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Judging by the Comments responding to my recent "Do receivers have too many features?" blog post, a lot of folks think today's receivers are overstuffed with gizmos. Now sure, if you crave a full complement of the latest doodads--streaming Rhapsody-Napster-Pandora-Flickr, USB inputs, iPhone certification, Audyssey MultEQ XT Auto Calibration, Wi-Fi, Windows Vista, DLNA, HD Radio, Internet Radio, multiroom-multizone connectivity, Ethernet and RS-232C ports, or Bluetooth Wireless Audio Transmission Capability--rush out and buy a home theater receiver. Enjoy reading the 120-page operating manual and exploring layer after layer of setup options. Good times!

But if the goal is to simply enjoy music and a movie every now and then, do yourself a favor and consider a stereo receiver, or if you don't care about radio, an integrated amplifier (an integrated amp is essentially a receiver without a radio). Another plus for stereo home theater converts, they'll never have to deal with convoluted speaker setup menus, or risk an out-of-balance sound mix. Stereo is nearly impossible to get wrong.

A lot of people think stereo receivers are old hat and they "have to" buy a surround receiver. Wrong! And as I pointed out in the blog post the other day, home theater receiver features aren't "free"; manufacturers pay very significant licensing fees and royalties to the companies that developed those features. To bring a receiver in on budget, engineers and product planners make cost-saving decisions to cut back on other aspects of the design. The audio circuitry is probably the first to take a hit.

With stereo receivers the engineering budget is directed to the audio side and Denon, Marantz, NAD, Onkyo, Sony and Yamaha all make stereo receivers. Apparently, there's still a market for stereo components, and now that more and more folks are getting into LPs, most new stereo receivers have turntable inputs. … Read more

There's no shortage of new sound bars to review, and I still believe they're a great solution for some home theater buyers. They simplify setup chores, and eliminate the hassles associated with placing five or more speakers and running wires to all the speakers. Some self-powered sound bars offer a range of inputs, including HDMI connectivity, so there's no need to buy a receiver.

The best ones get close to the room-filling sound of a bona-fide 5.1 system. The latest Yamaha Sound Projectors like the YSP-4100 and YSP-5100 do a better job at creating a passable facsimile of a surround experience than most, but those two models are priced around $2,000! And those substantial MSRPs don't include the price of a subwoofer. So figure another 300 or more dollars for a sub.

For that kind of investment you can buy a significantly better-sounding 5.1 channel component-based system. If sound quality takes priority over ease of setup and installation, check out Aperion's Intimus 5B Fusion SD satellite/subwoofer system ($1,559) mated with an Onkyo TX-SR507 receiver ($399).

It'll trounce the YSP sound bars on every count, with dramatically better, more-enveloping surround sound, greater dynamic impact--plus, the Aperion/Onkyo system will sound better with music. That last one is a common failing; few sound bars cut it with two-channel music. So if you intend to play CDs in your home theater, steer clear of sound bars.… Read more

Those awful glasses may doom 3D TV.

What with all the advances in technology they still haven't eliminated the glasses people have been using to watch 3D movies since the 1920s. "Avatar" and "Alice in Wonderland" may use vastly more refined 3D techniques, but the glasses remain. Some people get headaches, dizzy, or even nauseated watching 3D. There are exceptions, but most 3D films haven't matured past the gimmick stage.

No matter how you look at it, 3D TV is an expensive proposition. You'll need to buy a new Blu-ray player, new TV, and possibly a new receiver. Oh, and don't forget to factor in the cost for extra 3D glasses for family and friends.

Worse yet, after you've made the substantial investment in new hardware there's not a lot of 3D content to buy or see. Put those bucks in better-sounding speakers, and you'll have a vast assortment of choices to dazzle your ears right away. Surround sound may be imperfect, but you can hear it with just your own two ears; no special "ear goggles" are required.

So instead of investing in 3D TV, take those dollars and buy better speakers or a new receiver. That's an improvement you hear with every movie you watch and music you listen to. It's simply a smarter way to spend your money.

What is 3D sound? True 3D sound would involve height, width, and depth speakers. Stereo sound produces width, and surround speakers produce depth. What about height? My experiences with the only available height systems--Dolby Pro Logic IIz and Audyssey DSX--didn't do much for me, but I'm not giving up on the height dimension entirely. Pro Logic IIz and Audyssey DSX were designed to work with any surround movie. Maybe we'll have to wait for movies mixed to provide genuine height information to get three-dimensional sound.… Read more

Yes, it might seem reasonable to expect that a home theater system will automatically sound equally good with movies and music, but that's not easy to do. With speakers especially, the difference in performance requirements is significant.

And though there are some specific models from Klipsch and Dynaudio that are adept with both forms of entertainment, most speakers skew one way or another. For music, overall sound quality is the top priority, for home theater it's more about clarity and the ability to handle the extreme dynamic range of special effects such as explosions.

For maximum home theater thrills you'll need as much power as you can afford, a potent subwoofer, and speakers that perfectly blend with said sub. With home theater your attention is focused on the picture; sound plays a supportive role. As long as the receiver and speakers don't overtly distort when they're playing at the volume level you want, and there's enough subwoofer bass to make special effects come alive, it's mission-accomplished time. Achieving reasonably good home theater sound isn't all that demanding from an equipment point of view, but careful speaker setup and room placement are crucial for best results.… Read more

For those of you with older receivers lacking HDMI connectivity, or perhaps for audiophiles with stereo home theater systems, the Oppo BD-83 Special Edition player is for you.

You see, the new Oppo player handles the digital-to-analog conversion at a higher standard than the original--and still available--BD-83 player. So rather than use its HDMI connectivity you hookup the Special Edition's eight analog (7.1) outputs to the multichannel inputs on older receivers or sound processors. Don't worry if your receiver is limited to 5.1, the Special Edition will work perfectly well with those systems. The Special Edition … Read more

If you listen to music over your iPod or computer, it's safe to say you're listening in stereo.

Cars are a different story; they can have speakers in all sorts of places, so I'll grant that music in the car may not be in stereo.

But the music itself at least started out as stereo; MP3s and CDs are strictly stereo, so unless you listen to a lot of 5.1 channel SACDs or DVD-Audio discs, stereo is where it's at.

Most, but not all post-1980 films are available in 5.1. So if you have … Read more

The best of today's home theater in a box systems are excellent, but how do you find the one that's right for you?

First, read my CNET reviews; they're loaded with information about how easy the HTIB is to use and how well it performs. It may be a dubious honor, but I probably hold the record for testing more HTIBs for magazines and Web sites than any other reviewer.

Most HTIBs come with Blu-ray or DVD players, receivers, and five or more speakers and a subwoofer. Right, HTIBs also come with lots of wires and setup chores, so they're almost as complex to install as separate receiver, player, and speaker-based home theater systems.

If that's more than you bargained for, maybe you should be looking for something simpler: a single-speaker surround system? That would eliminate most of the wiring and setup hassles. Check my CNET reviews to see if one is right for you.

For small bedrooms or dorm rooms, a budget HTIB or single-speaker surround system may be ideal. Family-size home theaters may require larger systems with larger speakers and powered subwoofers.

Connectivity varies a lot in this category, so don't assume all HTIBs have what you need. If you don't want to switch inputs on your TV every time you select a different video source, say from a game system to a Blu-ray player, make sure the HTIB has enough HDMI and other video inputs. Some HTIBs don't switch video at all. Some have USB inputs and iPod-docking capabilities.

HTIBs tend to sound best with movies; music comes in a distant second place. I always refer to HTIBs' performance with movies and music, so if you plan on listening to a lot of music over your new system, definitely look for that in the reviews. Don't assume the sound will be equally good for music and movies; it rarely is. … Read more

Face it: Most people listen to music on CD, LP, radio, or some form of downloaded file, and each and every one is a stereo format.

Even high-resolution formats like SACD have stereo mixes, so it's no surprise that Onkyo just introduced two new stereo components: An integrated stereo amplifier, the A-5VL, and a stereo SACD player, the C-S5VL.

The amp seems like a rational alternative to a feature-laden AV receiver, jam-packed with so much wizardry you need to read and comprehend a 100 page user manual to get it to do much of anything. Stereo is simple; no need to navigate multilayer menus to turn the bass up or down. No, with the stereo Onkyo amp, all you'll ever do is select the input--CD, aux, radio, etc.--and adjust the volume. Then sit back and enjoy the tunes. … Read more

Dolby has a new surround format: Pro Logic IIz.

Here we go again. Another new format with more speakers, but this time, the "surround" speakers are in the front of the room, three or four feet above the left-and right-main speakers. These height channels are designed to provide a greater sense of envelopment than previous generations of Dolby or DTS surround.

Pro Logic IIz incorporates all of the features and capabilities of Pro Logic IIx.

"Expanding on established Dolby Pro Logic II matrix-decoding innovations, Dolby Pro Logic IIz identifies and decodes spatial cues that occur naturally in all content--stereo and 5.1 broadcast, music CDs, DVDs, 5.1 and 7.1 Blu-ray Discs, and video games," the Dolby site further explains. "Dolby Pro Logic IIz processes low-level, uncorrelated information--such as ambiance and some amorphous effects like rain or wind--and directs it to the front height speakers."

You don't have to buy new, specially encoded discs to experience Pro Logic IIz, but do you really want to buy another pair of speakers, wall-mount them, and run a pair of speaker wires up your wall, to the sides of your TV?

Dolby doesn't require the height speakers to be identical to the main-left or -right speakers. Some Pro Logic IIz systems will use a total of nine speakers (five front, four rear), plus one or more subwoofers.

Onkyo's TX-SR607 ($599 MSRP) is the first receiver to feature Pro Logic IIz; the company will soon offer additional models equipped with the new Dolby processor, to be announced later this year.

Then again, Yamaha's higher-end receivers have had height, aka "Presence," channels for years. Those extra speakers supplement the sound from the front speakers with ambient effects produced by Yamaha's proprietary Cinema DSP, which provides various multichannel configurations up to 11 channels. Obviously, Dolby's Pro Logic IIz uses different technology, though the end result may be similar. … Read more