LOL at Ray and Jack.
My first memories of home theater were in college, junior year, late 1988 or early 1989, when dormmate Rudy Pascua got a receiver with Dolby surround. We were amazed that different sounds would come out of the rear speakers. We would watch VHS tapes. I remember looking for the Dolby Surround insignia on the tapes when we would rent them. I learned that "Dolby System" did not equal surround, as sometimes it was equal to "Dolby Stereo".
Senior year, I had my own set-up with a Mitsubishi 20" TV (still works great), Fisher 4-head HiFi VHS, and a Pioneer stereo receiver over Cerwin Vega D1 speakers.
In the early 1990s, living the bachelor life, I got some 4-foot tall KLH speakers (dual 12" woofers, or maybe one was a passive radiator, I think) and a Sherwood receiver with Dolby Pro Logic Surround. I got a Cerwin Vega center and turned the D1s into my surrounds. That was weird, because they actually had better clarity than the brutish KLHs. I listened to a lot of stuff on "Hall" or "Theater" settings.
The KLHs are now my bedroom speakers. The Cerwin Vegas are awaiting installation at my workplace.
Cool thread!
