The other new purchase was a Toshiba SD-V392 combination Hi Fi VHS recorder and DVD/CDplayer ($122 at Best Buy). I chose that model as I suspected that the DVD/CD electronics was similar to that in the SD-3950 DVD/CD player and thought it would be easier to deal with one box rather than two.
The photo shows the equipment as currently configured.
In the left cabinet is still the old equipment that I used in conjunction with the Console Sony. The receiver here is my much loved mid-80s Technics SA-350 with built-in VHF TV Tuner. I have had that one since new. I have another almost identical unit--an ebay purchase--in my bedroom.
The older pieces of equipment in the left cabinet are the Mitsubishi DP-107 CD player and Emerson VCS-966H Hi Fi Video recorder. Both of these units have mecanical issues.
The CD player has a drawer that is sometimes difficult to coax open and at minimum needs a new belt. The Emerson sometimes has difficulty fast forwarding and rewinding tapes, especially if left for long periods without use. I had the idler wheel replaced once, and know how to repair it myself using a pencil eraser. THe problem is that the repair lasts for only a few months. I haven't discarded this unit because it has a number of features no longer normally found on VHS recorders starting with manual line-level controls and is a fine audio deck when it is working properly.
Below that in the left cabinet is a Sony TC WE305 dual
cassette deck, a nearly new unit
I purchased to replace an aging HItachi, also with belt problems.
The Speakers in the cabinets are genuine DAK/BSR Thunder LIzards which are connected to the
Technics,but
I haven't used them much in recent years. I'm a bit concerned about their
location
relative to the TV screen and
may eventually get rid of them.
The main receiver for the sound system is a vintage JVC
VR-5541 40 watt receiver, from the so-called early 70s "blackface"
line. On my living room system I have the smaller VR-5521 which I have owned
since new. For home theater, I like this receiver a lot. FOr
starters I have two auxilary
inputs on it and provision for
two tape decks.
The Subwoofer is located on the left, and is being driven
at line level by the audio
output of the TV.THe Subwoofer is the 100 watt RMS Jensen JS-1000A
complete with 12-inch woofer built during the period Jensen was a subsidiary of
Recoton, it is very similar to a subwoofer
built under the AR label (which Recoton also owned at the time). I picked this up new in box a couple
summers
ago on ebay
with the idea I would eventually use it for a home theater system.
In addition, for higher frequencies, there are two pairs
DIY speakers. THe black Goldwood
Project speakers are well documented on my
speaker building page. The towers I built
specifically for home theater, and they are connected to the vintage
JVC receiver as well as the Toshiba
VHS/CD/DVD unit.
There are 7 sets of video inputs on the Sony projection
TV, but only one pair of audio outputs.
I thought it would be interesting to let the TV drive the
sub, so the sub could
run even if the stereo receiver wasn't turned on. THe jacks on the
audio output say
L(Mono) and R I had not seen that before.I
Y'ed the Left channel output and sent that to the
sub.
The Left and Right outputs get
sent to AUX 1 on the JVC. I'm not sure if I should also Y the right
channel output and then merge
both signals back to a mono signal or not but the Sub seems to be
working fine as is. AUX 1 on the
JVC then also sends sound from whatever is playing on the TV out to the towers.
From the Toshiba SD-V392 I ran three wire composite video
signal (aka Py Pb Pr
for 480p progressive scan DVD)
plus the digital audio signal to the TV from the CD/DVD side
of the SD-V392 to Video input 6
which accepts the progressive scan video. In order to watch
a DVD I simply set the TV on
Video 6. I can turn off the TV speakers entirely via a menu on the TV
if I want (though
they really act as something like a center channel speaker) and still use the
volume
control on the TV remote to
adjust the volume of the tower speakers connected to the JVC receiver.
There is more: the analog signal from VHS side of the the SD-V392 for audio goes to the AUX 2
input of the JVC. The VHS
composite video signal goes to the Video 2 input on the TV. There are
also S-video outputs on the
Toshiba and S-video inputs on the TV, but I haven't dug into those--yet!
Still in the works are plans to upgrade the analog cable
box to digital, and this box will also
includes a 40-hour digital video
recorder. As of yet I have not connected the wires to record
VHS, awaiting the digital cable box swapout.
This box will also
give me true HDTV in 720p or
1080i formats and the Sony KP46WT510 will accept either format directly without
upconverting 720p to 1080i. THe
picture is so clear on
our existing cable system I
don't think the true HDTV will turn out to be much of an upgrade.
I don't have any rear channel speakers, but the current system works well enough that I don't think
they will be much missed.
Finally, everything pretty much fit into the existing
cabinets. The TV was chosen in part to fit exactly
in the space vacated by the old
console. Doors on all the equipment can be closed. The depth of
the projection TV works so the
screen is just even with the two cabinets so depth is not a problem.
Overall,the
system does not overwhelm the room.
Aside from the cost of the old equipment,the cost of putting this all together has been well
under
$2,000--I think a very good price as flexible and complex
home theater systems go.
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My Speaker Building page