[BStecke]

Nobody can really tell you, outside of some generalities, what is better about one sound vs. another. $700 is a decent receiver, without speakers or a sub or wiring or cables to hook up to your DVD player, game system, cable box, etc . . . just the receiver. And to some people, a $700 receiver is the same as a Wal Mart receiver is to me. And really, most really high end audio systems don't use an AVR, they use separate processing equipment with separate amplifiers. It's easy to find just an amplifier for around $2000.

In general . . . crappy speakers and amplifiers/processors, to me, have always sounded tinny, and tend to be harsh at loud volumes. Some of this would have to do with the wattage, but would have more to do with the cleanliness of the power that is put out by the receiver. Harmon Kardon is a good example of this. Their receivers are rated very low in wattage compared to other receivers in their price range, yet they sound incredibly good, due to the quality of their amplifiers. The reason for the high cost of a decent receiver is both the fact that it contains an amplifier and a processor in one unit, both being of good quality, and most new receivers have separate processors for audio and video, hence the name Audio Video Receiver (AVR). Yes, you can get a receiver for $200 bucks, but that's for a weak amplifier with power output that's probably as clean as a bum's underwear.

Good quality sound will have a fuller sound to it, and generally won't hurt your ears when you listen to it loud. If you go crank up the stereo in your car to its loudest volume, it'll probably hurt your ears (if it doesn't blow up your speakers first). This is caused by distortion, which a lot of times is due to lack of power, but can also be due to sub-par components. You'd be amazed how you can get your stock car system to sound with a different radio with a clean amplifier. The same goes for home audio as well. The different types of sound processing (Dolby Digital, DTS, etc.) offer different advantages. DD was the first (to my knowledge) multi-channel sound, meaning each channel receives its own signal. DTS is a higher bitrate audio which typically has a "fuller" sound to it than Dolby Digital. The newer HD sound forms, such as TrueHD, PCM, and DTS MA offer even higher bitrates (read: more information going to the receiver), and therefore can recreate sound more closely to that of the original master, which is obviously recorded from the source of the sound, ie an orchestra or something of that nature. These sound formats are uncompressed, compared to DTS and DD that are pretty highly compressed. More compression = lower quality sound. Uncompressed audio is basically a carbon copy of the master. There should be a noticeable difference, even to the most casual of listener, between uncompressed audio and regular DD and DTS. If there isn't . . . I don't know what to tell you. I guess in the long run it's better for you because you save money.

You really have to hear these things to understand the difference. You can't really get a feel for what sex is like by somebody telling you about it, and the same goes for audio. You just have to experience it.