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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended.,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Home Theater Companion: Buying, Installing, and Using Today's Audio-Visual Equipment (Paperback)
Howard Ferstler's Home Theatre Companion is informative, well-illustrated and fun to read. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in setting up a home theatre system or high-quality audio equipment. The emphasis is on a bargain-oriented approach - how to get maximum quality for your dollar.This is the book for you if you are trying to figure out the answers to questions like: Should I get 2-way or 3-way speakers? Would a subwoofer improve my sound and how would I set one up? Which room should my home theatre system go in? Where should I place my speakers? How powerful should my amp or receiver be? Which noise-reduction system should I use on my cassette deck? How can I add hi-fi VCR to my TV? How do I set up surround-sound? Should I get a widescreen TV? What CDs and DVDs can I use to test my system? What is an equalizer used for? Can I get speaker cable at a reasonable price? (Ferstler does an very good job of debunking very expensive speaker cables.) Should I biwire my speakers? There are excellent discussions of room acoustics, narrow vs wide dispersion speakers, and the Allison Effect (suckout in the midbass), useful tables comparing cassette/VCR/DCC/ Minidisc/ DAT formats for recording and VHS/LV/ DVD formats for home theatre, plus glossary, appendices, and bibliography. My only criticism is that the discussion of headphones could have been a little longer. All in all, I thoroughly recommend this book. My copy is already worn through.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bogus review disclaimer,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Home Theater Companion: Buying, Installing, and Using Today's Audio-Visual Equipment (Paperback)
I have looked over Howard's book and I must say that many of the negative reviews here are totally unfounded. Howard, unfortunately engages in long running bitter arguments with unscrupulous characters on Usenet, and they retaliate. It really is a good book.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent, comprehensive guide to A/V systems.,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Home Theater Companion: Buying, Installing, and Using Today's Audio-Visual Equipment (Paperback)
The world of audio/video entertainment systems is becoming extremely complex, and changing at a rapid pace. Starting out to purchase a new audio or video/home-theater product in todays marketplace can be very confusing to the newcomer or to someone who has not been actively following this area as a hobby, and the sales help in most consumer electronics stores are of little to no help. This book provides an excellent overview of the wide variety of topics and products available today, with a solid foundation in basic audio theory and practice. I found the book to be clearly written, easy to understand, and long enough to sufficiently cover most aspects of the subject. The sections on loudspeaker radiation patterns and room acoustics is particularly interesting and useful. The author steers clear of the amazing amount of hype and disinformation which is clearly evident in the audio/video world these days, particularly in advertisements. He actively discusses some of the more technically inaccurate and potentially costly to the consumer myths of audio/video, explains the origins and history of the particular item of interest (e.g. green magic markers for CDs), why the premise is flawed, and provides ample support for his views. This is important, particularly for a book likely to be used by a novice, as many other such books appear to have been written as a mouthpiece for the specialty hifi manufacturers, and promote ideas which do little to enhance sound quality but much to part people from their money. The area of exotic speaker cables and interconnects being a prime example. Where there are significant differences in performance as a function of price, such as speakers or video displays, the author correctly identifies these areas and explains the reasons performance is more costly. I believe a buyer who follows Mr. Ferstler's advice will be well prepared to face the onslaught of commissioned salespersons and grossly overinflated claims of performance that abound in the marketplace today, and will be capable of selecting and installing a system that should provide years of rewarding music and video experiences. The only items that I find to complain about in the book are the figures are somewhat roughly drawn, although always clear, and the simple fact that no book written in this rapidly changing market (with HDTV, flatscreen displays, and the digital convergence looming) can completely keep up. Regardless, the author proves that high performance can be had without spending a fortune on bleeding edge technologies that may become obsolete in a few years or by wasting money on areas where performance gains just do not exist, despite what the marketing department of many companies would have you think. Overall, an excellent primer for those about to invest in a new or improved home entertainment system or product.
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