Ears On

Practical Home Theater Number Nine Hits Stores

Mark Fleischmann  |  Oct 2, 2009

It's that time of year again. My book Practical Home Theater: A Guide to Video and Audio Systems has been reborn in what has become an annual tradition. You can distinguish the new edition by its yellow cover or its ISBN number: 9781932732115. This edition is number nine and its cover date (printed on the spine) is 2010. As always, I've gone over it obsessively, rooting out stale information and freshening up as much as possible. On the video side, LED-backlit LCD HDTV and the conclusion of the DTV transition. On the audio side, this is the first edition to discuss the new height-enhanced surround modes, Audyssey DSX and Dolby Pro Logic IIz. It goes into detail about the latest version of HDMI, 1.4, and separates HDMI-cable fact from hype. And it delves into the exotic amplifier topologies that are finding their way into receivers, including the new Class D, Class G, and Class H. I remain committed to the annual update and have already stripped the book's giant text file so I can begin work on the next edition. It never ends. Finally, please note that the book is sold mainly online via Amazon and other booksellers in the U.S., U.K., and Europe. But you can special-order it from a brick-and-mortar bookstore.

COMMENTS
Russell's picture
Submitted by Russell (not verified) on November 16, 2009 - 3:16pm

I had a question about your review of the Onkyo TX-NR807. Does this AVR perform any processing on HDMI, or is it just a pass-through repeater? The Video Test Bench leads me to believe it does, but I was under the impression that it is just a repeater. Thank you for your time.

Dan Frith's picture
Submitted by Dan Frith (not verified) on November 18, 2009 - 3:22am

It took a while for Amazon to get it to me here in Australia, but it was worth the wait Mark. Thanks!

mike smith's picture
Submitted by mike smith (not verified) on December 1, 2009 - 7:12pm

The book was quite good. Thanks. I actually was able to learn more about HDMI cables. I just bought some from here

steve monroe's picture
Submitted by steve monroe (not verified) on December 3, 2009 - 8:55pm

this is not a question of which product would you personally choose,but rather a question of the industry on the whole.i noticed on your review of the onkyo tx-nr-807 that you did not mention if the unit had a audio delay to compensate for hi def tv's longer video processing.in the past, home theater mag articles always mentioned this as problem,but not in recent reviews.my real question is this still a problem,and if so why is this not mentioned in reviews.i would hate to spend thousands of dollars to find my audio and video did not sync up.if have looked at several models from different manufactures and nobody states that they have the ability to delay the audio to match the video processing.if this is still a problem,why have manufactures not added this simple feature?if you respond, thank you for your time.

home theater deals's picture
Submitted by home theater deals (not verified) on December 11, 2009 - 3:18am

I'm looking for a good home theater system for $500 or less but i would like if its practical to look into wireless or virtual surround sound. i had a 200W Phillips surround sound system in college and it was plenty good enough, the wires drove me crazy though. home theater deals

Andy Medlam's picture
Submitted by Andy Medlam (not verified) on December 13, 2009 - 12:38pm

Great blog with some awesome info. . .I've just created a blog that i've dedicated to Bose Home SystemsCheck Us Out here: http://bose-wave-music-system.blogspot.com/

balpetegim's picture
Submitted by balpetegim (not verified) on January 8, 2010 - 1:10am

magazin haber

Walt's picture
Submitted by Walt (not verified) on January 20, 2010 - 10:46am

I read your review on the Onkyo TX-SR607 and subsequently bought one. I have a question which I hope you can answer since Onkyo appears not to have a clue. I have rerun the setup and have reset the reciever as they recommended and no joy.When I did the Audyssey set up, my speaker levels were at -7 to -10 which required me to ajust the normal volume up to the 40 range to be able to hear the broadcast, dvd etc.. I was under the impression that a speaker level close to 0 is desired with less of a volume setting. What am I not understanding??The test tone volume appears to be very luod, is this the reason for such a large attinuation of the speaker levels?? I ajusted my levels manual, in the proportion indicated by the set up values, so they are closer to 0 and am able to reduce the volume into the 20 range. I am using Bose Acustimass 10 Series III speakers in a 5-1 configuration.

Keith Forrest's picture
Submitted by Keith Forrest (not verified) on February 5, 2010 - 9:57am

I read this book and really enjoyed it. Thanks a lot Mark!Keith Forresthttp://www.TheVideoNation.comhttp://www.TheAVLink.comThe community for home audio and home theater.

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