IT'S HUGE : DROPPING EQUIPMENT PRICES MEAN HOME THEATERS WITH BIG SCREEN, BIG SOUND ARE SPROUTING UP ALL OVER.

Byline: Fred Shuster Daily News Staff Writer

It's not laziness. That was the issue when you bought that video rewinder for yourself last Christmas.

What you're after now is audio-visual perfection. A living room shrine to the most perfect TV picture, the most awe-inspiring stereophonic sound, the most gorgeous colors.

Depth, clarity and justice for all. A home theater setup to make Metro, Goldwyn and Mayer weep. But that doesn't mean you have to be prepared for the wonderful world of bankruptcy.

Prices have come down on all the essential items in your dream home theater. You can spend about as much as you would on a weekend in Paris. Or as little as taking the family to a weekend screening of a first-run blockbuster.

Prices of items found at such local stores as Circuit City, Fry's, Ken Crane's, Affordable Portables and Best Buy are competitive. Big-ticket stuff like big-screen and projection TVs can run anywhere from $350 to $5,000 and up, depending on make and model.

The basic home theater arrangement requires several stock items: a TV screen or monitor, VCR, amplifier-receiver and stereo speakers. Optional extras might include a laser-disc player, a digital satellite system and, of course, a popcorn machine.

Home theater packages containing three TV- or VCR-ready speakers for surround stereo can be had for as little as $70. Or as much as Sony's home theater package, complete with 27-inch screen and surround-stereo equipment at $1,500.

RCA and Panasonic make stereo-ready 32-inch screens that retail around $700. Sony makes a 32-inch beauty for $1,900, and the company's four-speaker home theater package will set you back an additional $500.

Reasonable four-head VCRs run from $100 to $400 for hi-fi stereo models with remote, high-speed rewind and on-screen displays.

Surround-sound receivers with remote by Pioneer, JVC, Onkyo and Sony offer extra-depth bass frequencies, Dolby noise reduction, plus front and center controls at anywhere from $219 to $470.

And high-end speakers don't have to break your heart or purse, either. For around $70 each, you can fill a room with JBL bookshelf speakers. At $120 each, Bose loudspeakers will make that ``Earthquake'' video come to life.

The living room system can offer far better sound and sight than the corner cinema.

Take Derek Leland's high-end audio setup, attached to his TV. The 33-year-old Sherman Oaks transportation analyst owns about $3,500 worth of equipment, including a Denon audio-visual receiver, a pair of Magnaplaner speakers and a sub-woofer that projects floor-shaking bass frequencies.

``It's a great sound,'' Leland said. ``You can actually tailor the sound to your specified taste, especially since you're in your own home and don't have to fight the crowds at the movies. Actually, my sound quality at home is probably better than in theaters. Sometimes, it is a lot of fun to see a film on a screen outside the home with the audience reacting. But if you want to control the sound and picture, this is much better.''

Leland watched ``The American President,'' ``Broken Arrow'' and ``Jurassic Park'' recently at home. An all-time favorite is ``Top Gun,'' which he saw both at home and in a theater.

``You can go as high in price as you want to go,'' he said. ``I've heard of speakers that cost $13,000. But when you build a system, you've got to look at what you'll be happy with in the long run. The main thing is to educate yourself. You can be satisfied without being a real audiophile.''

It isn't just equipment that can make the difference at home. Leland points to the Monster Cable wires he uses to connect his audio-visual system. The thick, top-of-the-line cable is designed to separate the high and low frequencies.

``You really can tell the difference,'' he said. ``I never thought wire really made a difference before I heard this cable. With equipment, you don't have to go to extremes. But high and low sound travels better with thicker wire. The thing that's different is the bass sound. With what I've got, I can really rattle some windows and shake some floors.''

Home theater doesn't have to be elaborate. Van Nuys television producer Roland Gordon shelled out $950 for a secondhand 45-inch Sony projection TV, which he hooked up to four Pioneer speakers he had in college. Viola! He's got a low-tech, and admittedly unwieldy, living room.

``The whole thing takes up a lot of space, since the TV is one of the older models with a separate island that projects the picture onto the screen,'' he explained. ``The picture isn't even that great. It's sometimes kind of washed-out, to tell you the truth. I use it to watch videos when I'm hanging out in the living room. Usually, I watch a smaller set in the bedroom at night.''

The 38-year-old Gordon may not have spent a fortune on home theater equipment, but he recently dished out about $800 for a satellite hook-up. With almost 200 channels floating around outside his window, you'd think Gordon would be glued to his TV.

Not so, he says.

``All those channels and there's still nothing to watch.''

CAPTION(S):

6 Photos

Photo: (1--Cover--Color) This Sony 32-inch TV ($1,900) w orks well with the Sony Home Theater Active Speaker System, a four-speaker surround-sound package.

(2) The price is coming down on big-screen TVs, like these at Circuit City. Various models run from $350 up to $5,000.

(3--4) An AIWA mini system, near right, with four speakers, can turn a stereo TV into a home theater system. Bose speakers, far right, offer big TV sound in a small package.

(5) Want the biggest TV in the neighborhood? This 80-inch RCA ProScan model sells for $8,000 at Circuit City.

(6) Take advantage of your souped-up picture and sound with the Sony DSS satellite system.

John McCoy/Daily News