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The big sound: home theatre audio
By Sean Carruthers, posted 10/6/2003 2:01:00 PM

Big screens are a great start, but it isn't really a home theatre without a good sound system. There are a couple of ways to add high-quality surround sound to your home entertainment centre: with a receiver unit capable of breaking down a digital audio signal into six-channel surround output; or buying an all-in-one package that includes the DVD player, receiver, and speakers.

If you already have a DVD player with digital audio outputs, you may want to go with a receiver unit. It does multiple jobs in a home theatre setup: acts as an amplifier, decodes audio signals into multi-channel surround, accepts audio and video input from other components like CD players and VCRs, and acts as an AM/FM tuner.

The big downside? You'll also need a compatible speaker set and a compatible subwoofer (some are passive, while others use an external power source). Not only can this get fairly expensive, but matching everything up properly can be time-consuming. If you don't want the hassle, look for a receiver that comes with the speakers -- the sound may not be as good as that from individually selected components, but it'll make your life simpler.

If your current DVD player doesn't have optical outputs, or you don't have a DVD player yet, you may want to consider an all-in-one package. To make the entry into the home theatre market very easy, many companies now offer a receiver unit with the DVD component built into the same chassis. This is very nice for those who don't want to spend a lot of time hooking up the audio and video cables (they're already connected inside the box). Be careful though, some all-in-one units may not have all the inputs and outputs of a full receiver unit. (In other words, it may not be able to hook up the sound through an external source.)

We had a look at two home theatre audio systems: an all-in-one system and speaker/receiver bundle (DVD sold separately).

Sharp SD-AT1000 1-Bit Home Theatre
http://www.sharpelectronics.com, $400

Sharp's 1-Bit Home Theatre uses the newest audio processing technology to provide high-quality digital amplification. The 1-bit technology builds the audio wave in a different way than the usual PCM audio, and many argue that it sounds more like an analogue audio signal (which is why many audiophiles are championing the new Super Audio CD format, which also uses 2.8 MHz 1-bit audio reproduction).

The SD-AT1000 system offers 600 watts total output, or six surround channels at 100 watts each. An AM/FM tuner is built in, and features 30 presets. It's worth noting that the SD-AT1000 does not have any built-in video switching.

Setup of the SD-AT1000 is fairly simple: each speaker terminal on the rear of the unit has a colour-coded socket that matches the connector at the end of the speaker wire and the sticker on the rear of the speaker itself.

It's also reasonably easy to use, thanks to the universal remote that can also control a Sharp DVD player. The sound is quite good, though there aren't many options for control over the tone; instead of individual bass and treble controls or a broader equalization control, you can instead switch between movie, music, night, surround, and standard modes. The end result is that you can't crank down the subwoofer if the neighbours are complaining, which is less than ideal. The sound is good -- you just can't control the specifics individually.

The rear of the unit features digital and analogue inputs, including three RCA-style analogue stereo pairs, one coaxial SPDIF, and an optical SPDIF. It also has two antenna connections for the radio component, a pair of analogue RCA outputs, and a subwoofer pre-out connector, if you want to switch to a different sub (possibly so you can control its volume independently).

The bottom line: it's quite a nice digital amplification system for those who want to move up to 1-bit technology. True audiophiles, however, will probably be disappointed by the lack of tonal control.

A version of this 1-Bit sound system comes pre-bundled with a Sharp DVD player
for $700.

Samsung HT-SK6
http://www.samsung.ca
Estimated price: $1,500

If your pockets are a bit deeper and you want to pick up a home theatre setup with a higher-end speaker system, Samsung's new HT-SK6 fits the bill. Instead of a house-brand speaker set, the HT-SK6 comes with a Klipsch array containing five 100 watt satellites and a 55 watt powered subwoofer. Except for the centre speaker, each satellite can be mounted using included mounting plates and speaker heads that can be repositioned.

The main receiver unit is impressive, with a shiny silver case and built-in progressive scan DVD player. It has plenty of inputs, including component RGB, two composite inputs, S-Video in, and both RCA and optical SPDIF audio inputs. Outputs include component RGB and one composite. Unfortunately, there are no audio outputs apart from the speaker terminals and subwoofer pre-out, which means you can't run audio through any other devices. This lack of outbound connectivity is a bit disappointing, but if you're using this as your main multimedia centre it isn't a huge issue. It has two antenna terminals for the built-in AM/FM radio.

General use of the unit is fairly easy, though tweaking sound settings requires a bit of practice. We found that the subwoofer level was quite low out of the box, but with a bit of work we not only readjusted the level of each of the other speakers in the 5.1 array, but got the subwoofer up to a properly room-shaking level (and with a downward-firing speaker, anyone living downstairs will certainly wish you had never bought this particular unit).

The big downside here is price -- a big portion of which reflects the quality of the included Klipsch speakers. Balancing that, though, is the fact that the HT-SK6 not only sounds great, it looks great too.