Customer Reviews

G'Nzl's Book of the Broadway Musical: From H.M.S. Pinafore (1879) to Sunset Boulevard (1994)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Mr. Ferstler covers this field with a solid grasp of basic and advanced principles of audio and video, both timely and timeless, and has the ability to communicate them to the novice and veteran enthusiast alike. His text includes enlightening discussions of theory with helpful diagrams, and relates these to the hardware and software choices facing the consumer. His balanced approach applies to the full range of consumer technology, from costly, high-end systems to quality entry-level products. And he tells the reader, in clear and concise terms, how to put it all together. Aware that in the real world most consumers have restricted budgets, Mr. Ferstler leads the reader through the many alternative product choices and systems design so that maximum quality and impact are achieved with resources available at every level.

Like much of home theatre literature, about 3/4 of the text is devoted to audio systems, while the all-important video component comprises only about a quarter of the discussion. Unlike most home theatre literature, however, Mr. Ferstler possesses essential insight into some fundamental, vital principles of visual display systems which are all too rarely conveyed in other consumer-based publications. Underlying his treatment of new video media, film formats, widescreen and high-definition TV monitors, and how they compare with existing, conventional technology... is the crucial concept of maintaining a constant image/screen height throughout the format spectrum. While he doesn't state so directly, this is a tacit arguement for widescreen TV, and thus Mr. Ferstler is substantially ahead of the curve regarding forthcoming standards that will change the way we watch, and respond, to the video medium. And while the book doesn't take the leap to disuade consumers from standard 4:3 TV sets, it certainly points out the flaws of combining letterboxing with narrow-screen TV, and then explains the benefits and advantages of moving up to widescreen TV. This is particularly relevent to the home theatre field, where programming is largely comprised of pre-recorded movies made in the past half century, nearly all of which have been designed for widescreen. The author combines a staightforward, pragmatic approach with insights that will reward the attentive reader with an eye toward near-future innovations and changes, and beyond.

The Home Theater Companion also provides a helpful glossary, two appendices, an extensive bibliography, and a complete index. It would be a welcomed addition to every serious enthusiast's library.

Reading over the reviews of this book, I was absolutely stunned! I've never seen this level of controversy over a book about audio/video systems of all things! I bought this book to learn about the latest in audio and video systems, and learn the tricks of setting up a home theater for my family. To that end, I can't for the life of me figure out what people are complaining about. The book is clear, well written, and very informative on a lot of subjects (A/V systems seem to have a lot of different technologies and areas of engineering in them). I was impressed that the book presents info divided into different depths, simple for when you aren't interested or don't have time to really go into it, but with sections that go into more depth on heavier issues. I learned a lot about the differences between vented and sealed speakers, how the "radiation pattern" chosen by a designer affects the way a speaker reacts with the room, and other things I knew nothign about. These sections that offer more technical depth were really interesting. I also liked the fact he gave an extensive reading list (bibliography) at the end so that you could study more about any topic if you get interested in it.

I really can't understand the harsh, negative comments. It reminds me of the Mustang vs. Camero or Porshe vs. Ferrari arguments, where people have a lot of money and ego tied up in a car, to the point where it affects their self image, and any contrary opinion makes them feel threatened. Also, a lot of what people seem to complain about I sure didn't find in the book, it's like they read a different book or had some other interaction with the author, through internet newsgroups from the look of it.

From the few times I've visited stores that specialize in expensive stereo gear I knew that there was a lot of snobbery related to very expensive audio gear, but these comments still really puzzle me.

This book is an outstanding introduction to home theater and is readable while not appearing patronizing. I'll try not to repeat material from other reviews. (I agree with the positive ones but am baffled by some of the negative ones - they seem more like personal attacks on the author rather than book reviews). Briefly, it answered several nagging questions I had about installing a system in our home and provided some good work-arounds in a couple of instances. The author provides excellent documentation and bibliographic support for the main content of the book. The reader is provided with, on one hand, an excellent primer on home theater, and on the other hand, an authoritative reference that is well indexed. My copy is a couple of weeks old and is already showing wear.

Here's an example of how the book was useful in my particular situation. I have been a fan of classical music for many years and enjoy both recorded and live performances. Moving beyond 2 speaker stereo was a bit daunting - so many choices and I didn't want to end of worse off than I was before, sound wise. I elected to go with a mid-range Yamaha receiver. Yamaha has a digital signal processing firmware based capability that is somewhat different from other vendors (but will be familiar to users of Creative Labs ...Live series soundcards in some respects, at least in terms of the names of the soundfields). The rear surround speakers seem to be the components in a 5.1 system that generate substantial controversy - monopole, dipole, side-mount, rear mount, etc.etc. without even touching on brand preference). Ferstler pointed out that the Yamaha DSP software wants to see a reasonably standard speaker box in the rear, mounted rather conventionally (a bit higher than the fronts), rather than more elaborate (larger and generally more expensive) multi-directional arrays, as this best replicates the "real" environment that is the mathematical and auditory source for the firmware based virtual environment. This is not covered well in the Yamaha docs (a Yamaha user hint - go to the Yamaha website and read the online docs - setup sections - for their top receivers - you will get a much better overview of how the technology works and how systems should be set up - still applicable to lower cost models - than you will with the mid-range documentation) but the Ferstler book helped me select a good rear surround speaker - I auditioned several varities and agree with the recommendation.

Howard also presents examples of the types of data that consumers should find provided by audio hardware vendors. On a humorous note, he provides an overview of some of the add-ons that appear to mainly add onto the system cost without enhancing accurate sound production.

He also provides an overview of video technology and stresses the need to use some objective setup aid to get the best picture from one's equipment. This is great advice and helped me (after purchasing a setup DVD), even with a modest mass market 27" set, get a much better picture than I had been seeing.

Finally, there is an overview of some of the software (read "music" and "movies") that is out there that is either well performed and recorded or serves to demonstrate some of the capabilities of 5.1 systems.

Again, this is a book I strongly recommend - it is straight forward, well-documented, and very useful.

An amazing ressource. Better than all the hometheater and stereophile magazines i have suscribed to in the last few years compiled. Wish i would have found it earlier!

This is a book for anyone who wants to make sense of the current chaos in the home theatre market. It will not satisfy the high-end audiophile, some few of whom are visible in this review column doing their best to injure the author. That's a shame, people should know better.

With this book, the author sets out to help newcomers to home theater entertainment systems assemble the best kind of system at the price they can afford. The author's tone is no-nonsense, but often slides into condescension - a peculiarity I could not quite set aside to enjoy this author's text. However, when I was in as far as chapter three, I was beginning to wonder if I was reading a work of fiction, such was the author's departure from factual reality. The author talked of observing the correct directionality of speaker wires - which strikes me as madness. Wires are wires, no matter which end you connect to the amp and which to the speakers. An amusing and curious turn of events, given the extensive space taken up in this book 'debunking' what Ferstler feels are nonsense products - large and expensive speakers, complex Lexicon digital processors and the like. Further, the author goes on to suggest using the most elaborate and (in my opinion useless) construction of wires for connecting DVD players to digital pre-amps, which would require the video buff to fork out several hundred dollars on a completely useless and ineffective gimmick. And I am quite sure the enthusiast is not going to spend hours shielding speaker cables from RFI with tin foil, as the author suggests may be necessary with certain CD players with high RF spurious output.

Despite the rantings of golden ears, this book gives a well reasoned approach to audio and video, without unsubtantiated antecdotes of subjective impresions. We all hear differnces when we switch components, even objectivists who engage in double blind testing, like Mr. Frerstler and myself. Subjectivist object to such controled listenting becaue it fails to confirm their firmly held beliefs. The human auditory sense is diferental (like all the senses) and has a tendency to percieve differnces where they do not exist in reality. The issue is simple: if you think you hear a differnce when 2 components are compared, you should be able to reliably detect which component is which, when identification is based soley on the sound. This book helps to point out what is important in an audio/video system and saves the novice time and money. Highly recommended!