AV Tech - Springfield's Home Theater Specialists
AV Tech - Springfield's Home Theater Specialists
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12/13/2011 - "I won't be able to tell the difference between a good and better system, you have to be an enthusiast to tell." I hear something like this quite frequently and I feel like throwing a penalty flag and saying BS, I'm calling the BS flag on you. If I show you two TVs side by side 100% of you will pick the better one, I guarantee it. This is true about projectors, speakers, etc. You do not have to be a videophile or an audiophile to know when something looks or sounds better. It doesn't take an expert to tell the quality difference between a Chevy and a Cadillac.
If you are looking at something and it is more than you want to spend then say so, we won't be offended. We'll either recommend something in your price range or tell you to look elsewhere like Walmart or Costco. If we don't sell something there is a reason. Sometimes we don't sell something because we can't compete with some of the discount pricing. Other times it might be because its performance stinks, doesn't integrate with other components well, or its reliability is not the best. We don't like service calls.
But please don't tell us you won't be able to tell a difference.
11/30/2011 - I answered some questions below about what I thought was the best at that time for various products. With the holidays upon us and TVs being on many people's list, the question I get most frequently is... What is the cheapest TV I should get? OK the cheap TVs advertised on Black Friday were just that, CHEAP! Great prices on bottom of the barrel TVs. They didn't seem to have any of the middle or higher end TVs at great prices. But there are deals to be found. Here are some I would recommend if you are shopping for a TV. You can call us for pricing but in all honesty there are some really good discounts out there we can't match. Here you go, good quality TVs at reasonable prices.
Bargain Hunters: 42" Panasonic TC-P42S30, 50" or 60" LG 50PV450 or 60PV450 respectively.
Great Value: LG LW5300 series, they come in 42", 47" and 55" sizes. Some are being bundled with a Blu-ray player and 4 pairs of glasses. When looking at 3D TVs check out the prices of the glasses. These 3D glasses can be found on Amazon for $10 for 2 pairs. Plus they don't use batteries or have to be charged like many of the other 3D TV glasses. The ones that use batteries or need to be charged cost $80-$200 per pair.
11/24/2011 - 4 letter words in audio and video. Bose and Sony. These two brands have more recognition than just about any other brands. But here are some facts that make them 4 letter words. I'll pick on Sony first.
I used to love Sony, they made the best TVs and I didn't mind paying extra for them. I have owned a few. The problem with Sony today is they no longer make TVs. You can buy a TV with the Sony name on it but it is actually made by Samsung. They are no longer a cut above like they used to be. If I were choosing between a Sony and a Samsung I'd get the Sony. Not because it is a better TV but Samsung service is terrible if you have a problem. But there are a lot of other great TVs out there.
Bose - the best audio. Choke..choke..cough...cough. Are people delusional? Have they ever really compared Bose side by side with other brands? Bose dealer agreements don't allow direct comparison , so probably not. Bose has good service if you have a problem so I like to give accolades when deserved. But good sound is not there forte, cute speakers are. There are many other speakers that sound better for less money.
11/4/2011 - Improving sound for the hearing impaired. Many people that are hearing impaired often complain they can't hear the dialogue. We call this dialogue intelligibility and this is very important for enjoyment of your system. Your doctor or audiologist might be able to tell you what frequencies you have problems, but it is unlikely they can tell you how to set up your equipment for better dialogue intelligibility. The hearing impaired also have problems with background noise. They have trouble with conversations in a restaurant and when watching TV with background noises in the program they are watching.
What can be done improve dialogue intelligibility for the hearing impaired or to just get better audio? Many things actually but probably the single biggest improvement is adding an audio system. I know I sound like a salesman and while that is part of our business this has nothing to do with increasing sales. I understand many of you don't care about surround sound with sound all around you or explosions to rattle your home. The main reason to add an audio system is TV speakers suck!
The thinner they make TVs the smaller the speakers get and the more trouble they have placing them in the TV. Many TV speakers aim towards the bottom of the TV or towards the wall behind the TV. So now you have tiny speakers that aren't going to give good sound and they don't even aim at the listener. Like I said TV speakers suck!
Other things that can help improve sound for the hearing impaired are proper set up of the speakers, equalization to emphasize dialogues and diminish background noise, and reduce reflections in the room by various methods.
So instead of turning up the volume to try and hear the dialogue consider getting a good audio system.
8/24/2011 - Wireless. We get this question frequently. Do you have wireless speakers? Can't you just use wireless to send the signal to my TV? There is a problem with wireless in general, you still need wires for power. Wireless devices like laptops, phones, iPads are great but they all require batteries to power them. So let's look at the items we get asked about frequently.
Wireless connections to the TV: They do exist and are a bit pricey >$600 currently. But you still need power to the TV. And if we need to get power to the TV it is not a problem to run the wires for the other connections at the same time.
Wireless Speakers: Unless they have batteries, speakers still need to be powered. You wouldn't want to change batteries or recharge your speakers every day either. There are some solutions for getting the signal wirelessly to an amplifier that can be placed closer to the speakers. You still need speaker wires from the amplifier to the speakers. This solution works if it is not easy to get wires from the audio components to the speakers, for example the surround speakers are often on the other side of the room. Cost is usually about $400 per pair of speakers.
Wireless Subwoofer: Probably the easiest to do as many subwoofers are placed on the floor and need to be plugged into the wall for power. It is easy to add a wireless box to get the audio signal to the subwoofer from the audio receiver. Price is about $140 per subwoofer.
In general wires are just better and usually less expensive. You don't have to worry about interference, the wireless devices slowing down your WiFi or losing sync.
7/24/2011 - I haven't written anything on the blog in a while. I got a new laptop and have been transferring all our files and programs over to the new one. I'm using a new web editor and finally getting around to updating the website and blog.
How much should I spend on each component of a system? This obviously can vary a lot but I do see some mismatched systems. The question should be where will I get the most performance for the money. As a very general rule spend equally on video and audio. I see people with expensive TVs but a $300 home theater in a box from Walmart. Let's say we have a $2500 budget, I'd brake it down like this.
20% ($500) - Control and accessories (cables, etc). REMOTE CONTROL! This is probably the most important piece in your system and it is the piece you are going to use every time you use the system. Why keep a half dozen remotes on the table and have a difficult system to use. I don't understand people spending thousands on a system and not a little more to make it easy to use. Decent remotes start at about $100, and $250 gives a nice color screen remote. The more complicated systems need more sophisticated remotes.
40% ($1000) - Video. The bulk of this should be on the TV, say $800 on the TV and $200 on a Blu-ray player.
40% ($1000) - Audio. With Audio the most important component is the room! If you have a contemporary/ modern room with a lot of hard surfaces, widows, hardwood floors, etc. you might consider moving more of that budget to the video. The best speakers in the world will not sound good in a racquetball court. If your room has that much echo you are wasting your money on audio if you aren't going to do anything to help the room.
Since most people not having a dedicated area are unlikely to spend much on acoustically treating the room, speakers is where the bulk of your audio budget should go. Forget the audio receiver with the latest whizz bang features. A $300 receiver with $700 speakers will give MUCH better sound quality than a $700 receiver with $300 speakers. Spend 2-3x on the speakers than the receiver.
4/20/2011 - New federal law. Apparently, if you have a blog you have to disclose whether you are receiving any compensation from any companies that you mention in your blog. It seems blogs are going to be more regulated than advertising. Like there was ever really truth in advertising. Anyway, here is our disclaimer. We receive nothing, nada, zero compensation from any companies we mention in the blog. We don't get any free samples or anything at discounted rates below our normal dealer cost. There is now a blog disclosure at the bottom of this page which will show any compensation we receive from manufacturers for mentioning their products or services in our blog. It will also be disclosed in the related blog entry.
3/17/2011 - What's the best? I get asked this all the time; "What's the best TV, speakers, etc?". Unfortunately it is never an easy answer. There are always at least two questions I have to ask before I can give a good recommendation. The two questions are:
1. How is it going to be used? Currently a high end plasma will give the best picture quality. However, if this is going to be in a bright room with big windows, lots of light and used in the daytime I would never recommend a plasma. They are just not bright enough to overcome the lighting in that room. What application you are using applies to almost every piece of audio or video gear before one can give a good recommendation can be given, Speakers, projectors, amplifiers, remotes, etc.
2. How much do you want to spend? I talked about budget in my last blog but I think in the current consumer market sometimes people do not have an idea what the best costs. It is like asking what's the best car and you have been looking car in the $30,000 range and someone tells you the best is a Bentley or Bugatti.
With that being said here is some of my top picks in various categories. Prices vary and change frequently especially on TVs! So call if interested.
TVs:
Plasma: Panasonic VT30 series Plasmas
LCD: LG LW6500 Series LED-LCD.
Speakers, depends a lot on application but here are some of my favorites:
Bookshelf Speaker: Episode Monitor 700. We compared these to a $1600 pair of speakers and a $5000 pair and it was a lot closer to the $5000 model and was significantly better than the $1600 model. At $300 each MSRP I don't think there is a better value in speakers, period.
Best Small Speaker: Genelec 6010A with 5040A subwoofer. For the people that don't want to give up sound for a small aesthetic size. For small speakers these are just WOW! Active speakers are awesome!
Blu-Ray Player: LG BD670 Wireless internet connection with many streaming services. Easy setup and use.
Surround Sound Receiver: Yamaha Aventage Series. They are worth the extra over the regular series, better features, better sounds, longer warranty.
Projector: Epson 9700 - Comes with spare lamp, ceiling mount, cable cover for hiding cables, and 3 year warranty. There are better projectors and less expensive projectors but this is my favorite. It is at the point of diminishing returns, you can spend more and improvement only improves slightly but has big improvement over the lesser priced models. The 8700 would also be a consideration if you want a lesser warranty and no accessories but frankly I think the 9700 offers a better value with everything considered and isn't much more street price.
Remote: URC MX-880 - Color screen, favorite channels, great button layout and less than half the price of a touch screen remote.
1/16/2011 - Budget. Everybody has a budget and it is one of the most difficult things to discuss with a client. I'm not sure why but many are often reluctant to let us know how much they wish to spend. I know we all want the Ferrari for the price of a Hyundai and we all want a good deal but what is your bottom line. We will come under your budget and our pricing is already very competitive and you get a system designed for you to meet your specific application. But, if your budget is $3000 and you only tell us $2000 then we are going to design a system based off of $2000.
You are not going to get that type of service at a big box store or the internet. We don't do add ons, we sell systems. We will not sell you a system and then say you need cables, extended warranties, etc. Everything is already included and we don't sell items we do not think are necessary. We rarely sell extended warranties as most of our equipment already comes with 3 or more year warranties and rarely do we think the extra cost of an extended warranty is justified. Sometimes a client might want more and we can provide that if they prefer but rarely do we think it is necessary and we have never included it in a system or tried to add it on just to increase our profit.
12/27/2010 - 3D TVs are they the future? I don't know how well 3D is going to catch on and if it will ever be mainstream that most of the television programming will be in 3D. At the moment I predict not, but I have been wrong before. The reasons I don't think we'll be watching CSI in 3D, is glasses. I'm not sure everyone wants to put on a pair of glasses to watch their favorite TV show. I know ESPN has a 3D channel, I just don't picture a lot of people watching the game with their glasses on. I doubt it would happen at a Superbowl party. I know they are trying to develop 3D that doesn't require glasses, if that happens I might change my opinion.
Another reason currently is cost. 3D TVs cost more and the glasses are typically $150 or more each. I do predict that they will get less expensive in the future and early adopters always pay a premium for the latest and greatest. The good thing about spending more for a 3D TV is they tend to be top of the line models and also have the best 2D picture as well.
Quality of 3D is a concern but so far every display I've seen with 3D is significantly better than the 3D you see at the theater. The only issue is size, to get that immersive effect you need a bigger screen. This is true for 2D as well but seems more so for 3D. A good projector system is the way to go if it works for your room, again true for 3D and 2D.
11/27/2010 - Is price hurting quality? Everybody wants the lowest price and there appears to be a race to the bottom. I don't know how often I get asked 'What's your best price on a 50 inch TV (or whatever size)'. Years ago people use to ask my opinion on what's the best TV and they were willing to spend a little more for better quality. I was just looking at prices on 50" plasma models. There are some for less than $600 and higher end models for well over $3000. Is the higher end one better? Of course it is and you don't need to be an expert to look at the two and see the difference. But is the cheap model good enough for most? Is it worth spending a few hundred more to get a better model?
Typically, the low end is just that the low end. The electronics market is very competitive and manufacturers are cutting more and more corners everyday to meet the consumer's quest for the lowest price. I suggest sticking with a respected brand and going two or more levels from the bottom. The cheapest TV might look 'good enough' to many, but do you want it to last? Spending a little more often means better quality parts as well as improved performance. This is true of many things not just TVs and electronics.
Blog Disclosure: - We have not received any compensation in the form of money, products or discounts from any companies mentioned in this Blog. Should we receive any compensation in the future it will be disclosed in the blog entry as well as here on the blog disclosure.
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