My Favorites Of The Year: 2000 - Part III
Welcome to final part 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.
So, you need to replace that old VCR AND you want to get a DVD Player? Why not both in the same unit? That's right, Sensory Science (formerly Go Video) has introduced the most practical combination product this year: the DVR5000 DVD/VHS Deck. This unit combines a DVD/CD player(which can also play MP3 audio files created on CDRs) in the same cabinet with a full-fledged 4-head VHS HiFi VCR. This is great for a home theater system.
For one thing, this unit takes up less space than two separate units. Also, if you are connecting the unit to your system using regular Video Composite and analog audio outputs, you have less connections. However, the DVD Player side also has component video and optical and coaxial digital audio outputs as well, for connection to a DTV or Dolby Digital/DTS Receiver. If you have an older Pro-Logic Receiver the DVR5000 also has a built-in Dolby Digital decoder. Other bonuses include such features as: being able to record a TV show on the VCR section while watching a DVD movie, and being able to use the unit's RF output so that the DVD player can be connected to an older TV that only has a Cable or Antenna input jack. This is the only DVD player currently available that has this feature built-in.
However, there is one downside to this unit -- you cannot make copies of DVDs onto the VCR. It is illegal to do so anyway, and almost all DVDs have a copyright protection signal that is encoded on the disk that prevents actual copying.
Finally, the best feature for this product may be the low price, just $399!
Choosing the best of anything is difficult these days, and with loudspeakers its downright impossible. Everyone has their opinion on what makes a good loudspeaker. Some people are Bose fanatics, some are Klipschorn fanatics, some swear by JBL, and a lot of consumers, frankly, don't care and long as they can hear the beat.
This makes this pick even more difficult. No matter what I choose, I will be sure to get many comments on why my choice isn't the best. So be it...here it is anyway!
My choice for loudspeaker line of the year is: Legacy Audio.
These speakers are by no means in the "inexpensive" category, but unlike many "overpriced" loudspeakers, all of the speakers in Legacy's line are outstanding values. The sound quality and manufacturing craftsmanship are equally consistent throughout their entire line.
To find out more details on specific models and information on why I chose Legacy Audio as my favorite loudspeaker line of the year, refer to my earlier review: Legacy Audio: Product Impressions.
With the growth of the interest in home theater, a lot of consumers are mystified as to what to get, especially when it comes to matching speakers to receivers, DVD players, and all those connections. Frankly, many consumers that are used to viewing their movies on a 25 or 27-inch TV using internal speakers, may not be particularly savvy on the virtues of the whole home theater concept. That, tied with a small budget, may not have the financial resources, nor the motivation to build a high-end home theater system.
As a result the home-theater-in-a-box concept is becoming a viable option for getting the average consumer to enjoy the home theater experience. These systems include everything you need to set-up a basic home theater in one box: A surround sound receiver, all the speakers (including a small subwoofer), and sometimes even a DVD/CD player or other components.
There are wide variety of these budget-systems available on the market, some of which are very good values, but others are simply "junk". After sampling several of these systems this past year, my pick for the best value in small home-theater-in-a-box system is the Sony DAV-S300.
The DAV-S300 is a great value. It is simple to use and set-up. Its compact size in not only practical as basic main-room system, but can also serve as a secondary home theater system for a bedroom or dining room (dinner and a movie -- sounds good to me!). For a small system, it has decent sound, although you won't shake the house down with its modest subwoofer. However, if you haven't experienced any kind of home theater surround sound, you will still be impressed.
The Sony system includes the following: A DVD/CD Player, 30 Watts X 6 Channel Receiver, Dolby Digital/DTS decoding, 5 Satellite Speakers plus Passive Subwoofer, Inputs for other components. MSRP:$700
For some interesting user reviews on the DAV-S300 Click Here and Click Here
Next Page My Favorites Of The Year: 2000 -- Wrap Up Page 1, 2
Feel free to email me at hometheater.guide@about.com
with your questions and/or comments.
