For interesting reasons, I am about to acquire a complete JBL Synthesis Three system, circa 1999, that has been languishing in storage for almost 20 years.
It was the first generation of the Synthesis line to incorporate digital surround sound decoding (Dolby Digital “AC-3” and the "OG" DTS) in addition to old-school matrix surround (“Pro-Logic”).
This system was my first exposure into real high-end home cinema, and has always since been top of mind for admittedly as much nostalgic as objective reasons.
My goal is to resurrect this gem and bring it all the way into 2020 with the latest object-based audio formats, and hopefully unlock some potential hidden by the highly compressed digital formats of the early 2000s. (Remember? ALL 5.1 channels of Dolby Digital had to fit in HALF of the ANALOG audio track of a laserdisc!)
Well, at least as much audio as I can realistically jam into my basement. And without spending $10K on the latest top-of-the-range Synthesis processor (which seems to be a rebranded Trinnov, instead of the Lexicon like back then).
Basically I'm going to take this thing from 5.1 to 11.2. It's going to be quite a journey and I'm going to tell you all about it right here.
Jeesus I can't believe I am going to have thirteen speakers in my basement.
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