The Essential Home Theater Gear List

[bandphan]

What is the essential gear or features of gear that you cant live without in your rigs.(excluding displays and speakers).

For me its my remote and the dcx2496.

 

[Adam]

I'm with you - my remote, for sure.

And power cords.

 

[jostenmeat]

Too many to list, hmm.

-acoustical panels
-remote
-room correction
-cup holders
-dark curtains
-stocked bar

 

[Seth=L]

Teac CR-H220 and the Pioneer Elite changer I have now, I can't believe how much easier that Elite has made my life.

 

[bandphan]

I guess i should have added REW with the dcx.

 

[jamie2112]

My ears, I can't live without my ears!!!!! Those are the most important piece's of gear I own...

 

[MinusTheBear]

SPL Meter. Every single person with a home theatre system should own one.

 

[OttoMatic]

What is the essential gear or features of gear that you cant live without in your rigs.(excluding displays and speakers).

For me its my remote and the dcx2496.

Wow, before I even read your entire post, I was thinking "DCX2496"! No doubt about the remote, too -- it makes everything sooooo much easier (especially for my wife). And then you added REW. Brilliant.

The SPL meter suggestion is also right on. So many people complain about poor sound, and it's frequently due to poor/no setup. The SPL meter is critical (and needed for REW as well).

To actually contribute something to this thread, I'll add that the piece of gear I use most (aside from preamp, amp and speakers) is my HTPC. This is used to stream audio from the web, stream all our CDs from the server and play BluRays and DVDs. It runs REW when I need it. Of course, I can use it to display pictures on the TV and surf the web. It is the hub of pretty much everything (Dish is our other main video source, and I could live without it easier than living without the PC).

Thanks. Great thread!

 

[Alex2507]

SPL Meter. Every single person with a home theatre system should own one.

And a flippin' calibration disc. People should forced to change their channels manually until they calibrate something, anything, even if it's wrong.

 

[Alex2507]

And power cords.

I don't get it. I would think that you're joking but there is no smilie.
There's just no way that you are promoting esoteric cabling, is there?

 

[Adam]

I don't get it. I would think that you're joking but there is no smilie.
There's just no way that you are promoting esoteric cabling, is there?

Would I do that? Nah, I was joking. I was just saying that power cords are essential gear, and they are - without them, my stuff won't work. [There's a smiley for ya!]

 

[jostenmeat]

And a flippin' calibration disc. People should forced to change their channels manually until they calibrate something, anything, even if it's wrong.

You're right. I recalibrated with Avia again last night, and it's really, really, really cool to see how immediately different, and better, the video looked.

The contrast difference was not enormous, but still significantly better. The biggest improvement was the definition of color variations. The weird thing is I left the colors alone, more or less, because the tests weren't showing any difference to me.

The main things I tweaked were brightness... and something else that I don't remember. I am not sure if I am getting less or more color accuracy, but I am getting more variation. It's also pretty hard for me to know if I did it as correctly as possible.

I sure wouldn't mind getting some ISF calibration skooling, and some more powerful tools to calibrate even better. But for $15 or whatever it is, worth every penny and then some.

 

[Phil Taylor]

My Dish HD DVR and my Harmony remote - not necessarily in that order.

 

[Alex2507]

It's funny but when people say 'essential' they usually mean anything but. In that light the SPL meter and calibration disc have been established.

For me its my remote and the dcx2496.

Since I merely yearn for a DCX, I can't tack that on to my personal list but a URC MX-350 is an absolute must have (now that I have one). I still have the other remotes kicking around but use them less and less frequently as I become better with the URC.

I know you can spend a ton of money on these essentially non essential essentials but a nice hard-buttoned, back-lit, one remote does it all, remote separates us audioholics from the beasts of the field.

Wait until I figure out what to do with the macro functions.

 

[Rickster71]

Great question Bandphan!

It's really hard for me to pick just one.
So, I'll have to +1 for the Dish HD 722 DVR.
Still waiting to buy the perfect universal remote.

 

[Alex2507]

Still waiting to buy the perfect universal remote.

What a farmer.

That's a old SW Ontario cut down from when I was 12.

 

[DTS]

How about a good movie with a lot of action and explosions, and all that other stuff mentioned as well. Oh, and perhaps some alcohol and good friends.

 

[Rickster71]

What a farmer.

That's a old SW Ontario cut down from when I was 12.

When your walking down the street, and someone throws a flip-flop at you, you'll know from whence it came.....That's right, I just used 'whence' in a sentence.

 

[Alex2507]

When your walking down the street, and someone throws a flip-flop at you, you'll know from whence it came.....That's right, I just used 'whence' in a sentence.

Oh man you are going to love this.

I have actually thrown a flip flop at a former male stripper while he was asleep because he was giving me the run around over paying me $50. The first flip flop to the head was to make sure he was awake so that he could see me winding up with the second flip flop. I can be such a b!tch.

 

[bandphan]

On the remote side i still use the mx950. Its just easy for every one to get. I was using the mx3000 but the family keept using the hard button. The rf units imo are impossible to live without.