Owner`s manual

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86
ith gorgeous images, earth-shaking bass, and
surround sound that eclipses most movie theater
audio, it’s no wonder people are inviting home
theater into their own living rooms. So your dilemma is proba-
bly not “Do I want home theater?” but “How do I get it?”
Crutchfield is here to help you choose. These pages show
the basic building blocks of a great home theater system, and
offer helpful hints to use when choosing gear.
After all, getting home theater should be fun and easy …
and with the info here, our friendly Product Advisors, our “try-
it-at-home” return policy, and lifetime tech support, it will be.
Building your home theater
Essential accessories
W
Home Theater
Stands – page 128
Solid, anti-resonant stands raise
speakers to the right level for
listening — you’ll hear
the difference.
Brackets – pages 89, 90,
118, 119 and 128
Brackets are especially good
for small speakers — you
can wall- or ceiling-mount
your surrounds.
A/V furniture – page 141 and
our website
Choose solidly built A/V furni-
ture with space to hide wires,
and room for gear to “breathe.”
Video cable – page 129
High-quality video cable always
means a better picture.
Digital audio cable – page 129
A Dolby Digital or DTS source (like
DVD) uses an optical or coaxial digital
cable to send sound to your receiver.
Speaker cable – pages 125, 127 & 129
Most speakers don’t come with cables!
And even great speakers don’t sound
their best with poor-quality wire.
Dolby Digital Receiver
A home theater receiver
is vital for controlling
your system. Every home
theater receiver we sell
offers Dolby
®
Digital —
the audio standard for
DVD and HDTV — and DTS
®
decoding; most offer Pro Logic
™
II
as well. (Many also handle surround options like DTS-ES
™
or Dolby
Digital EX; learn more about these formats on pg. 100.)
WHAT TO LOOK FOR:
■
Inputs and outputs. You want a receiver with plenty of both — enough
to hook up all your current gear, and to expand your system in the future.
■
Surround decoding. Dolby Digital 5.1 is a must, but you may also want
some of the other surround formats listed above — decide what makes
the most sense for you. If you listen to much stereo music, you’ll get a
lot of use out of Pro Logic II; if you have the room and budget to add
an additional back surround speaker, go for 6.1-channel surround.
■
Power. You want a receiver that can effortlessly fill your room with
clear, high-impact sound. Consider your room size and your speakers’
power handling capabilities when looking at receiver power specs.
Receivers – pages 100-110
DVD Player
Today’s most popular
source of crisp, colorful
video and Dolby Digital
audio is a DVD player.
A DVD player handles
both movies and CDs — it’s a great way to upgrade your current CD
player. Plus, DVD’s video resolution is noticeably better than standard
broadcast TV, and twice as good as standard VHS!
WHAT TO LOOK FOR:
■
Outputs. Be sure the DVD player’s video and digital audio outputs are
compatible with those on your receiver and TV.
■
Capacity. Consider what makes sense for you — a single-disc player,
a multi-disc changer, or a mega-changer that holds hundreds of discs.
■
Playback. Along with DVDs and CDs, many players can handle other
discs: CD-Rs, CD-RWs, MP3 CDs — some even play multichannel music
formats like SACD or DVD-Audio. What exactly do you want to play?
■
Special options. Serious A/V fans should consider progressive-scan
capability — it lets you pass a smooth, filmlike progressive-scan video
signal to an HDTV-capable TV! Fond of flexibility? Try a DVD/VCR
combo player.
DVD players – pages 92-96; DVD/VCR combos – page 97
key
component
#
1
key
component
#
2
Why buy accessories?
Because unreliable
power, cheap cable
or poor placement
makes even great
gear look and sound
crummy. Top-quality
extras let you enjoy
the stunning images
and crisp, lifelike
audio you paid for.
®086-087 AV ED 03.21.2003 8:20 AM Page 86