Right as rainy

So the question asked itself a while ago – how to build a home entertainment system on a budget? The project took about half a year to be finished, but now the setup is pretty complete. A 3Ghz DualCore PC running Vista Ultimate supplies Media Center functionality – Videos, DVDs, the works. The XBox compliments it on the gaming side, and a Samsung T260 takes care of the visuals. The last missing component was a decent sound system, i.e. one that can do an acceptable job for an acceptable price.

Now I am neither too much of an audiophile nor overly knowledgeable when it comes to Hi-Fi and all those things. I know that there’s people out there who would balk at even the notion of spending less than a month’s salary on a sound system, but that’s beside the point. I have to go with what’s affordable to me at the time. That being said, I laid my eyes on the Divoom Comet A1 some time back, and just before Christmas I finally took the plunge. The A1 is a 5.1 system, coming with 4 satellites, one center speaker and an 18 inch sub woofer/amplifier. What sold it for me was the fact that the system has got discrete audio, both optical and coaxial – which was extremely suitable because both my systems have got discrete outputs.

Out of the box the components made a sturdy, well-manufactured impression. Except for the fact that the tweeter one of the satellites had been dislodged – but that was easy enough to fix. Since nothing is glued or welded, all it took was to pull off the front cover and loosen 12 screws and I was inside the case. Pushed the tweeter back into the mold and everything was fine. It hasn’t come loose again…

Testing the speakers was a very satisfying experience. The satellites are crisp and clear, while the sub woofer has got enough oomph to tear down a small house. It was easily possible to locate the sounds, and the surround works very well. The centre speaker has got enough energy to bring speech across nicely among all the other sounds – something that is crucial for a balanced sound environment. On a side note – anyone who wants to test a sound system should do so using Star Wars Episode IV – that one has got sounds flying at you from every possible angle.

Other advantages of the system are the fact that it comes with both a coax and an optical cable in the box, as well as enough speaker cable to wire a small farm. Also, in contrast to many systems in the same price class, standard speaker cables are used, so they can be cut or extended to length as needed using normal supplements. Any criticisms? Yes – but in comparison to the overall satisfaction they are minute. Watching movies is just that much more fun now, and playing games in 5.1 is something else entirely. For R2200, this system fits most budgets, and personally, I am a happy camper.

And this is what it looks like now…

Home Entertainment on a budget