MartinLogan DYNBLD Dynamo 10-Inch Subwoofer

This is a very well built subwoofer with many of the same parts and most of the technology taken from the upper line (Grotto, Depth, Descent) of ML subs. It has the same solid 10" aluminum driver found in all high-end subs. It was designed and engineered in the US by ML and built in China to keep costs down, however, I did not notice any build-quality issue. I compared the Dynamo head to head with the ML Grotto (twice the price) and found that they both sounded great.

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The Grotto adds a servo circuit, a tad better cabinet and a little more power (250 vs. 200) but in the long run, I could not justify the price difference.

Compact Affordable Performance Every element of Dynamo, from driver to amplifier to crossover to cabinet, is meticulously designed and manufactured to our highest standard. The result is staggering low-frequency performance for a subwoofer of its size and price. And its versatility is second to none. Variable phase and low-pass crossover controls enable custom tailoring to any system and environment. Dynamo can also be quickly reconfigured for either down- or front-firing operation.

Drawing on seven years of dedicated research into driver, amplifier, cabinet, control, and systems technologies, Dynamo establishes new benchmarks for performance and versatility in a subwoofer of such compact dimensions and moderate price. It is user-configurable for either front- or down-firing operation. That capability together with flexible crossover controls ensures that Dynamo can deliver excellent bass from any location in your room. No other subwoofer in its class offers Dynamo's combination of bass extension, power, and detail.

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Panasonic VIERA G10 Series TC-P50G10 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

The picture of this TV is simply amazing. The color in THX mode is truely mesmerizing (to borrow a perfectly apt description from a previous reviewer). It is so good that I try to use it most of the time unless the room is very bright (I have large windows on two walls in the room, so if it's sunny outside and the curtains are up, it gets too bright for THX mode).

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Yes, THX mode is dark, but if it's trying to reproduce the authentic colors of a movie, which you'd watch in a really dark movie theater, I don't have a problem with it not being suitable for a very brightly-lit room.

Speaking of the bright room, I have had no problems with glare. This is so much so that I don't know what people are talking about when complaining about plasma and glare. The anti-reflective coating on this screen seems to be very effective.

If you demand the best from your viewing experience, the G10 Series of Plasma HDTVs was created just for you. They boast cinema-quality movie reproduction, clear, smooth sports and gaming action - even Web entertainment. All made possible by the Neo PDP technology, which delivers sharp, detailed images, deep blacks and remarkable brightness, and all with lower power consumption.

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Sony BRAVIA XBR Series KDL-52XBR9 52-Inch 1080p 240 Hz LCD HDTV

This is a very impressive TV. It replaces a 34-inch Sony WEGA tube-based high-def television that I bought in 2003, and I have an XBR6 in another room.

Picture quality is very good. I'm not an expert and won't quibble about technical details. All I know is that I can see the makeup that doesn't completely cover the news anchor's face, and I can examine his dental work.

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That's probably more than I really need to see :-) A baseball flying across Busch Stadium looks like a baseball - not like something from the Hubble telescope. The picture seems to pop out into the room, and that effect is enhanced by the TV's narrow frame. There's a little bit of what I guess is called "mura" when there is no picture on the screen, but it's hardly noticeable and vanishes completely when a picture appears, even if the picture doesn't occupy the entire screen. Not an issue at all.

Powerful performance and superior design come together with the stunning 52" BRAVIA XBR9 HDTV. This flat panel TV features Motionflow 240Hz refresh rate technology for maximum motion detail and clarity. There's also broadband Internet connectivity with built-in BRAVIA Internet video capabilities that let you view select on-demand movies, TV shows, music and more. You can even personalize your entertainment experience by selecting and positioning widgets containing the latest news, weather, sports and more directly on your TV screen. In addition to BRAVIA Engine 3 digital video processor, the 52" XBR9 incorporates advanced power saving features and comes with 7 HD inputs.

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Sony HTCT100 Sound Bar with Sub Woofer

One of the problems with home-theater surround sound is finding the space to place 6 speakers in a room. It can be a challenge. Sony's HT-CT100 converts the surround experience to 3.1 channels and uses only 2 speakers, a subwoofer and a SoundBar. The SoundBar is placed like a center channel speaker directly over the TV.

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Speakers within the bar radiate at different angles to deliver center, left, and right channels through a spatially enhanced soundfield. With 50 Watts to each channel + 100 Watts directly to subwoofer, the system delivers 250 watts total. Featuring HDMI - Component Video - Optical A/V ports, you can connect your TV and DVD or Blu-Ray player directly to the system.

It's the simplest, most streamlined way to enjoy home-theater surround LPCM Playback - LPCM is a method of encoding audio information digitally which can have up to 8 channels of uncompressed audio.

This wider bandwidth allows for high resolution audio which is closer to the original 3 Optical, 1-Coax Dolby Digital/DTS/ProLogic

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Sony BDP-S360 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player

I just bought this player as an upgrade to my older Samsung BD-P1000 and I must say I am extremely pleased with this player. It was very easy to set up and to operate. I have it connected to my Onkyo TX-SR705 with 7.1 speaker set-up which makes use of the lossless sound decoders.

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Hearing a movie in DTS- HD Master Audio has been a real experience especially on 7.1 soundtracks. My only complaint (which is minor) is that you have to manually operate the tray open and close from the player itself. This is another great Blu-ray player from Sony. I recommend you buy this player.

The BDP-S360 stand-alone player delivers full HD 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema output, plus decodes the latest advanced audio codecs, Watch Blu-ray Disc movies in Full HD 1080p and upscale your existing DVD collection via HDMI to near HD quality. In addition to a superior picture, this player supports Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD audio codecs for up to 7.1 channels of high-definition sound.

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Accessorizing And Decorating Your Home Theater

So, you’ve bought the big screen TV, the surround sound speakers and various home theater equipment and you have them installed and ready to go. But what’s missing?

If you’re installing a home theater, you need to think beyond the system components and consider the furniture and accessories you want to add to the room to create a really cool environment for your entertainment pleasure.

Just like decorating any other room, the accessories are what will make your home theater stand out from the crowd. Here’s some things to think about when considering your home theater decor:

1. Think about what kind of look you want in your home theater. If the room is a dedicated home theater, you can pretty much pick whatever look you want. If you want to go with a movie theme, you can do that. If you want Old World elegant with a big screen and speakers thrown in, you can do that too. If the room is serving a double purpose, such as an office/home theater or living room/home theater, then you need to keep that in mind when decorating. Most people wouldn’t want giant, framed movie posters for horror flicks within eyesight of their dining room. And if the room is also used for children’s play, safety considerations might dictate decorating.

2. Choose your theme first - maybe you already have a collection of old movie posters and you want to work around that. Or perhaps, you always wanted an indoor garden of sorts. Either way, picking your theme should be the first thing you do before you rush out to the store to buy accessories. Knowing the theme in advance will help guide the rest of your decisions from colors and wall hangings to furniture and lighting.

3. Start a collection. A popular theme for decorating home theaters is to fill it with old movie memorabilia. This can be really fun to collect and it could even be considered an investment as the items you use may well go up in value. Some things you can collect for your home theater include: movie posters, autographed photos of movie stars, an old fashioned movie popcorn maker, movie props and other memorabilia from old movie ticket stubs to real movie theater seats. One thing to keep in mind when collecting anything is that condition is of the utmost importance so buy the best condition items you can afford. It is better to get 1 item in excellent condition, then to get 10 that are in fair condition.

4. Don’t forget the rooms real purpose when selecting furniture and lighting. Make sure lighting enhances the movie experience. If the room is used for another purpose too, think about a combination of lights to make it work for both instances. Low lighting is ideal for movies, but it’s not so hot for kids trying to do homework on a coffee table. You also want your furniture to be of the utmost in comfort. It wouldn’t be much fun to watch a movie on your expensive new home theater system if you are not comfortable, would it? Luckily, with the selections today, you can get both comfort and style in your home theater furniture.

5. Make your home theater feng shui friendly. Keeping some basic principals of feng shui in mind when designing your room can help you attain a relaxing atmosphere. Don’t put seating with the backs to the doors. Try to set the room up with a nice flow and workable space for walking. Don’t try to cram things into the room that won’t fit properly. Make sure to keep your home theater organized, a room that is filled with piles of junk and a mess will not create a relaxing atmosphere. Instead, it will serve to remind viewers who live in the home of any and all work and projects they need to do. Keep the room decorated and nice, but don’t over pack it with junk. Make sure you hide the wires and have plenty of storage cabinets to put your DVD’s in.

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The Home Theater Furniture Makes All The Difference

We all love to have comfort, whether it is in our office, living room, bedroom, dining room, or anywhere. Similarly, it is very important to have comfort in our home theatre. Therefore, the furniture plays a significant role in giving rise to a comfortable ambience inside the home theater.

Decorating Home Theater

When you are planning the design of your home theater, you should not restrict yourself to chairs and seating. They are very important in setting up a home theater, but you should also have some colored posters and cuttings of the movies. This will enhance the ambience of the home theater and will making watching the movie more enjoyable. You should decorate the room in the best possible way by using vast collection of accessories like carpets, wall papers, etc.

Furniture For Home Theater

There are so many things to be considered while purchasing the furniture for the home theater. There are many companies in the market that manufacture furniture especially for home theaters according to your requirements. The following items are necessary to have a pleasure of real theaters in home theatres:

1 - You should buy an entertainment stand, which will hold all of your equipment like a television, DVD player, and stereo. This will make your system look organized and will save the consumption of your space.

2 - The next important thing is the purchase of comfortable furniture. There are a number of choices in the market for the chairs and couches. Along with comfort, you should also consider the style and color of the chairs and couches, as they should suit your decor. There are many designs of the loungers that possess wide arm rests with beverages holders and sliding foot rests. You should have a proper survey of the furniture market in order to get the best according to your requirements.

3 - While going for purchasing the home theater furniture, the main thing that should be considered is the room in which you are having your home theater system. The furniture should be selected accordingly.

4 - There are many other different accessories like audio visual cabinets, video cabinets, TV cabinets, stereo cabinets, multimedia, storage cabinets, or entertainment cabinets, They come in various shapes, colors, designs, and companies to enhance the look of your home theatre.

5 - Depending upon your budget, you can even opt for some of the enjoyable things like popcorn machines or to have a small bar at the back of the room in order to have great pleasurable time while watching a 2 hours full length movie.

Therefore, the selection of the furniture should be done by considering the above-mentioned points in order to enjoy the fun and excitement of the actual theatre in the premises of your home theater.

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