Comments on: Best places to talk Home Audio?

Question: Best places to talk Home Audio?

Phyltre — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 20:42:05 -0800

What and where are the best audio/home theater discussion groups/forums for someone wanting to learn about said items?

I'm working in big-box retail (and loving it, thank you very much), and there are some extremely tempting Employee Accommodations available to me. I've been looking at home audio a lot recently, and this cements it--I'm definitely buying when the components cost between 50 and 75% less than retail.

The catch is, I don't know very much about home audio. I've googled the models, and gotten some information. I've googled for audio and home theater forums as well (with tons of results), but I don't know who to trust or respect. That's where I need your help. What and where are the best audio/home theater discussion groups and forums, so I can get good advice and not waste my once-a-year accommodations purchase or, at worst, buy the wrong thing and burn the house down?

(Because I know you'll ask: My preliminary plan is to get a Harman Kardon AVR-144 receiver with two Klipsch RF-82 floorstanders and an RW10d sub. Price to me: roughly $700 for everything. Yes, this will be an ad-hoc 2.1 system on a 5.1 receiver, but I'm not buying everything at once for budgeting reasons.)

By: sandmanwv

sandmanwv — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 20:59:10 -0800

IMO, begins and ends with AV Forums

By: mosk

mosk — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:16:55 -0800

Although similar in name to sandmanwv's suggestion, AVS Forum is probably the top dog in this arena. You will be hard pressed to find a larger, more fanatical group of AV nuts in any one online community. Just take the time to read the FAQs and use the Search function before posting, as many obvious/common questions have already been asked and answered.

By: robbie01

robbie01 — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:31:47 -0800

Yeah, AVS Forum is pretty much the standard. Unfortunately, it's suffered from its own success (MetaFilter Syndrome?) Popular topics/devices yield literally hundreds of PAGES of comments, putting a pretty heavy burden on anyone trying to be thorough in their research. I felt obligated to read through several thousand comments before settling on an HDTV purchase.

By: david06

david06 — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:45:39 -0800

HTGuide is a smaller forum which I have found very valuable. Definitely has a smaller, tighter-community feel to it compared to the others.

By: Monochrome

Monochrome — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:52:12 -0800

In addition to the aforementioned AVS Forum, I recommend the Home Theater Forum. Members are very personable, even though it's a huge site.

By: lohmannn

lohmannn — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 06:23:34 -0800

avs forums, for sure. i had a similar experience to robbie01's.

By: caddis

caddis — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 07:02:08 -0800

For the purely audio part - Audio Asylum.

By: somanyamys

somanyamys — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:34:49 -0800

nthing AVSForum.

By: cptnrandy

cptnrandy — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 09:54:25 -0800

A recommendation on using the AVSForum. Yes, lurk and search, first, then ask for help.

And whatever you do - STAY OUT OF THE PROJECTOR forums!

By: ijoyner

ijoyner — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 10:30:41 -0800

Audioholics is a good resource for A/V Home Theatre stuff.
Sure, they have a link to their forum, but the real gold is in their "AV University" and "What to buy" sections. They'll really tell you all about the snake oil that is peddled in the AV industry (Bose, Monster Cables, etc)