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Marantz, ProCinema fuse well
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Question: I am looking to put surround sound in my apartment living room, which is perhaps 12 feet by 16 feet in size. I have the TV and Blu-ray already. What would you recommend for around $1,000?
MIKE WONG
PITTSBURGH
A. This is an easy one to answer since I recently did this in one of my bedrooms. You can get extremely good sound for $1,000 in a compact, high-quality system using components from top name brands. In fact, when you hear it, the sound is likely to be a lot better than you were expecting!
I am going to recommend exactly what I bought. To power the system, try the $399 Marantz NR1402 A/V receiver, which has excellent sound and ease of setup and use.
Connect the receiver to the new 5.1-channel Definitive Technology ProCinema 400 home theater speaker system, which sells for $599 complete with 8-inch powered subwoofer. This is another one of those products that makes me want to stand up and cheer. It checks all the right boxes: great sound, a top brand name, an affordable price, high-quality construction and innovative engineering that produces notably superior results. I hate to possibly hurt Definitive's feelings, but I think the ProCinema 400 sounds better than some of their more expensive systems.
The ProCinema 400 satellites are very small and have sturdy snap-off bases that can be removed if you wall mount the speakers. Though tiny, the satellites have a radiator on top of the cabinet that allows them to produce more bass than other speakers of the same size. The extra bit of bass from the radiator keeps the satellites from sounding thin or weak. The radiator is ribbed for stiffness and firmly sprung with a rubber surround. I get to handle a lot of speakers year after year, and it is obvious a lot of precise, thoughtful engineering went into the ProCinema 400 satellites. Though they don't have the bass oomph of larger bookshelf speakers, these satellites still satisfy.
The sonic performance of the ProCinema 400 system greatly exceeded my expectations. The ProCinema 400 satellites sound pure and clean without any sterility, with a precise, richly rendered tone that makes you forget you are listening to speakers.
The only caveat to this system is if you put it in a much larger room, it might start sounding thin, given the 8-inch sub and small satellites. In rooms the size of your living room or a bit larger, the Marantz NR1402 and Definitive ProCinema 400 speakers will provide a first-rate home theater experience.
First Published March 11, 2012 12:00 am
