Home Audio / Re: SPDIF support

[Ben Scott]

On 4/8/07, Jarod Wilson <jarod at wilsonet.com> wrote:
> I stand by the statement that neither Bose or Pioneer Elite are crap-level.

  I don't think Bose is crap, either.  Indeed, my Wave Radio sounds a
lot better than some of the home theater systems I've heard.  :)  My
only reservation about Bose is that they appear rather over-priced, in
that you can get a lot more for your dollar if you do just a little
bit more research first (no pun intended).  But over-priced doesn't
mean crap.

  I've also got a $500 Sony "Dream System" all-in-one home theater
unit (I wanted something *compact*) that manages to sound better than
my Wave Radio, but it's actually a close race if there are no surround
effects involved and the volume level is low.  That's probably because
the Sony is another system that puts a lot of the lower mid-range load
in the "big box on the floor" (can't really call it a sub-woofer since
it's doing more than that).  It's a design compromise, no doubt about
it, but it does make for something that takes up very little room.
After I win the lottery and build my own home theater, I'll get
something better.  ;-)

  My main PC still has a circa 1998, $80, 2.1 Altec Lansing speaker
set.  It's good enough for what I use it for -- mainly listening to
Shoutcast and playing video games.  :)

  The best audio gear I've got is probably my $250 Sennheiser
headphone set.  I can say that, when I use those headphones, I hear
nuances I don't hear with any of my other gear.  So there is something
to be said for better quality.

-- Ben