What makes you qualified to answer questions on home theater?

I rarely ever ask or answer here anymore, I've moved on to forum's. Forum's definitely have more knowledge about home audio but I ask here sometimes because there are exceptions like you, A/V Daddy, Grumpy Mac and a few others.

I answer the questions I know can answer. I've been a big denthusiast for the past 10 years and know more than the average person. But I've also recently switched from home theater (multiple channels) to only 2 channels (stereo) because I listen to music way more often. I guess one day I can have both in separate rooms!

Anyone going to the Newport Show??

I myself am an Independent Custom Home Theater Installer. I've been doing it for about 10 years now but way before that I was already involved in audio and video as an enthusiast. I spend hours and hours installing, testing, troubleshooting and designing media rooms from scratch - sticking to the standards. I also spend a lot of time inside attics, running cables through walls, ceilings, basements and any other space with a possibility and I'm constantly explaining to customers the pros and cons of different technologies. I've also worked for other companies locally and I've had the experience to work with different people. Some of them good, some of them not much. I've known people that claim 20 or 30 years of experience and for some reason occasionally they get a little impressed on how I approach problems and the knowledge I have for my "short period of time". During the time that I've been doing this, I've learned that experience is indeed very important but it isn't all. When you love something and you're open to every aspect of it, you can absorb much more in a short period of time than when you do it out of pure necessity. And yes, HOME THEATER is full of opinions, theories, methods and possibilities. No two installers will think the same - everyone will have a different point of view but at the end of the day, the point is achieving the best possible install and get the most out of every system without copromising anyone or anything. So that's basically my background and yes, we obviously have other people here (@ YAHOO Answers) giving their inexperienced opinions or inconsistent conclusions. But that shouldn't bother us as long as we try our best to help others. People by nature should follow logic, knowledge and good judgement - good day.

I remember the previous generation of surround sound, but we called it "quadraphonic" back then!

I've repaired audio equipment since the "vintage" audio of today was a new product. I am also an audiophile, although I don't have the high-end equipment I used to. Being semi-retired, I enjoy restoring older equipment, and younger people have gained an appreciation for the quality that was the norm back in the 1960's and 1970's.

So once in a while, for a change of pace, I stop in around these parts and answer a few questions. Nice break from the rows of receivers and the like I have waiting to be repaired and restored. I have found a strong niche market in Magnavox Astro-Sonic console stereos from the 1960's. They always need recapped, but being very early solid state, they were over-built to the extreme. They never have a transistor failure. Given the state of audio reproduction equipment back in that era, and the poor quality of source material, they had a very musical sonic coloration that created a pleasing musical presentation. I can't rebuild them fast enough, and they do take time. Times sure have changed, haven't they?

Lets see...

BSEE from Berkeley.

A love of movies and theater but with wife/kids/dogs - I do not get a chance to go to the movies as often as I like. So I started studying Home Theater back in the ProLogic days.

A company I worked with were early adopters of the AC2 compression codex made by Dolby Labs. This was the 2-channel version of what became AC3 - the codex behind Dolby Digital 5.1. There were 'issues' and since we were in San Francisco and Dolby Labs was based in SF - the engineers used to show up to take samples of problems we discovered. I learned a lot about digital encoding from these guys. I also worked with sound engineers who taught me a lot of the issues and 'tricks' used in modern sound studios.

I became an administrator at Home Theater Forum and worked the Basics area for years. I taught people how to hook things up, calibrate their sound systems, learned about RTA, burned my own test CD disk to map my room response, studied the Hass Effect and psycho acoustics, etc.

I have also studied the "junk science" behind expensive copper that promise to reduce judder and the 'secret' winding that promise to "temporally align" the signals caused by digital recordings. I laugh, then cry at the 1 meter "Digital Cable" advertised for $800 in the audiophile magazines. I studied coax, the white papers at the Belden Cable site and learned to make my own HD compatible RCA cables.

I've been doing this for about 20 years. I am not a 'professional' in that I do not charge for my help when I install, calibrate or advise people how to hook up and operate their gear. I am an engineer - I can understand the theory behind the way things work.

My only question was about the best way to clean the inside of an old stereo receiver. I have a little experience with 70's and 80's equipment with systems that I bought but none concerning repairing or real cleaning. I have an old Akai AA-R20, a Modular Component Systems 3253 and a Marantz SR 3100. All three need cleaning but the Marantz started smoking from a capacitor when I plugged it in. I bought it and the MCS on E-Bay.

Anyt thoughts about these receivers as to good or bad? I would like to know what you think about them.

Thanks.

Urbane

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30 years professional AV experience, including sales, consultation, design & installation of home theater systems.

Usually if someone's wrong, somebody else corrects them.