can also play and record in regular VHS. You can still view you old tape collection and play those rental movies. You can also make tapes to load to your friends that still have that $100 bargain VHS VCR.
For more info on the JVC HRS-4800U, click here.
For some actual user reviews, click here.
Next week's installment will include more of my year-end favorites, including more of my picks for the year, including, Best Combination Product, Favorite Loudspeakers, Best Value Home Theater Package, and More.
Do you have your own personal favorites for the year? Do you disagree with my choices, or have additional ones? Then just post your comments or discuss this topic on my Year 2000 Favorites Forum!
If you missed Part I in this series, click here
Check out my favorite product picks from last year (1999).
Feel free to email me at hometheater.guide@about.com
with your questions and/or comments.
