AV Education on RHT How To Impress Your Friends With SACD Written by Jerry Del Colliano AudioRevolution.com and RevolutionHomeTheater.com readers are the ambassadors of new AV technology to the non-enthusiast world. While you sometimes have to take a little friendly verbal abuse (ball-breaking, as it is called in Jersey) for investing $20,000 in a TV or $7,900 in a new preamp, your razzing comes more from jealousy and envy than anything else. Your mission (if you choose to accept it) is to show your neighbors, friends and technically savvy acquaintances why you are so gaga about audio and video. One of the latest and greatest audio technologies to come along in recent years is SACD. By now, you likely know that SACD is one of two formats competing to replace the 20-year veteran known as the compact disc. Although it began as a primarily stereo format, SACD has blossomed into a high-resolution surround format capable of ...

Why Are Audiophiles Afraid of Powered Speakers By Jerry Del Colliano August 2006 From my days in high-end retail, now more than a decade ago, to today’s current home theater market, I have always been perplexed as to why Americans are hesitant to invest in powered speakers. Seemingly stashing your amp neatly inside of your speakers provides a host of advantages including more rack space, less heat, potentially lower cost and beyond. Literally all you have to do is run interconnects from your receiver or, better yet, your AV preamp directly to your speakers. Simplicity is yet another advantage, but consumers aren’t yet breaking down the doors at retailers to invest in powered speakers.

AV Education on RHT Organizing Your Music On a Server Written by Bryan Dailey If you don’t yet have an iPod and are feeling a bit like an outsider, have no fear. Creating an archive of your CD collection and putting it on your computer and/or iPod can be very simple and could potentially save your collection of music in the event of a disaster. Another advantage in taking on the project of archiving your music is that by physically ripping all of your discs, you will find that you are reintroduce yourself to music you know and love but had forgotten you own. It is likely that you will even head out to the record store or iTunes to buy even more music to round out your collection. An Old Argument – Mac or PC Apple’s newfound dominance and ultra-easy-to-use interface gives them a head start as the best vehicle for archiving and managing ...

RHT How To: Whole House Audio How-To: A Homeowner’s Guide to Planning a Whole-House Audio Distribution System By Joe Hageman March 2005 In Part 1 of this How-To adventure, I discussed the various types of audio distribution systems available. But which one is right for you? Do you have to spend upwards of $50K and rewire your entire house to accommodate dozens of pairs of speakers and LCD touch screens? Of course not, but as is the case with most things in life, you get what you pay for. Choosing the right audio distribution system for you depends on many different factors from the size of your house to how long you plan on living there. More important, it depends on your lifestyle and how often you plan on using the system. If you never entertain or lead such a busy work life that you’re rarely at home, spending a small fortune on a distributed ...

AV Education on RHT Protecting Your Software Collection Written by Jerry Del Colliano Introduction With consumers flocking to all sorts of new server-based storage systems, ranging from Apple iPods to Media Center PCs to video servers like Kaliedescape’s $27,000 system, one truth remains: we still need to find a good storage solution for our physical CDs and DVDs. While some throw caution to the wind and simply trade in their discs as soon as they get a new server, those end users are playing a high stakes game of poker. Anyone who has seen a hard drive fail or a record company sue a consumer knows it is best to keep those discs as a backup in the event that someday you will need them. From the early days of the compact disc, consumers were told that CDs and DVDs are virtually indestructible. I think the marketing line was “perfect sound forever.” The truth is that ...