“It’s not a bad way of watching TV.”
For Phil Murray, it’s another day at the office. But for anyone else, this visit to ListenUp’s reference home theater is an exercise in extravagance. On the 145-inch screen in front of Murray, a scene from “House of Flying Daggers” plays out colorfully. But more impressive than the vibrant images hurling out of the projector is the intense aural imaging bouncing off the acoustic walls, toying with your orientation and messing with your equilibrium.
It almost makes you uncomfortable. With the nuanced sound and intimacy of the room, this is a better experience than any commercial movie theater in town.
The audiophiles at ListenUp don’t sell many home theaters in this range – the room’s audio and video alone run about $250,000 – but they use the space frequently to show the capacity and potential of the modern home theater.
“Ferrari has a racing team to show what they can do,” said Murray, marketing manager at Listen Up. “This, for us, is a laboratory to show how far you can take the technology.”
You don’t have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring theater-quality sound to your home. But installing a quality home theater system is a trend people have been skewing toward the past decade. Just look at ListenUp’s sales trajectory in its 34 years of business.
The 1970s were all about hi-fi record players. The early ’80s saw the high-end audio dealer moving more Sony CD players than any other retailer in the country. Home theater became an industry for ListenUp in the ’90s with laserdiscs and advancements in speaker technology.
But with the popularization of DVDs from 1996 to 1997, the retailer’s business shifted.
“For the last 10 years,” Murray said, “home theater has really driven our business.”
Home theater systems are now so commonplace that kits are sold for less than $200. But plan on spending more than that for a sound with depth, personality and clarity. Following are three realistic home theater options, sans TV and accessories, for the everyday consumer:
Sony Component Home Theater System, $200: This prepackaged do-it-yourself kit is economical and a popular entry point with consumers just getting their feet wet in the home theater ocean.
The price is right, but you also get what you pay for. This system’s sound is shallow, thin and tinny.
“You’re just not dealing with a lot of wattage,” said Daniel “Smurf” Sharner, Listn Up’s manager, “although to the untrained ear, maybe it’s OK.”
You can’t beat the convenience of the system. It’s all there in a single box. Another plus is the name: Sony knows audio. But while the company’s high-end speakers and receivers can create stunning sonics, the low-end often comes off fairly ordinary. So be warned.
“People always buy this little $199 system and go home and throw in ‘Top Gun’ and think it’ll sound great – but that’s just not the case,” Sharner said.
The Mirage Omnisat System, $1,000: “Picking the right home theater is all about what you want to accomplish,” Sharner said. And while it sounds like he’s reiterating the obvious, it’s something consumers don’t often think about until they walk through the doors of an electronics shop.
What is your primary goal for the system? Do you spend more time watching movies and TV than listening to CDs? Are you going to split off a couple of channels into another room, thus decreasing the wattage? Do you have a separate system for audio – a sweet two-channel receiver specifically built for music?
The more you spend, the harder your system will work for you. And this Omnisat system, from Canadian audio whizzes Mirage, is a solid starting point for someone using the speakers for CDs and DVDs alike. The omnidirectional speaker design is fancy, and when paired with a Denon receiver, the system’s imaging is keen and sharp.
“When you’re listening to Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall,’ you hear the clock ticking off to the side,” Sharner said. “When you’re listening to Dave Matthews, you hear Boyd Tinsley’s violin on one side and Dave on the other.”
Denon AVR-1707 receiver, three B&W LCRs speakers, two B&W LM1s, Velodyne DPS-10 subwoofer, $2,000: This is one of the many combinations the pros at ListenUp can cobble together for a budget of around two grand. Denon, B&W and Velodyne are all leaders in their fields, and while the fine tuning will be more difficult with a system like this, the work will pay off.
“We do a lot of business in that price range,” said Murray. “Right around there, $2,000-$2,500, you can get some really nice quality from both movies and music.”
Again, your intent for the system is as important as your budget. Most people want a system that is all things to everyone – something that will treat The Beatles DVD “Help!” with the same subtle tenderness as The Beatles CD “Love.”
“Home theater systems are so much more than just DVDs,” Murray said, referring to a special edition of The Beatles,’ “Love,” which comes with a 5.1 audio mix on a bonus DVD. “To hear that on a surround sound system is a revelation.”
A smart upgrade would be to the receiver – $700 more to a Denon AVR-2807, which costs $1,100 and is ListenUp’s bread and butter, according to Murray. It’s a potent 7.1 receiver that blasts out your 5.1 surround sound and still has enough wattage left to make your other two channels – posed in another room, perhaps – boom and tap with clarity.
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-954-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com.
What’ll big sound cost you?
Three systems, from $200-$2,000
You can spend more than $100,000 for an audio system to go in your home theater. But since most of us save that sort of money for buying the home, here’s a brief look at three 5.1 home theater systems, minus TVs, of course, for the everyday consumer:
$200: The Sony Component Home Theater System is the novice’s starter kit. It all literally comes in the same box – the modest receiver, five speakers and subwoofer. Don’t expect that middle-of-the-action feeling. But this is certainly a big step up from the paltry speakers on most TVs.
$1,000: The Mirage Omnisat System is a package available at Ultimate Electronics, and when put together with a midrange Denon receiver, this Canadian company’s 5.1 system represents the beginning of the audiophile’s realm. The omnidirectional speakers handle music as adeptly as film dialogue and special effects, and while you could easily spend more money, this is a worthwhile investment.
$2,000: A Denon receiver, B&W speakers and Velodyne subwoofer are recommended by the sales staff at ListenUp, the Denver audiophile stalwart that turns 35 next year. The Denon AVR-1707 is a solid receiver in the $400 range, and when paired with three B&W LCRs, a pair of B&W’s LM1s and a $400 Velodyne sub, your ears will thank you for the sharp imaging.
