So, I’m a troll now.  Ok.  Why do I spend time call these articles out?  Because the first crappy article I read was about how to buy speakers, and said to leave Mr. Audio at home when buying speakers.  That’s where I picked up the name Mr. Audio.  Yeah, I’m going to say what I think about these articles because they plague the AVS forum everyday with useless stupid advice.  Yeah, I’ll spend alittle extra time to call out a useless article.

Mr.Audio, if you hate the articles here so much, why do you keep coming back? Just enjoy being a troll? I’d think your time would be more valuable than that.

I really think “read the manual” is pretty much implied by suggestions such as:

“find out how much power [...] as well as the total amount of power that will be drawn by the electronics.” and “Be sure to consult the manufacturers’ specifications to see…”

And the fact is, most people *don’t* read the manuals. Heck, go to any bookstore and check the “How-To” or the computer books sections and you’ll find volumes and volumes of stuff that people could learn by studying various user manuals. But *many* people prefer to read something in a more conversational style, which is why those books, and articles like this one, are useful.

You’re entitled to your opinion of course, but don’t think everyone else shares it. If the articles here aren’t sufficiently technical to be of use to you, go somewhere else… the web is a big place.

It certainly is.  However, the whole article could have been way more effective by simply making the first point to read all manuals completely. Then go on to the real common pitfals such as speaker placement and positioning.  My point is to the EH staff is to write about something that is cannot be known from reading the operator’s manuals.  Amps, speakers, DVD players, TVs cannot be setup properly with operator manual knowledge no matter if they are high or low end.  If their placement and settings are not optimized, then all you have is a bunch of fine instruments playing out of sync.

Thanks again Mr. Audio for the positive and constructive feedback. Here’s one question to ponder. Is it possible that not everyone possesses your immense wealth of knowledge?

Congrats on another useless article.  After that wonderful “Speaker Dos and Don’ts” article, you found yet another topic you know nothing about.  “Common Pitfals of Home Theater Installation”.  That dude in the picture looks really bummed probably because he read your article and still can’t figure out why his stuff don’t sound right.  For the benefit of anyone who reads this post, I will now tell you how to avoid an actual common pitfal of HT installation.  READ THE OPERATOR’S MANUAL TO EVERYTHING YOU BUY!  That will certainly cover everything in this useless article and give you knowledge to evade even more actual pitfals.  EH give it up and write about something you do know about like 10 easy ways to waste other people’s time.