The phrase “they don’t make ‘em like that any more” applies to a whole lot of items that we’re nostalgic for.  For me, it applies to old-school RPG gaming, a lot of horror movies, and Jolly Ranchers in the bar form.  Yeah, they weren’t always little chunks–sometimes they came in these long thin bars that you could either treat like lollipops or bite off, gumming your teeth up so hard they could scarcely move.

But for one home theater buff, the phrase best applies to his JBL home theater speakers, which were made back in 1972 and were part of his stereo system for years.  He keeps them as part of the system essentially because they work as well as they do.

And it’s not just retro tech driving this system either–he’s also got a Sony receiver, Advent surround and center channel speakers to back up his JBLs, a Panasonic projector, and more.  There’s even a little more retro tech in the form of a Samsung VCR.

A little of the old and plenty of the new helps make one sweet home theater setup.

Over on the Subdriven forums, one on the users, a fella with the unusual name of Gotapex (I’m assuming it’s a he, of course, I could be wrong) has put up some pics of his absolutely sweet home theatre system, and there’s plenty right about it.

Okay, first off, I know that I’ve been saying a LOT lately that chocolate brown is the ideal color for a home theatre, done to maximize contrast.  And I know that Gotapex’s is white as opposed to that.  Moreover, I know that I’ve been railing against putting viewing devices on fireplace chimneys because of the possible interference of cold and possibly heat.  But this is different in that he’s put a projection screen instead of a flat panel TV up there, so a square of fabric is DEFINITELY going to be a lot less susceptible to cold and heat variances than an entire TV, so we can leave that as is.

What’s better is that he’s got all the right bits of equipment in there, too–a five-speaker surround sound mix, a subwoofer, modular spacing for his receivers and other components (he actually describes swapping out the HDTV receiver) and of course, a collection of nice leather recliners.  There’s a LOT to love in that system, and only a handful of nits to pick about the whole thing.

There’s no doubt that Gotapex has a sweet home theatre setup, and when you check it out here, you’ll be amazed by what you find.

So while cruising around looking for things to write about, I found Thomas Pindelski’s blog, which has undergone a couple different revisions.  And if can get past his rather pompous pronouncements on the nature of film as a medium, he’s got a shot of his admittedly sweet home theatre setup, which definitely doesn’t want for room.

See, he’s built it in a converted GARAGE.  He’s got the standard components–a projector with screen, a surround sound speaker array (or at least a three-speaker, he’s just got the one shot) and what looks like a subwoofer included.

Now, this actually sounds like a better idea than it really is.  Sure, he’s got room enough for absolutely everything he wants to do or include in there, but he’s got at least two significant problems that I can see.  One, it looks like he’s got some light issues.  That is a LOT of light in there, and the best theatres are in interior or otherwise windowless rooms where light levels can be as close to completely controlled as possible.  Two, there’s a lot of empty space, which means there’s a really, REALLY good chance that he’s going to have some acoustic / sound issues.

There’s more than enough room to grow with Thomas Pindelski’s sweet home theatre setup, but that may be its curse as well as its blessing.

Now here’s one of those good news / bad news sort of home theatre setups.  A guy over on Garage Hobbies set up these shots of his home theatre system, where he really went great guns to hide everything in the walls, but he forgot one important detail about the room placement.

He’s got a subwoofer in there, set off to the back, a surround speaker array and what looks like a 56″ LCD tv, which is pretty much the basics for a home theatre setup.

Now, he’s got a lot of shelf space in there, which means he’ll always have a movie close to hand.  That’s definitely the good news, but he’s got at least two big problems I can spot.  One, he’s built it in a room with a window, which means he’s going to have some serious problems with his light levels.  Two, he’s got that really nice big flat panel TV hanging on a chimney right above what looks like an active fireplace.  That’s definitely not going to be good for that TV, I doubt, between the heat of the fire if he uses it and the cold of the brick itself if he lives in anything like a wintry climate.

But still–for what it’s worth, the guy over at Garage Hobbies definitely has a sweet home theatre setup.

I know, a strange way to go after a news post that’s also part “sweet home theatre setup” piece, but this piece is just entirely too cool to not pass on.

So here’s the deal: Videotron, a Canadian cable service, just recently got its one millionth subscriber.  But rather than give Mr. Johnny-Come-Lately a bucketload of free swag for being the newest guy on the roster, they went back to the source.

That’s right–they gave prizes to their FIRST subscriber.  More specifically, they gave him a sweet home theatre setup including, according to Videotron, a  50″ HD TV, Dolby Digital 5.1 receiver and five speakers), an illico high-definition Personal Video Recorder and full Videotron cable television service for one full year”.  Total value of this monster, roughly four thousand (I assume Canadian) dollars.

I have to admit, that’s actually kind of awesome.  The guy who won this, Louis Guimond of Le Gardeur in Quebec, probably didn’t even see it coming that he’d wind up getting big prizes for signing up for some new cable service way back in the dark depths of 1999.

So enjoy your sweet home theatre setup, Monsieur Guimond–laissez les bon temps roulon!

The Zune HD is quickly becoming the perfect addition to any home theater setup. We already know that it supports HD video output, but now recent reports suggest that the Zune HD may also allow for surround sound support.

News comes to us from the latest version of Microsoft Expression Encoder 3 that features profiles for the Zune HD. EngadgetHD reports that these profiles reveal that the Zune HD will in fact support surround sound.

Anyone else as excited from the ZuneHD as I am?

Over on PatrickBosley.com, Patrick Bosley’s been a busy fella.  He has, from what I can tell, been restructuring his basement space into three different subsections–office space, an aquarium and the part that means something to us, a home theatre.

It’s nothing very elaborate–he’s got a projection screen and a few speakers, three of which are front mounted, suggesting a surround sound system.  He’s used what looks like an old couch for home theatre seating, and put the whole thing in a finished basement.

Despite what some may tell you, and despite what you frequently see here, this is really all you need for a home theatre setup.  He’s taken care of the light issue by putting it in the basement, he’s got the visible media, he’s got the sound taken care of–he can go down and watch movies all he pleases.  This is, at its roots, a home theatre in the truest definition.  There aren’t a whole lot of bells and whistles, no fancy seats or extra options.  No snack bar or anything else–just a projector, a screen and some speakers.  Maximum options, minimum cost.

This is the kind of thing you could probably do on a budget of six hundred bucks, aside from the cost of finishing the basement, of course.  And for the fact that you’ve got a sweet, simple home theatre setup, we salute Patrick Bosley’s sweet home theatre setup.

Over at a forum devoted to the Playstation 3, I found a great home theatre setup brought to us by a guy (I’m guessing) named NeelyBoy.  He’s got a downright sweet home theatre setup, featuring a fifty five inch Hitachi plasma screen, possibly a surround sound setup (he’s got three speakers visible, including a center speaker, so the two smaller rearward speakers that would usually denote a surround sound setup aren’t in frame) and a few other components, including an Xbox 360 Elite in full red ring of death posture.

It’s a nice setup, and he’s managed to put the whole thing into a relatively small space.  I’d say the whole system doesn’t use more than twenty five square feet.  In fact, for you apartment / condo dwellers in the readership, you may want to think about emulating NeelyBoy’s setup.  After all, he’s managed to wedge a lot of sweet gaming / movie hotness into a very VERY small space.  If he can do it, then you can surely do it yourself.

So, sweet home theatre setup, NeelyBoy, and may your NEXT Xbox not red ring on you.

Creative has recently come forth to give us a look at their nicely priced Inspire T3130 and T6160 speaker systems.

The T3130 will feature 2.1 audio and is marketed for use with PCs, laptops, and MP3 players and will sell for £49.99 ($83) later this month. The T6160 (pictured above), on the other hand, will feature 5.1 surround sound audio and is marketed more towards home theater use and will sell for £79.99 ($134) also later this month.

If you’re looking for a nice speaker system for your home theater and don’t want to break the bank, you should definitly check these out.

via Creative

B&W

B&W’s Liberty system is an integrated 5.1 system featuring wireless, cable-free speakers. The Liberty range consists of four speaker models and one combined  digital radio and disc player with a wireless transmitter. The four speakers are the three-way, floor standing XTW 8, the two-way XTW 2 and XTW Centre bookshelf/stand speakers, and the PVW 1 subwoofer.

It’s a fully active system powered by integrated class-D amplifiers, The Liberty is the first wireless system able to transmit eight channels and it can be set up in a 5.1 configuration for full surround sound, with two bonus channels reserved for remote zones. The range offers lthe convenience of a clutter-free, cable-less sound system with the unyielding approach to quality and design for which Bowers & Wilkins is famous. Retails for around $15,000

Yamaha YSP

Yamaha has created a 5.1 surround sound system that eliminates the need for messy speaker wires. The YSP system (which stands for Yamaha Sound Projector) comes in a thin bar-shaped box in the length of an LCD and plasma TV. The system fits under the TV set and comes in 32 or 42 inch sizes. Easy to set up, the YSP system comes with an IntelliBeam auto setup and calibration system.

The center channel sound is audible directly, while sounds from other channels are audible when reflected from walls in the Home Theater room. The result is a multichannel surround sound, but without needing extra speakers and without the need for unsightly wires. YSP sound does not come cheap but it is top-of-the line. The Yamaha  YSP-3050 retails for about $1400.00.