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I've entered Nirvana. Only, I don't know the price of admission.
Elliot Fishkin, president of New York's Innovative Audio Video Showrooms, a high-end A/V mecca, has ushered me into the Room. The walls of the Room are hung in peach velvet. The carpet glows a soothing golden hue. The Room has no ambient quality. It's dead quiet. I see other salespeople through the glass door. Their lips move, but I cannot hear a word.
Elliot seats me in the Chair in the center of the Room. I'm 15 feet from a screen you might find in the smallest theater in the biggest multiplex of the nearest mall. Speakers the size of refrigerators tower over cables as thick as anacondas. I nod at Elliot with the exaggerated gravity of a duelist. He raises a tiny remote and pushes Play.
The Fifth Element appears onscreen. Madhouse cartoon images flash by. My jaw drops. This is the very incarnation of the much promised home-video revolution. The picture has no grain. No lines. It looks like film - warm and smooth, with none of the coldness of video. The colors are as sharp and luminescent as those on the screen at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York or Le Grand Théatre Lumière in Cannes. The sound is clearer than that at Carnegie Hall. What's more, this has nothing to do with HDTV. This is just a video signal blown through cutting-edge technology made bigger and cleaner by the application of money.
I turn to Elliot, amazed. He smiles complacently.
"The sound," Elliot says, "runs around $75,000. The picture, $85,000. And that doesn't include designing the room." Against my better judgment, I must honor the truth: It's worth every stinking penny.
Andy Warhol said that Coca-Cola was the essence of consumer democracy. No matter who you might be, president or pauper, you can't buy a better Coke. For the last half century, that was true of television as well. The image you received was the same as everyone else's. But that reality is fading. The gap between boutique and mass-merchandise home media is huge. You can buy a TV that costs more, and produces more status, than a car. And there are plenty of deep pockets ready to be emptied on the new Rolls-Royce technologies. We should be thankful too:As high-end early adopters lead the way, the trickle-down effect promises extraordinary goodies for everyone else.
But at what price? Is it justifiable to spend $15,000 on a television? Or $1,000 for speaker wires? Is the performance worth the money? To find out, I perused Web sites, read high-end magazines, and tormented manufacturers with hundreds of questions. I ordered plasma TVs, projection TVs, direct-view satellite systems, DVD players, CD players, amps, preamps, programmable remotes, and speakers by the score. I stacked boxes to my ceiling. I tripped over wires. And I learned how to assemble the ultimate home-theater system.
IntelliControl: $1,195, plus installation. Niles: www.nilesaudio.com.
DirecTV VIA RCA satellite dish
Freedom from cable. No snow, no ghosts, up to 210 channels, Dolby Digital capability, 31 audio-only channels, and more sports than you can watch in six lifetimes.
DRD515RB: $449, plus installation. RCA: www.nipper.com. Total Choice basic package: $29.99 a month. DirecTV: www.directv.com.
Wilson speakers
At any volume, the best speaker ever. They're detailed, unadorned, and deliver proportionate sound, whether it's Bach or the Ramones.
CUB: $6,390 for two speakers. Wilson Audio: www.wilsonaudio.com.
Sony 36-inch TV
The finest picture is also the best buy, backed by Sony's rep for never wearing out. The image is crystal clear, with those deep WEGA blacks. Be revolutionary: Embrace yesterday's technology.
KV-36XBR200: $2,499.99. Sony: www.sony.com.
ReplayTV set-top
Better than a VCR, it's basically a huge hard drive for your TV that records 28 hours of programming, searches channels for your favorite show, and plays the beginning of a ball game as it records the end.
ReplayTV: $699-1,499. Replay Networks: www.replaytv.com.
Linn turntable
The turntable that revolutionized high-end back in '72 still kicks. Every improvement over the last 27 years can be retrofitted to all previous models - reflecting Linn's reputation for engineering and customer commitment.
Sondek LP12: $1,700. Linn Products: www.linninc.com.
Monster Cable video switcher
For TVs that have only one S-video input, this video switcher - featuring multiple AV and S-video inputs and outputs - switches among four video peripherals.
Entech Director AV4.1: $349. Monster Cable Products: www.monstercable.com.
Linto turntable preamp
Used solely with the Linn turntable, this preamp makes your vinyl sound even more hi-fi.
Linto Phono Preamplifier: $1,700. Linn Products: www.linninc.com.
Madrigal amp
Five separate channels of clean 125-watt power in a massive black box. Huge speaker terminals make hook-up a breeze. The surround sound effortlessly blows you out of the room. Drawbacks? It weighs 3 tons.
Proceed AMP 5: $4,995. Madrigal Audio Laboratories: www.madrigal.com.
Thiel speakers
Small size and remarkable clarity at low volume make these the perfect center-channel and surround speakers. They're not bad as stand-alones either.
SCS3: $1,400 each. Thiel: www.thielaudio.com.
Sony DVD player
With better-looking pictures and better-sounding audio than the less-expensive players, it's worth the extra cash.
DVP-S7700: $1,200. Sony: www.sony.com.
Philips CD recorder/player
Want to piss off the RIAA? No, wait - want to record CDs at home? You can, but safeguards do prevent multiple bootlegs.
CDR 765: $599. Philips Electronics: www.philips.com.
Madrigal preamp
Simplicity is expensive; elegant simplicity more so. This preamp boasts the cleanest sound, the most sensible controls, and the least complicated remote.
Proceed AVP: $4,995. Madrigal Audio Laboratories: www.madrigal.com.
DSS Digital satellite system, a network of satellites that broadcasts digital data. The television programming is sent to small dishes from satellites in geosynchronous orbit. Since DSS information is digitally encoded, any signal, no matter how weak, carries full video and audio data. The digital-video signal from a DSS dish is converted to analog for playback on your screen.
Dolby Digital Theater-quality sound re-created in the home via various Dolby decoding formats. Requires a five-channel amplifier. Uses a center-channel speaker for dialogue, two main stereo speakers for ambient sounds and music, and two rear surround speakers for atmosphere and sound effects. Some systems include a subwoofer for superlow bass.
Plasma television Uses the conductive properties of plasma to light the screen. The plasma image is made not of interlaced scan lines (as in conventional TV) but of tiny pixels. The flat-screen TVs that use this technology are designed to hang on a wall.
Line doubler A device (either embedded or stand-alone) that instantly duplicates the scan lines that create a video image. Scan lines are stored, copied, and played. Produces a sharper, clearer picture without visible scan lines.
S-Video Super video, an enhanced video signal that uses a round four-pin plug connector between the video-input device (a DVD player, for example) and the TV. Separates luminance (brightness) and chrominance (color) information for greater clarity.
Composite video A video signal that travels on a single line terminating in an RCA plug (the standard red, yellow, and white doohickey).
RF The range of frequencies in which all broadcast transmissions fall. Can refer to both radio frequency and, confusingly, coaxial (cable).
Component or color-stream video Three-pin connection between a DVD player and a monitor that splits the colors into red, blue, and green for an optimal signal.
Spade lug A flat U-shaped connector for terminating speaker wires.
Banana plug A crescent-shaped pin for terminating speaker wires.
Biwire A speaker wire that has two connectors (positive and negative) at the amplifier end and four connectors at the speaker end. Biwired speakers accept one set of positive and negative connectors for high-frequency sounds and another set for low-frequency emanations.
Programming note The Avia Guide to Home Theater is a DVD with live-action video that explains and guides setup and calibration of your home-theater system. It's easy to use, and not at all moronic. If you're going to drop 15 grand, this disc might be worth the investment.
Avia Guide to Home Theater: $49.99. Ovation Software: www.ovationsw.com.
DirecTV and EchoStar Communications can provide hundreds of channels of diamond-clear cable networks, sports channels, and movies. When HDTV arrives, you might need a bigger dish, but your receiver should need no upgrading. The sole drawback to DSS is that you cannot receive local broadcast-network stations via satellite. The major networks are fighting to protect against an incursion into the market of their local affiliates. The solution is to retain the most basic cable service to receive NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, Fox, and the WB.
Cable, Guy
I thought they were bullshit, but expensive connecting cables really do make a difference. I was amazed when I plugged my laserdisc player into my TV with a D. H. Labs Silver Sonic RCA cable. The picture quality instantly improved: less grain, sharper focus, and more detailed contrast.
The key to a good connection: the fewer pass-throughs, the better. Run all the video into your TV using S-video connectors and all audio into your receiver using a single-line digital connector. If your receiver has video inputs and outputs, ignore them. Run audio from the source (DVD, laserdisc, CD) into the receiver, but run video straight into the TV.
Because there is no industry standard, connecting is frustrating. Some receivers use spade lugs, others banana plugs. Some speakers split the signal into high and low range and require biwires (four hookups instead of two). Ascertain the requirements ahead of time, and buy cabling to match.
1. MUSIC METRE INTERCONNECT AND SPEAKER CABLE Natural, rich sound with no real clean highs. Excellent for Marantz or Yamaha components, which tend to have a slightly glossy effect. Music Metre III: $125 for two 3-foot 4-inch cables. Signature: $312 for two 8-foot cables. Music Metre: www.musicmetre.com.
2. MONSTER CABLE VIDEO CABLE Perfect for those long reaches on S-video, like between the switcher on top of your stereo and the DVD player on the bottom. It noticeably improves video signal. M Silver Video M1000sv: around $8 a foot. Monster Cable Products: www.monstercable.com.
3. D.H. LABS INTERCONNECT AND SPEAKER CABLE Low-end price, high-end performance. Use Silver Sonic D-75 interconnects between the Proceed AVP and AMP or between the AVP and all digital audio devices. Use Silver Sonic speaker cables from the Marantz SR-880 Mark II receiver to the Meadowlark Hot Rod Kestrel speakers. Silver Sonic D-75 digital interconnects: $75 for a 1-meter interconnect cable. Silver Sonic T-14 speaker cable: $4 for a 1-foot cable. D. H. Labs: +1 (561) 745 6406.
4. MONSTER CABLE SPEAKER CABLE When they say monster, man, they really mean Godzilla. Use these beasts with nothing less than Wilson CUBs; they're overkill on cheaper speakers but a godsend at the high end. M2.2s: $425 for two 8-foot cables. Monster Cable Products: www.monstercable.com.
5. NORDOST SPEAKER CABLE Flat-ribbon design not only looks cool but snakes under and around furniture. Hook to Thiel SCS3s for center-channel and surround connections. SuperFlatline MK II: $199.99 for two 10-foot cables. Nordost: www.nordost.com.
Find Help
A $5,000 preamp might arrive cushioned like a Fabergé egg, but it has the specific gravity of a collapsed planet. As hard as it is to move, it's harder to set up. The back panel of an amp makes no sense when you're leaning over it with your glasses sliding down your nose and a cluster of cables in your hand. And if you figure out the back, there's still the plethora of buttons to cope with up front.
Just as we need the priest class to explain God to us, so we need worthy A/V salespeople to help us understand the mysteries of this gear. The simplest test for evaluating salespeople comes from A/V consultant Chris Agostino of SoundSight Technologies: "If the salesperson tries to sell you anything without first visiting your home, walk away."
If you're going to drop more than $10,000, invite a salesperson over. Heed the expert, and the system featured on the preceding pages will suit you fine.
Sound Matters
Weight your budget toward sound reproduction. Rich, detailed sound makes the cheapest video setup seem astonishing. Great video with bad sound looks crappy. That's called perception.
Salespeople want to turn it up. Don't let them. You need speakers with full dynamic range when the amp is turned down. When shopping, bring three CDs that you know backward and forward and play them at the volume you use at home.
Front-load your money into the heart of the system: Buy the best amp/preamp combo or all-in-one A/V receiver. Then spring for the two main stereo speakers. Next, the center and surround speakers. Leave some cash for interconnect cables and speaker wire. Then spend what's left on video.
The system I recommend on the previous page features $10,000 worth of amplification playing through $6,000 worth of speakers. That's a lot of cash. But no matter how much higher I went above this price, I could barely hear the difference. "For every $10,000 you spend over that amount, you can hear three more milliseconds of sustain on the ring of a triangle at the back of the orchestra," says Agostino.
Let Someone Else Pay for R&D
Really good electronics don't wear out. They have genuine long-term utility. If you drop $15,000 on a new technology just because it's new, you'll have no idea whether it'll be viable five years down the road.
Today's consumer is beta testing for manufacturers. That's why you should think carefully before buying in to HDTV, DTV, or plasma TV. They exist in an alluring but temporary form. Will today's HDTV formats be around in 2006 (the mandatory broadcast changeover date)? Maybe. Do plasma TVs, for all their signal clarity and irresistible air of next-waveness, have a picture worth a damn? Nope. The focus is soft and the colors are milky.
"Most consumers don't care about picture quality," explains Agostino. "They like that it's flat. They like that it's new. Plasma sets are cool."
I set up a plasma TV, a rear-projection TV, and my 9-year-old Sony, all broadcasting the same signal, all day. The Sony had sharper focus, truer color, and richer black tones. Everyone agreed, from my dates to the satellite-dish installers to the takeout-delivery guys.
At between $2,000 and $6,000, the best picture today - and the smartest buy - is the biggest current TV technology you can afford. I chose Sony's 36-inch flat-screen model. If you like movies and sports and are willing to tolerate visible scan lines for a bigger image, try Toshiba's 50-inch rear-projection TV. And when HDTV becomes the reality, move these TVs to the guest room in the summer house, because by then, if you didn't blow $15,000 on a plasma TV, the likelihood is that you'll have one. A summer house, I mean. With a guest room.
TP50H95: $2,399.98. Toshiba: www.toshiba.com.
Philips flat plasma TV
If you have to early-adopt, get this plasma TV. It has plenty of inputs and makes for easy switching between video formats - from 16:9 wide-screen to 4:3 regular TV and everything in between. Picture and color are a little soft, but the image is superclear, with that hyperreal? 3-D quality.
FlatTV: $15,000. Philips Electronics: www.flat-tv.com.
Thiel speakers
Big, bright American sound with well-defined highs. Excellent middle ground between Hot Rod Kestrels and Wilson CUBs. Great for bold sounds like symphonies or Massive Attack.
CS2.3: $3,900 for two speakers. Thiel: www.thielaudio.com.
Linn complete audio system
The epitome of the smooth, bottomless, gorgeous reproduction known as the English sound. Linn prefers that its components sell as matched systems and recommends its own connectors and speaker cables. The CD player is considered the best in the world for this price range.
Mimik CD player: $1,595. LK140 power amplifier: $1,350. Kolektor preamplifier: $990. Keilidh speakers: $1,200 for two speakers. Linn Products: www.linninc.com.
Madrigal DVD player
Designed to be the ultimate movie machine, and priced accordingly.
Proceed Modular DVD Transport: around $5,000. Madrigal Audio Laboratories: www.madrigal.com.
Faroudja line quadrupler
Completely eliminates video scan lines. Works with high-end video projectors and produces an image as close to film as video ever gets. Software-upgradable and compatible with most HDTV formats. It's mind-blowing, with a price to match.
VP401: $24,000. Faroudja Laboratories: www.faroudja.com.
Meadowlark speakers
Don't think of them as a bargain; think of them as astonishing speakers that sound like they should cost twice as much.
Hot Rod Kestrels: $1,500 for two speakers. Meadowlark Audio: www.meadowlarkaudio.com.
Pioneer CD player
Want to store your entire CD collection inside your CD player? Or host some really long parties? This baby holds 300 CDs and features a random play that never seems to repeat a song.
PD-F1007: $425. Pioneer Electronics: www.pioneerelectronics.com.
Marantz receiver
Cleanest reproduction and least obtrusive surround-sound effects of any entry-level receiver. Includes three digital inputs and a stellar programmable remote.
SR-880 Mark II: $1,499, including RC2000 Mark II Programmable Learning Remote Control. Marantz: www.marantzamerica.com.
Niles center-channel speaker
A midprice center speaker with good specs and a throw pattern designed to put the listener in the middle of the dialogue. It can be placed above or below the monitor. Very handy.
HD-CTRBX: $400. Niles: www.nilesaudio.com.
Panasonic Palm DVD PLAYER
The cure for insomnia: a handheld DVD player no bigger than a hardbound War and Peace. Amazing picture quality, but the battery is heavy and lasts only two hours. If you're up all night, get another battery and dig that digital sound on the headphones. Plays CDs too.
DVD-L10: $1,399. Panasonic: www.panasonic.com.
B&W subwoofer
Dolby Digital 5.1 (the coding system used on many new DVD players) contains a dedicated channel for superlow frequencies - like dinosaurs walking the earth. So if nobody lives on the floor below, get fully detailed bass sans that annoying thump.
ASW 2000: $1,000. B&W: www.bwspeakers.com.
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