Home theater compo as good as the discrete systems

Agus Setiadi, Contributor, Jakarta

About a decade ago, when audio performance was still dominated by simple stereo systems, people connected two speakers to their VCD players to create a "cinema-like" effect.

While the speakers produced a powerful sound, they were still not enough to produce an experience close the one people listened to while watching movies in the theater.

Today, most people have replaced their VCD players with DVD players, which produce clearer pictures and have a much more complex and interesting sound thanks to the Dolby Pro-Logic, Dolby Digital and dts technologies. Unlike VCD players that only use two speakers, DVD players are equipped with a 5.1-sound system using five speakers -- a pair of main speakers, a pair of rear or surround speakers and one center speaker -- plus a sub- woofer. As a result, you watch a movie on your TV sets while listening to a sound similar to the one produced in theaters.

You can build a home theater system at your home by buying all necessary equipment, including DVD player, A/V receiver, speakers, sofas, racks etc. discretely, or buy a home theater compo (for component) or DVD compo set, which is already completed with a DVD player and five speakers. Some compo sets are even equipped with a subwoofer. While a "discrete" home theater could cost a lot of money, time and energy -- you generally choose from many brands for each component -- a home theater compo is ready-made and easier to install.

The manufacturers of home theater compo sets continue to compete, offering the latest features such as DVD-A (DVD Audio) and SACD (Superior Audio CD) or even multimedia features like JPEG recognition, Windows Media Audio (WMA), USB ports and DivX without, of course, abandoning the unique character of a compo -- the presence of a cassette tape deck and a radio.

The following are some of the home theater compo sets are now available on the market.

Panasonic

In 2005, Panasonic made its SC-VK92D (Rp 5,430,000/8000 Watts PMPO.730 Wats RMS) its main product because this model has the most complete array of features. Taking five discs at the same time, it can also read audio and video formats other than the standards -- DVD/DVD-R/RW/SCVD/VCD/CD/CD-R/RW/MP3 -- such as WMA, JPEG, HighMAT (level 2) and DVD-Audio plus HDCD, which possesses a higher quality than a CD. The SC-VK92D is supported by Dolby Digital, dts and a Dolby Pro Logic II decoder systems to optimize the quality of sound and a progressive scan that enhances picture quality when it is connected to a television set with the same facility.

Panasonic other home theater compo sets include the SC-VK82D (Rp 4,673,000/5600 W PMPO/460 W RMS), SC-VK72D (Rp 4,143,000/4000 W PMPO/320 W RMS) and SC-VK62D (Rp 2,805,000/2400 W PMPO/220 W RMS). They support the same files as the SC-VK92D but have smaller speaker sizes.

Then there are the "predecessors" -- the SC-VK81D (4800 W PMPO/400 Wv RMS), the SC-VK91D (7300 W PMPO/460 W RMS) and the SC-VK71D (3000 W PMPO/280 W RMS).

Sony

Sony boasts a complete array of models in its DHC and MHC series. Its DHC series encompasses the DHC-AZ7D (Rp 6,659,000/470 W RMS), DHC-AZ5D (Rp 5,669,000/470 W RMS), DHC-FLX5D (Rp 6,749,000/760 W RMS), DHC-FLX9W (Rp 8,459,000/400 W RMS) and DHC- NXM4D (Rp 4,499,000/390 W RMS), while in its MHC series, you can have the following variety: MHC-GNV111D (Rp 5,569,000/760 W RMS), MHC-WZ88D (Rp 5,399,000/400 W RMS), MHC-GNV99D (Rp 4,499,000/510 W RMS), MHC-GNZ8D (Rp 3,099,000/320 W RMS) and MHC-GNZ9D (Rp 4,819,000/550 W RMS).

In the DHC series, the superior features are the wireless DIAT technology and the capability of reading SACD to produce a sound at a better quality than CD-produced sound. The DHC-FLX9W model, which uses a wireless system in its rear speakers, possesses these features. A feature that is relatively rare in other models is the USB audio streaming feature of the DHC-AZ5D.

All models in the MHC series referred to earlier can read not only the standard format (DVD/VCD/MP3) but also the DivX format. Unfortunately, a sub-woofer is yet to be made an integrated part of these models. This means that in all these models, with the exception of the MHC-GNZ9D model, the sub woofer is still optional.

LG

This year, LG has four models with a DVD player -- the LM-D, LX-D, LF-D and the LM-K, the latter a model also intended for karaoke enthusiasts. However, only a few of all these models possess a 5.1 sound system. These include the LM-D6540 (350 W of total RMS) and the LM-K6540 (350 W of total RMS). Along with the standard formats, they also read DivX, Xvid, WMA and DVD-A, except the LM-K6540 -- a karaoke machine.

In addition, these two models are also supported by Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro-Logic II and dts decoders. A similar feature can also be found in LM-D7550 (1150 W of total RMS), which uses a 4.1 sound system format. This means that this model combines the center speaker with the front speakers and is also provided with a USB host as an additional feature.

The inability to read the DVD-A format is also found in LF- D7350 (250 W of total RMS), which is known to use a 5-channel system and for which the subwoofer is optional. Unlike LF-D7350, however, the LF-D59350 model (320 W of total RMS) and LX-D5640 (240 W of total RMS) are like LM-D6540 in terms of the ability to read audio-video formats. For the LF-D59350 and LX-D5640 models, however, a subwoofer is still optional. All these models are supported by Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro-Logic II and dts decoders.

JVC

Of about nine models in its DVD compo line-up, JVC has only four models supported by the 5.1 sound system. These are DX-T7, DX-T9 (1000 W of total RMS), MX-JD5 (4200 W of total PMPO) and MX-JD8 (6000W of PMPO). All these models are supported by Dolby Digital, dts and Dolby Pro-Logic II decoders. These four models can read the format standards as well as the DVD-A and, WMA formats. Also, they are provided with a karaoke facility and, with the exception of the DX-T9 model, they are completed with a Progressive Scan facility as well.

However, it is likely you will still be able to find JVC models released prior to the launch of the most recent models. These earlier models include the JVC MX-DVB10 (4400 W PMPO), which is supported by a pair of subwoofers and can take in three discs at one time, and the MX-DVA9 (2400 W PMPO).

Pioneer

Pioneer EV series DVD compo sets are supported by the 5.1 sound system, have the dts/Dolby Digital and Dolby Pro-Logic II decoders and are as follows: the EV1000DVDX (7500W PMPO), the EV700DVD (7500W PMPO), the EV66DVD (5600W PMPO), the EV99DVD (5600W PMPO) and the EV-61DVD (450 W RMS). These models are capable of reading audio-video formats including the DVD/DVD- R/DVD-RW/VCD/SVCD/dts-CD/CD/CD-R/CD-RW/WMA/MP3/JPEG player. Only two models have the capability of reading other formats such as DivX and are provided with a (PAL/NTSC) Progressive Scan facility: EV1000DVDX and EV700DVD.

It looks likely the that SACD or DVD-A format capability won't be a standard feature in most models at least for another year.

Philips, Sharp and Samsung

Then there are Philips, Sharp and Samsung. I put these three brands last because they are the last ones you should look at when making a home theater compo purchase. These three makes have only a few models supported by the 5.1 sound system and, even then, their features tend to be incomplete.

The FW-V series of Philips: the Philips FW-D596 (3300W PMPO) and the Philips FW-V795 (6000W PMPO) are 5.1 sound systems but that's about all. Samsung's CS-21T20 (4400W PMPO), meanwhile, is supported by a 5-DVD changer and the Progressive Scan facility. As for Sharp, its CD-G series: CD-G10000DVD (10,000W PMPO), CD- G7500DVD (7500W PMPO),CD-G10000V (10,000W PMPO) and CD-G7500V (7500W PMPO) are all 5.1 but the most sound feature complete of all Sharp models, the CD-G10000DVD only has a 4.1 sound system.

All these systems offer the user something in the way of a cinema type sound, however it is important to note that most home theater compo sets have yet to fully adopt the features usually found in a discrete home theater systems -- especially the capability to read DVD-A and SACD formats at the same time with the sound output as good as CD quality. Nevertheless, various additional features that are not usually present in discrete home theater systems have emerged. The DivX, WMA, USB and wireless technology features have made compo sets special, more like multi-purpose audio-video sets.