Home cinema - from a to z. Part 3

Encyclopedia of radio electronics and electrical engineering / Audio equipment

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When we choose a home theater in one box, we always take the path of simplifying its installation and operation. In the last review, we considered the simplest versions of kits in the lowest price range. These kits were quite similar to each other and did not differ in the sophistication of design, functional richness or high quality. However, they worked out their money, and more was not required of them.

Moving to a higher price category - from $200 to $500, we see a much wider range of models. Here you already have to choose how important design is for you, and how much depth of low frequencies, or whether convenient control is most important for you.

Do not expect that more expensive kits will have increased functionality. In this price range, the manufacturer will not go for all sorts of technical tricks, and, by and large, everything possible has already been implemented in cheaper models. There are, of course, some additions, but they are of little importance.

The main thing that will distinguish sets in this price range from each other is design and sound. Here, a fairly large number of brands are already fighting for the consumer, and they are trying in various ways to attract the attention of a potential client to themselves: they introduce MPEG4 format reading, make iron speakers, tower-type acoustics, in modern style.

Successful development takes root very quickly and well in the market. Something original, invented by one brand and found a response in the hearts, or rather wallets, of consumers, is immediately picked up by competitors, who at first simply “tear”, and then finalize and improve this very find. Usually, a novelty that has recently been released to the market is somewhat damp. And before you buy it, it's better to wait at least three months until the manufacturers, in the heat of competition, eliminate most of the shortcomings.

For example, let's take at least the first players with the MPEG4 playback function. The firstborn were terrible slow-witted. They did not have built-in decoders on board, DVDs were read through one, and I don’t want to remember MPEG4 itself at all: only certain versions were read, and even then, to put it mildly, with dubious quality. But with all the shortcomings, MPEG4-enabled players were very popular. And in less than half a year, many companies began to produce such DVD players, now they are of good quality, almost all of them have an audio decoder "on board", they read all existing formats, they are reflashed, in general, these are excellent functional models, some even with quite exquisite design.

Although this time we will consider already more or less expensive models, nevertheless, in this case, it is not necessary to talk about scoring large and very large halls. Still, these are home theaters "in one box", and their sizes, by default, are not very large, and today, despite the advances in technology, it is quite difficult to get a very high sound volume without a noticeable loss in quality, without increasing the size of the loudspeaker .

Let's start with JVC models. This name has long been known to the domestic consumer, and its presence on devices has long been an indicator of good quality and reliability of the product. The JVC technique was widely known in its time, even under the Soviet Union. They did not have to, like BBK, conquer the market from scratch: they already had a name. In this price segment, JVC is presented adequately. We will look at two of their models: the inexpensive JVC TH-A25RE and the JVC QP-D5ALEE, whose price is closer to $500.

JVC TH-A25RE

The design of this home theater set cannot be called particularly outstanding. Briefly characterize his appearance as follows: simple, elegant, somewhat strict, without pretensions to modernity. As always, the player, subwoofer and five small satellites are all in silver. If you correctly arrange this set around the room, then you can achieve that it will not stand out at all in the surrounding interior. It seems to us that it will not work to decorate the room with them. The power of the satellites is not higher than that of competitors, but the subwoofer seems to be a little stronger. In terms of functionality, there is nothing unexpected either: there is a usual set like zoom, etc. The radio works at a very good level, the reception is confident.

In terms of sound, the difference from cheaper kits is obvious. It is immediately felt that the manufacturer approached the work responsibly. It cannot be said that it is recommended to listen to classical music on this system, but when watching a movie, we experienced quite positive emotions.

When using this set, the effect of presence is quite fully transmitted. Satellites and a subwoofer are well chosen, together they create a fairly complete picture. The effects, especially the shots and explosions, sounded maybe not as powerful as we would like, but quite believable. By the way, about the power: it is quite obvious that you cannot "pump" a large hall with such speakers.

All in all, quite a good set, but, in our opinion, it lacks something special that would make it stand out from a number of other home theaters.

JVC QP-D5ALEE

And now a more high-class device than the previous ones falls into our hands. It is felt even by the build quality that this time a lot more work was invested in the kit, and this did not take long to affect its quality and, consequently, the price. This home theater in one box will be significantly more expensive than its predecessor.

Despite the clear improvement in build quality, the company has not deviated from the path of minimalism when developing the design. As a result, we have the same small squares of the columns. "Simplicity is the key to success" - this seems to be the style of this manufacturer. The subwoofer is a silver (in the color of the speakers) box with a phase inverter on the front of the panel. The main thing, due to which the quality of this particular set has been improved, is that the receiver and the player are not combined in one case. This pair just looks really elegant and if not decorate, then it is unlikely to spoil the interior of your room.

Let's try to turn it on. Having placed the speakers in their proper places in a small room (after all, the power of this set is also not enough to sound a large hall), we connect the speakers and a subwoofer and test the sound. Unfortunately, global improvements are not noticeable. Yes, the sound has become a little more interesting, the bass has become clearer and denser, the spatial picture when watching movies has become better. Everything has become a little better, a little louder, a little better quality - there is no "an order of magnitude" improvement. For watching movies in a small room - a tangible step forward, for music - the progress is not great.

Now let's talk about video. There is a progressive scan, which is logical for such an expensive model. The image quality is at a good quality level. By the way, this is one of the first models in which the ability to read the MPEG-4 format has been added.

Thus, the relatively high price of this kit is determined by the following features:

1. Ability to read MPEG-4 format
2. Free standing receiver
3. Slight volume up
4. Progressive scan

Philips LX3900SA

Today, Philips is a fairly diversified brand and produces a wide variety of equipment: washing machines, well-known TVs, and, of course, home theaters. It cannot be said that she does it very well, but, in principle, no worse than others.

Their home theater, once well advertised, immediately won our hearts with its design. In principle, it is no different from its unpretentious counterparts: the speakers are the same square and silvery, the subwoofer is the same plain-looking box. But the Philips designers approached the matter with more imagination: they slightly rounded the edges of the speakers - and immediately a different, more pleasant impression is created than from simple angular shapes.

So, in terms of design, the kit has so far some advantages. What about the sound and equipment? One of the positive features is the ability to read the MPEG4 format, as well as almost all other "nearby" formats.

We were not pleased with the fact that a receiver was built into the player, this had a bad effect on the quality of playback, which we were able to verify. It cannot be said that the sound of this kit is much inferior to its competitors, just nothing special. A good, cinematic sound, it may well be suitable for listening to trendy modern music.

BBK DK960S

Here, finally, is a tangible step forward with a slight price increase for the VVK line of home cinemas. Finally, here is an interesting solution, made by improving the acoustics, interesting design and approaching (albeit slightly) to better home theater components. This set has a much more pleasant, powerful and deep sound, it can be used as an unpretentious music center. This kit can "pump" a small room.

Sufficiently voluminous bass conveys effects in films, explosions, shooting, etc. well. This is realized by increasing the power and improving the front speakers of the acoustic system. It's a shame that only the front. They are made of wood, MDF, and the center and rear channels are made of the same material as the previous models, however, their power is also increased. The set itself also looks interesting: a subwoofer in the color of wood, in the color of the front speakers. The speakers themselves look strict and quite colorful. This is perhaps the best BBK home theater system on the market.

BBK DK970S

Well, BBK also paid tribute to fashion. The DK970S is a one-box home theater model that features four "aluminum" style floorstanding front tower speakers with a rather large powerful subwoofer in the same color. Speakers made of iron materials can sound very good, but only if they are heavy. In DK970S they are quite light, so they do not give high sound quality. However, they do not cost as hi-end. Their main advantage is their trendy design.

The declared "internal volume, which allows you to develop more power", in fact, somewhat distorts the sound, making it unclear. True, when watching movies it is not as noticeable as when listening to music. By the way, when listening to music, you can use the built-in Dolby Pro Logic II decoder, which converts a stereo signal into a multi-channel one - a rather useful feature for playing light disco music. The kit allows you to voice a fairly large area.

Well, after looking at several home theaters, you can draw some conclusions and decide on sympathies. Unlike the cheap home theaters that we wrote about in the last article, many sets in this price range already have their own face. Of course, it's hard to compare them with full-fledged home theaters, but such "full-fledged" ones cost much more. Among the models we have considered, we can single out as promising BBK cinemas. Perhaps, in this segment, in terms of price / quality ratio, they occupy a leading position: acceptable sound at a fairly democratic cost.

Author: Goran Severov; Publication: cifrovik.ru

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