Post your home theatre setup

[JZS_147]

Seems like a few of you guys have some nice HT setups. Post your setup, a review of your gear, and if you plan on future upgrades.

My setup is pretty simple


Processing:
-Pioneer VSX9040TXH
-Monster Power HTS3600 MKII

Fronts:
-Definitive Technology BP7001SC

Center:
-Definitive Technology CLR2500

Surrounds:
-Definitive Technology BP10

Sub:
-Definitive Technology Supercube Reference

Other:
-PS3
-Xbox 360
-AppleTv2


Review:
The imaging is amazing on all the Deftech bi-polar series products. Lots of volume, lots of headroom. The 7001SC's are a bit brighter than their other bi-polar towers, I had to roll down the high end 3dB. Very reasonably priced for the quality of sound. I'd buy my deftech's again over a set of high end logans anyday.


Future Upgrades:
-Monster Power HTPS 7000
-Definitive BPVX or similar for inner rears

[Neil4Speed]

Cool idea!

Processing:
-Pioneer Elite VSX-41

Fronts:
-Magnepan SMG's

Center:
-Paradigm CC-350

Surrounds:
-Polk Audio (Can't remember the model)

Sub:
-A Vector $88 cheapy from Visions

My next upgrade will be a dedicated power amp for my front channels. Something along the lines of a vintage Carver.

After that I want to upgrade my AMP with something with HDMI pass through and calibration.

I'm fairly satisfied wit my system, but the front's are not being given the juice they need so don't give the dynamics they are capable of.

[JZS_147]

Nice!

I saw a nice Bryston on Kijiji recently that might work for ya:

http://alberta.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-electronics-Bryston-4B-ST-W0QQAdIdZ342188327

I use to use a Crown K2 on my mids.....but found that it just wasn't necessary LOL.

[megavolt]

Processing: Onkyo TX-NR709

Front Amp: AudioTrak AT-500 (250W per channel) - cheap amp I found on Kijiji to power my fronts. Sounds clean enough.

Fronts: Energy RC-70 Towers

Centre: Energy RC-LCR

Surround: Energy C-500 Towers

Front Height: Polk Audio M10

Subwoofer: Boston Acoustics VPS210

[93mr2gt]

Musical Fidelity Amp SP80
Musical Fidelity PreAmp SA80
Marantz Receiver AV600 (Looking to upgrade)
3x Marantz THX mono amps (currently used for rear speakers, Marantz receiver, and the BPS150 subs)
2x Mirage BPS150 subs
2x Mirage BPS100 subs
2x ProAc Response 2 centers
2x Vandersteen Model 1 towers
2x Rear Mirage M290 speakers
Samsung BD-D6500 3D bluRay player, wifi ready
Kinetic Research CD player

Optoma HD20 projector
Samsung 51" plasma 3D smart TV
PS3
Xbox 360

[JZS_147]

You're running all 4 of those subs?

[cet]

I'm in the process of building my home theater right now so don't have much equipment yet. I'll post what I have and what I have planned. The room will be 16'6"x 23' when finished

Have:
Blu-Ray Player - Oppo 93
Fronts: DIY using Seas Millenium and Dayton Drivers
Center: DIY using Seas Millenium and Dayton Drivers

Planned:
Processor: Marantz or Oppo
Amps: Emotiva XPA-5 and 2x UPA-1
Sub Amp: Behringer EP2500
Surround speakers: DIY using Seas Millenium and Dayton Drivers
Subs: 4x 18" FiCar IB3 in an Infinite Baffle set up
Sub: Rythmik Audio 12" sealed
Projector: Epson 6010.

I think that's it.

[93mr2gt]

Originally posted by JZS_147
You're running all 4 of those subs?

Ya, i am

[93mr2gt]

Pioneer VSX 33 for 700 bux pretty cheap?

I was also looking at a SC25 for 600 bux on canuck audio mart.

I need the 2 output for projector and TV

[Mitsu3000gt]

Audio:
Processing: Pioneer Elite SC-05, Paradigm PBK-1

Fronts: Paradigm Studio 20 v5

Center: Paradigm Studio CC590 v5

Rears: Paradigm Atom Monitors

Sub: Paradigm Studio SUB 12

Video:

Projector: Epson 6500 UB

Screen: Carada custom made 74"

BDP: Pioneer BDP-151, Playstation 3

...........All in a 8ft X 10ft room lol. No noise complaints in 2 years :angel:

My only wish is that I wasn't in a condo so I could open it up a little more....but I'm thrilled with how it performs in such a small area. Can't stress enough how important proper calibration is for video & especially audio, particularly for those living in condos/shared living.

[kvg]

Addresses?

[JZS_147]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
Audio:
Processing: Pioneer Elite SC-05, Paradigm PBK-1

Fronts: Paradigm Studio 20 v5

Center: Paradigm Studio CC590 v5

Rears: Paradigm Atom Monitors

Sub: Paradigm Studio SUB 12


Nice, I'd love to hear how this setup sounds. I'm jealous of your receiver, I've wanted an SC for a while now....but I'll probably end up with one of the new Denons.


Originally posted by 93mr2gt


Ya, i am

That's insane... I've never seen the need for more than 2 subs in a household application lol.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by JZS_147


Nice, I'd love to hear how this setup sounds. I'm jealous of your receiver, I've wanted an SC for a while now....but I'll probably end up with one of the new Denons.



I absolutely love it, but I can't always play it at the volumes I'd like to due to being in such a small room and a condo. I have had it set up in a larger room before though and it was everything I'd hoped for.

The SC series are good receivers. Only drawback is they don't have upscaling over HDMI (maybe the very newest ones do) so if you don't have a good scaler elsewhere in your system, that is a huge drawback for some people. There is a Reon HQV in my projector so I'm OK but I probably wouldn't own this receiver if I had no other video processing, as that would be a deal breaker for me. The main attraction is the D-class "ice power" amps and the fact the power is rated with all channels running. There are a lot of exceptional receivers out there though, and Denon makes a lot of them too, nothing wrong with that!

[ICEBERG]

Paradigm Signature S8 V.3's + lot more goodies from Sounds of Music. :D :D

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by ICEBERG
Paradigm Signature S8 V.3's + lot more goodies from Sounds of Music. :D :D

Pretty much my dream setup right there :thumbsup:

I'd pair em with Anthem Statement amps & an Anthem D2v :drool: :drool: :drool:

Anthem actually makes receivers now too, likely a lot more affordable for people like me haha. I've been meaning to check them out.

[beecue]

Pioneer VSX-918V
Klipsch F1, S1, C1 Sub10

Nothing great but better than HTIB which I was planning to get.

[msouther]

This is my living room set up:

- Onkyo HTRC360
- Sharp Acquos 70" LED
- 4 Polk Audio MC60 in-ceiling speakers
- 3 Soundstage Cinema LCR speakers
- Velodyne DPS 12 sub
- Sony PS3
- Telus TV

My components are all in the basement so I use the Harmony 900 remote with RF. Eventually when I develop my basement, I will put up another system down there and tie it all in nicely to a built in wall rack.

[OU812]

Receiver: Pioneer VSK-1020-K 7.1 Channel Receiver

Speakers: 5.1 setup....all Mission Brand except for the Nuance Sub

Marantz CD player

LG Blue Ray

Xvox 360

All through a 55" LED Vizio

[rage2]

I had a pretty sweet 7.1 setup in my bedroom. I've now gone completely backwards in the interests of clutter removal by switching to a soundbar + wireless sub hidden under the bed. Still trying to get used to the massive drop in sound quality, much happier that the setup looks clean, just a floating TV and speakers. Only have to hide the xbox somewhere.

I think I'm getting old. :(

[ZMan2k2]

I'm still in the mid-fi sound category. But I'm happy for now.
Processor: Marantz SR6006 receiver
Fronts: Focal 826v towers with 800cc center
Rears: elemental designs 5tc surrounds.(next up for upgrade)
Sub: SVS NSD12 sealed sub. Small and musical, but it can get pretty low.

[Neil4Speed]

Originally posted by JZS_147
Nice!

I saw a nice Bryston on Kijiji recently that might work for ya:

http://alberta.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-electronics-Bryston-4B-ST-W0QQAdIdZ342188327

I use to use a Crown K2 on my mids.....but found that it just wasn't necessary LOL.

Thanks for the suggestion. Crown K2's are monsters.

Unfortunately thats a bit out of my budget right now. I think I will be picking up dual mono block Marantz amplifiers MA-500/700's, which should run me about $300 total. They look kind of cool too :)

http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/storage/74/1516797/marantz2.jpg

Some great gear on here, I had no idea that Beyond had this many home audio junkies. What a changing demographic!

[WhippWhapp]

No Clark Synthesis or Buttkicker gear?

I think my next investment is going to be a tactile transducer.

[Jerms]

I wanna see some pics haha

[Neil4Speed]

Originally posted by Jerms
I wanna see some pics haha

Jerms! What are you rocking these days?

[ercchry]

just an onkyo 7.1 in a box (the top one they sell that is THX certified)
2nd zone runs up to the main floor's stereo.
xbox
bluray
pvr
51" samsung

it works alright i think? jzs_147 has heard it

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/376457_10150508995118638_504953637_10514573_275367031_n.jpg

[JZS_147]

Originally posted by Neil4Speed

Some great gear on here, I had no idea that Beyond had this many home audio junkies. What a changing demographic!

Agreed! There are some pretty serious setups here.


I'm surprised no one else here has Def-Tech's. K&W whores it out.

[93mr2gt]

Those are the ones i got now, bought it many years ago, they are great!


Originally posted by Neil4Speed


Thanks for the suggestion. Crown K2's are monsters.

Unfortunately thats a bit out of my budget right now. I think I will be picking up dual mono block Marantz amplifiers MA-500/700's, which should run me about $300 total. They look kind of cool too :)

http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/storage/74/1516797/marantz2.jpg

Some great gear on here, I had no idea that Beyond had this many home audio junkies. What a changing demographic!

[93mr2gt]

we have another tube system we use for music only, is pretty much all canary.

[bighead2267]

Video: Panny AE2000

Front/Center/rear: Energy Veritas

Sub Velodyne SPL 10 inches

Amp Yamaha RX-V1(old school amp but very solid build)

PS 3 and media box(haven't set up yet)

most wires is from monoprice or homedepot.



by all means, i'm no where near those audio fever user's gear but i'm happy what i have except the front is little lack of bass.

[megavolt]

Where do you buy those Marantz Monoblocks?

[Neil4Speed]

Originally posted by megavolt
Where do you buy those Marantz Monoblocks?

You can find them on E-bay and the such. This guy is selling one on Audiogon.

http://new.audiogon.com/listings/454502

I've heard that they are great value for money, it got some good reviews from Stereophile and Audiocritic, also Audio Review.

http://www.theaudiocritic.com/back_issues/The_Audio_Critic_22_r.pdf (Page 22 I believe)

Good option if your on a budget and want to go seperates

[SOAB]

Originally posted by megavolt
Where do you buy those Marantz Monoblocks?

especially for $300 total for both? fill us in!


my setup:

Sharp Aquos 60" LCD
Pio Elite VSX-21-TXH
PS3
WD Live (looking to replace this. i hate it. any suggestions?)

all Polk speakers:
RTi 10 mains
CS10 Center (next upgrade to CSiA6)
M10 surrounds
PSW505 sub

I think it sounds pretty good for the amount i paid for everything, less than $2g's for all the speakers and receiver.

the MCACC feature definitely made a huge difference in sound quality.

[Neil4Speed]

Originally posted by SOAB


the MCACC feature definitely made a huge difference in sound quality.

Damn, I need up upgrade my Amp with something with Calibration.

They pop up on E-bay often:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marantz-MA-500-1-Channel-Amplifier-/280820489728?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4162349e00#ht_500wt_969

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marantz-MA-500-Mono-Amplifier-Beautiful-NM-condition-Fully-tested-/250975143852?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a6f48c7ac#ht_500wt_1202

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Set-5-Marantz-MA-500-Mono-block-1-Channel-Amplifiers-/230738770094?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b91a38ae#ht_500wt_1156

If you have some Extra flow, go for the MA 700 which have about 100 watts more per channel into 6 ohms

[JZS_147]

Originally posted by SOAB


WD Live (looking to replace this. i hate it. any suggestions?)


Use your PS3 and set up Tversity on your main computer, you can stream all your media that way. PS3 has netflix built in so no need for WDTV

Message me and I'll help you out with this.

[SOAB]

oh, i already have that setup. i use PS3 Mediacenter on the PC and stream all my content that way.

the reason why i got the WD Live is because of the new Cinevia DRM. it won't allow some files to played on Sony products.

streaming through my PS3 is light years faster than the WD Live.

my WD Live will not recognize MKV files yet it is advertised as able to decode them. it drives me crazy that it is slow, doesn't recognize all my movies and the remote functionality is shit.

i have a Harmony One remote. it is awesome with every other device including my PS3 but with the WD Live, it just doesn't work as well.

[JZS_147]

Do you have the media library turned on?

[lasimmon]

Pioneer Elite VSX-31
Canton Speakers
Omega Sub
55" LG 55LW6500

Xbox 360
Some samsung blu-ray player

[Graham_A_M]

Originally posted by WhippWhapp
No Clark Synthesis or Buttkicker gear?

I think my next investment is going to be a tactile transducer.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=299-028

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by Neil4Speed


Damn, I need up upgrade my Amp with something with Calibration.



Speaker/sub calibration is the single most "noticable" thing you can do to a home theater IMO. Even my mom, who is perhaps the most technologically UN-advanced person on this planet, noticed without anyone telling her after my dad ran Audyssey on his setup. You can do an OK job with a few hours and a SPL meter but it's not the same.

MCACC (Pioneer) is good but you need to calibrate your sub separately as it only measures down to 67Hz.

Audyssey (Denon, Onkyo, etc.) is very good, and will usually do a pretty good job with the sub too. Definitely not as good as an actual sub calibration though.

ARC (Anthem/Paradigm) is as good as it gets. I believe you can get it with Anthem's new "affordable" receivers haha.

Trinnov (Sherwood/Newcastle) - Excellent as well, pretty sure the one that comes with the Sherwood receivers is almost as good as the $20,000 dedicated Trinnov room correction. It's absolutely not worth that kind of money though, especially with stuff like ARC around.

And when I calibrated my Sub with a Paradigm PBK-1, that was the second most noticeable difference I've ever experienced in the audio world. Completely transformed the sub having it behave according to the room's acoustics. All the rattles in the room went away, and the bass hardly leaves the room at all, which is why I never get noise complaints. Removes all resonant frequencies, nulls, and boomy spots in the room. Best $300 I ever spent on my home theater.

[SOAB]

Originally posted by JZS_147
Do you have the media library turned on?

yeah, it is on. it plays other file types just fine. avi, mpeg, mp4, etc. i just can't figure out why it doesn't recognize MKV files.

maybe i'll try hooking it up via USB instead of over the network. :dunno:

[K3RMiTdot]

SHOW SOME PICS!! hahaha

[ganesh]

Bonus Room
Display – Pioneer PDP4300
Receiver – Marantz Reference series SR 19EX
Center – Boston Acoustics VR920
Front – Boston Acoustics VR 975
Rear – Boston Acoustics VR 940

Dedicated HT Room
Projector – Panasonic PT-AE-4000
Screen – Grandview 120” Fixed screen
Processor - Rotel RSP-1570
Power Amp – Rotel RSP-1565
Center : Monitor Audio GSLCR
Front : Monitor Audio GS 60
Rear : Monitor Audio In wall CPW GS
Sub : Velodyne (It is going to be replaced by a REL sub pretty soon)
Bluray – Oppo BDP 83

All the Interconnects are Ultralink.

Dedicated 2 Channel
Power Amp – Bryston 4 B SST
Pre Amp – Bryston BP 26
Speakers are PMC TB2i Signature series – Limited edition
Speaker Stands – Target HiFi HR60
Source : Marantz CD player (Going to be replaced by a Audiolab 8200 CD)
Pro-Ject Debut turntable and Pro-Ject Phono Box.
All the interconnects are Quad and Rega.


Review : For the most part I am happy with my HT setup. It needs to fine tuned and most likely I am going to add another Power Amp to add a little bit more power to the front two channels.
I love my 2 Ch set up. In my humble opnion Bryston and PMC are a match made in heaven.

Future Upgrades/Consideration :
1) Will replace the Monitor audio with PMC.
2) In the next house I will most likely get a Runco projector screen

[SOAB]

Originally posted by ganesh
Bonus Room
Display – Pioneer PDP4300
Receiver – Marantz Reference series SR 19EX
Center – Boston Acoustics VR920
Front – Boston Acoustics VR 975
Rear – Boston Acoustics VR 940

Dedicated HT Room
Projector – Panasonic PT-AE-4000
Screen – Grandview 120” Fixed screen
Processor - Rotel RSP-1570
Power Amp – Rotel RSP-1565
Center : Monitor Audio GSLCR
Front : Monitor Audio GS 60
Rear : Monitor Audio In wall CPW GS
Sub : Velodyne (It is going to be replaced by a REL sub pretty soon)
Bluray – Oppo BDP 83

All the Interconnects are Ultralink.

Dedicated 2 Channel
Power Amp – Bryston 4 B SST
Pre Amp – Bryston BP 26
Speakers are PMC TB2i Signature series – Limited edition
Speaker Stands – Target HiFi HR60
Source : Marantz CD player (Going to be replaced by a Audiolab 8200 CD)
Pro-Ject Debut Phono and Phono Box.
All the interconnects are Quad and Rega.


Review : For the most part I am happy with my HT setup. It needs to fine tuned and most likely I am going to add another Power Amp to add a little bit more power to the front two channels.
I love my 2 Ch set up. In my humble opnion Bryston and PMC are a match made in heaven.

Future Upgrades/Consideration :
1) Will replace the Monitor audio with PMC.
2) In the next house I will most likely get a Runco projector screen

shit. any chance of a screening? haha. :eek:

[ganesh]

Originally posted by SOAB


shit. any chance of a screening? haha. :eek:

Maybe :)

[CanmoreOrLess]

Originally posted by rage2
I had a pretty sweet 7.1 setup in my bedroom. I've now gone completely backwards in the interests of clutter removal by switching to a soundbar + wireless sub hidden under the bed. Still trying to get used to the massive drop in sound quality, much happier that the setup looks clean, just a floating TV and speakers. Only have to hide the xbox somewhere.

I think I'm getting old. :(

I am looking at a soundbar (Yamaha), rather interested in your set up to compare. I know there is a trade off for the clean sound bar look. Can you give some detail to your set up? Would you go for the same system if you were to do this over again? Right now I have a terrific Panasonic plasma TV but the sound is a total dud.

[Neil4Speed]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt


Speaker/sub calibration is the single most "noticable" thing you can do to a home theater IMO. Even my mom, who is perhaps the most technologically UN-advanced person on this planet, noticed without anyone telling her after my dad ran Audyssey on his setup. You can do an OK job with a few hours and a SPL meter but it's not the same.

MCACC (Pioneer) is good but you need to calibrate your sub separately as it only measures down to 67Hz.

Audyssey (Denon, Onkyo, etc.) is very good, and will usually do a pretty good job with the sub too. Definitely not as good as an actual sub calibration though.

ARC (Anthem/Paradigm) is as good as it gets. I believe you can get it with Anthem's new "affordable" receivers haha.

Trinnov (Sherwood/Newcastle) - Excellent as well, pretty sure the one that comes with the Sherwood receivers is almost as good as the $20,000 dedicated Trinnov room correction. It's absolutely not worth that kind of money though, especially with stuff like ARC around.

And when I calibrated my Sub with a Paradigm PBK-1, that was the second most noticeable difference I've ever experienced in the audio world. Completely transformed the sub having it behave according to the room's acoustics. All the rattles in the room went away, and the bass hardly leaves the room at all, which is why I never get noise complaints. Removes all resonant frequencies, nulls, and boomy spots in the room. Best $300 I ever spent on my home theater.

Fascinating stuff, thank you for breaking that down for me. I have been on the look out for a good price on a Pioneer elite receiver for the future (not exactly in a rush), and having MCACC is a definite for me now.

Cheers

[JZS_147]

^ it doesn't necessarily need to be an Elite. My receiver for example was only made in Canada, and has the same internals, ratings, specs and extended warranty as the elite. The fucker weighs 40lbs, whereas the cheaper non elite reveivers are around 15-20lbs.

the 9040 is a great receiver, you might be able to find one booting around for a couple hundred bucks.

Pioneers newer receivers all kinda suck. Sound quality just isn't there. The Onkyo 609B kills almost everything in Pioneers lineup right now. Only ones worth picking up are the Elite SC's.

Another awesome receiver is the HK3600 and 3650. I installed one in a theatre a couple weeks ago and was super impressed! If I see one of those for cheap I'll snatch it up. I'll either get that or a Denon 3312 or 4311.

[ZEDGE]

This thread is kinda pointless with out pics.. :nut:

;)

[RX-7_TWINTURBO]

Here's my "semi budget" system so far, I'll probably be adding on to it in the future.

Audio:
Processing: NAD T747

Fronts: Emotiva XRM-6.1 X-Ref Monitor
Center: Emotiva XRC-6.2 X-Ref Center/LCR
Surround: Emotiva XRS-4.1 X-Ref Surround
Sub: Emotiva X-Ref 10 DSP Powered Subwoofer

Video: Panasonic TCP65ST30
BDP: Playstation 3 for now

[r3ccOs]

I have a very modest and "old" home theatre setup...
old HK340 reciever - but it is warm and has enough power as my speakers are very effecient (still dolby digital lol, 6.1 but no hdmi)

Mirage OM-10 and OM-5 srrounds/center (the OM-10's are actually very decent stereo speakers and image like gangbusters, I'd say at to the same level almost as Paradigm Studio 100 V2s (v1's were better)
Mirage OMNI-10 subwoofer
PS3 for blue-ray/gaming
WDTV for everything else streaming

but it works well for my bonus room

I think with home theatre, blending a sub is fairly easy... set the reciever x-over @ 80 hz, turn off the low level xover on the sub and adjust phase/volume as long as you place the sub somewhere in a 1/3 wall to wall

Where as, using a high-level (line level) input on a subwoofer for a stereo setup as mine is much toughter, but still just takes time to tweak

my stereo setup had varied, but now I'm down to:
GF A-88 KT88 tube amp - it sounded nicer than my Cary SLI-80
Jolida JD100A modded tube CDP/Rega Planet origional (very vinyl sounding)
Totem Arro's
Athena PS-400 subwoofer
Tara Labs RSC-Prime 1000 speaker cables
Nordost valhalla ICs
various tubes I've rolled from Sylvania chrome dome 6sn7's to NOS golden Lions KT-88's/6550s
GF PC-1 Power cables
Richard Grey Power Conditioner

I used to have Coincident bookshelves, Paradigm Studio 100 V1s, PSB Stratus gold, Totem Hawks, Theil 3.1, and a few more and componants ranging from Marantz vintage 2225, Luxman LV-103s, Musical Fidelity A3, Bryston 3bst, Macallister audio, etc...


for home theatre, I'd say the giant killer's these days are:
Oppo (but the transport can still be better, but nevertheless decent)
Sherwood Newcastle (but reliability is questionable)
Marantz

speaker wise? the Axiom stuff is very very good for home theatre
to me, they are competitive to the MA Silver line and even maybe the Paradigm studio v4 line
I wouldn't use it for my stereo, but the price point for the quality, effeciency and SPL's are damned good

subwoofer wise? HSU all the way
value for doller it blows Paradigm, Velodyne, Sunfire, SVS out of the water
BUT... for music, you have to look at subwoofers like REL, Totem, Martin Logan (descent), and maybe the Velodyne DD series

[r3ccOs]

Originally posted by SOAB


shit. any chance of a screening? haha. :eek:

Runco rocks!

where do you find PMC or demo PMC in this city? I've heard they're very dry and analytical, but I think that was when they were paired to a Krell setup

I want to get a set of Green Mountain Audio Pico' speakers

and "if" i do my basement with a proper home theatre, I think I'm going to go with a full PA setup (built in) from http://www.danleysoundlabs.com/ and or the same designs from Yorkville sound over at long & mcquaid

I think this would be cheaper than going the MK route

the tapped horn subwoofer is just bloody amazing and PA equipment with balanced connectors can just take and give a pounding

probably would look to find some used 4 b sst or 6b to power em, and find a decent processor like a lexicon

[ganesh]

Originally posted by r3ccOs


Runco rocks!

where do you find PMC or demo PMC in this city? I've heard they're very dry and analytical, but I think that was when they were paired to a Krell setup

I want to get a set of Green Mountain Audio Pico' speakers

and "if" i do my basement with a proper home theatre, I think I'm going to go with a full PA setup (built in) from http://www.danleysoundlabs.com/ and or the same designs from Yorkville sound over at long & mcquoom. aid

I think this would be cheaper than going the MK route

the tapped horn subwoofer is just bloody amazing and PA equipment with balanced connectors can just take and give a pounding

probably would look to find some used 4 b sst or 6b to power em, and find a decent processor like a lexicon

I bought PMC from Audio Room and like i said before I love them. For music they are awesome.

[milhouse]

Dedicated Theatre

Epson Home Cinema 8350
106" Dalite Highpower Screen
Onkyo 609
Centre Speaker - Soundstage (looking to replace)
Sub- ED A7-350
Speakers - Klipsch
PS3
360


Family Room
Samsung 52" LCD
Pioneer 1018
Sub- Nuance (Dual 10's)
Centre - Yamaha
Speakers - Mission
Samsung Blu-ray player
Wii
360

[brucebanner]

Just a 2-channel for now but I'm very happy with it.

Sharp 70" LC-70LE734U
Harman Kardon AVR 3650
Polk Audio Monitor 70 front towers
Polk Audio PSW 505 12" Sub
Xbox 360

[mushi_mushi]

Here are some crappy pics of my home theatre setup.

front: http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/3204/img1974x.jpg

front-left: http://img864.imageshack.us/img864/754/img1975h.jpg

front-right: http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/8762/img1978t.jpg

rear: http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/3664/img1981to.jpg

Equipment
Projector: Epson 1080ub
Screen: Carada 110" screen
Sub: SVS PB10 NSD
L/C/R (inwall) Speakers: RBH mc 884 L/R, RBH mc 616 Centre
Rear Speakers: Axiom Qs4
Seating: Reclining home theater chairs from london drugs

The reason the equipment cabinet looks empty is that I took out the xbox 360 and the htpc. Im upgrading the os drive of the htpc to an ssd and will be building an unraid server shortly. Will post pictures of the running setup in a few weeks. Currently using an ipad to navigate xbmc. (name of the app is xbmc commander)

Overall I love projection setups. The room is less then ideal because its not light controlled. The seating distance is also close to the screen, couldnt move it any further because there a structural support beam right behind the seating area.

To be honest I dont use this all to often, but as someone who enjoys watching movies, it does provide a very nice immersive experience.

[msommers]

Bump

[Loose]

2ch:
Krelll KAV-400xi amp
Dali Helicon 400 speaker (my absolute favorite piece)
Cambridge Audio 740C
Grant Fidelity B-283 MKII
IPhone (haha)

HT:
Sanyo PLV-Z2000 projector
Pioneer VSX-1326 receiver
NAD 216 AMP
Energy C7/C-C3/C-R1 speakers
HSU VTF-3 MK2 sub
PS3

[Mar]

Mine's pretty weak but I really enjoy it, it's fun.

A list:
- Legend 42 inch plasma television
- cheap Sony 7.1 surround sound setup
- top loader Nintendo with wireless controller
- Boxee Box with Live TV
- Nintendo 64 with extended cables, Goldeneye and Mario Kart
- Playstation 2 with wireless controllers
- Sega Genesis
- huge lot of Nintendo games

I built the unit out of MDF, it's pretty basic:

http://www.danmaher.com/images/entertainment1.jpg

The main use is the Boxee Box used for Netlifx and Pandora:

http://news.cnet.com/i/bto/20100108/boxee_cnet.JPG

And I added a Boxee USB tuner:

http://uncrate.com/p/2011/11/boxee-live-tv.jpg

And if it's not Boxee, I'm usually playing Nintendo, this is a pretty rare top loader version I picked up last weekend. It's much more reliable, no blowing in the game. Works every time.

http://www.danmaher.com/images/toploader.jpg

[msommers]

Does anyone use a Harmony remote for their system (if so which model)? In particular, people with WDTV Live and Telus Optik? Does it work for amps as well as receivers? Also I updated a post above but I'll just put it here instead.

Looking for more ideas towards a 2.1 stereo setup w/ HT use as well. I quite honestly don't know a heck of a lot regarding this stuff. I'm sure all I need for my purposes are a receiver, amp and speakers but maybe I'm missing something.

My plan for now is to use the setup for music mainly and also to have it for movies etc to improve the sound from the TV. Speakers and amp I'm sure are going to be dictated by budget, which I haven't quite figured out yet. But I'm of the mindset to buy something that'll last awhile and not feel like upgrading all the time (within reason).

I'd like to have all my HDMI devices (4 now, maybe an extra to be safe later) to play through the sound system. I'm not sure if a cheap receiver will work well enough or if I should opt for something higher end because the guts in them will be more transparent when it comes to playing music, leaving the speakers and amp to their true audio characters. Or maybe the receiver plays no part in the that and a cheapy will be fine. The Pioneer Elites have a wireless function to use iTunes from the computer which is great but most of my non-compressed music is in FLAC and use Foobar2000. I think I have coax and toslink-out on my computer, so if I can do it wirelessly without the sound going to shit that'd be awesome but hard-wired is still possible. Some of these 9.1 setups are not necessary but eventually when I have a bigger space I'd like to use it for dedicated HT purposes so I guess 5.1/7.1 for later use. In essence, a receiver that may be more expensive and over the top for my needs now, but could be a very good unit when I get a dedicated HT setup later.

I'm sure receivers all sound different but are most built for HT and therefore fairly analytical or are some more warm than others and if so, which should be looking at?

[Palmiros]

Originally posted by msommers
Does anyone use a Harmony remote for their system (if so which model)? In particular, people with WDTV Live and Telus Optik? Does it work for amps as well as receivers?

I'm using a Harmony 650 I believe, it's the entry level one, or the one just above the entry level, can't remember.
It controls up to 7 devices I believe. Costco sells them.
I'm running a projector, receiver with multiple modes (radio, TV, PS3) and Telus box (OptikTV) off of it with no problems. It does need an extra adaptor for the PS3 though, everything else is done through Harmony's on-line configuration process.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by msommers
Does anyone use a Harmony remote for their system (if so which model)? In particular, people with WDTV Live and Telus Optik? Does it work for amps as well as receivers? Also I updated a post above but I'll just put it here instead.

I have one, but I find I prefer to just use the OEM remotes, except for the receiver. I can do things faster with 3 remotes than I can sifting through the harmony remote. That is more personal preference though. The macros piss me off because sometimes it misses one device, or I accidentally block the end of the remote, then it gets all messed up.


Originally posted by msommers
Looking for more ideas towards a 2.1 stereo setup w/ HT use as well. I quite honestly don't know a heck of a lot regarding this stuff. I'm sure all I need for my purposes are a receiver, amp and speakers but maybe I'm missing something.

That's all you need. Honestly unless you are listening at fairly high levels or are somehow exceeding the power of a good receiver, I don't think you will notice the difference between separates and a good receiver. If you do want separates, I recommend Emotiva stuff which will not break the bank and is as good as anything else (regardless of what other people will tell you who spend 5X as much).


Originally posted by msommers
My plan for now is to use the setup for music mainly and also to have it for movies etc to improve the sound from the TV. Speakers and amp I'm sure are going to be dictated by budget, which I haven't quite figured out yet. But I'm of the mindset to buy something that'll last awhile and not feel like upgrading all the time (within reason).

Would you use the setup more for music or movies? Any movie is 90% subwoofer and center channel, so I would recommend you get a 5.1 to start if your primary usage is movies. If anything, go 2.1 and don't skimp out on the sub. Sub calibration (same with the rest of the system) is also more important than simply buying a more expensive one as it will make a bigger difference. A lot of people have subs that are way underpowered for their room size.


Originally posted by msommers
I'd like to have all my HDMI devices (4 now, maybe an extra to be safe later) to play through the sound system. I'm not sure if a cheap receiver will work well enough or if I should opt for something higher end because the guts in them will be more transparent when it comes to playing music, leaving the speakers and amp to their true audio characters. Or maybe the receiver plays no part in the that and a cheapy will be fine. The Pioneer Elites have a wireless function to use iTunes from the computer which is great but most of my non-compressed music is in FLAC and use Foobar2000. I think I have coax and toslink-out on my computer, so if I can do it wirelessly without the sound going to shit that'd be awesome but hard-wired is still possible. Some of these 9.1 setups are not necessary but eventually when I have a bigger space I'd like to use it for dedicated HT purposes so I guess 5.1/7.1 for later use. In essence, a receiver that may be more expensive and over the top for my needs now, but could be a very good unit when I get a dedicated HT setup later.

Even cheap receivers these days have 4 HDMI inputs. If you buy a good receiver (like a Pioneer Elite) I don't think you need separates, but that is up to you. I recommend you listen back to back a good receiver vs separates in a blind test before you spend the extra. 9/10 people wouldn't know the difference at any reasonable listening volume. The approach I would take is start with a good receiver, and add separates later if you feel you're missing something. I would bet you never add amps if you start with a higher end receiver.

Also 7.1 is not necessary unless your room is huge (and long) - there just isn't much separation between the speakers otherwise. 9.1 is just ridiculous haha.

For your FLACs, the WD Live plays them perfectly through a HDMI cable, so that will work regardless of your receiver. Just network the WD Live to your computer (that's how I get all my music).


Originally posted by msommers
I'm sure receivers all sound different but are most built for HT and therefore fairly analytical or are some more warm than others and if so, which should be looking at?

Some receivers sound different than others. For example Denon is known to have a "warm" sound. Personally I can't tell the difference between receiver A and receiver B if they are of similar (good) quality. I use a Pioneer SC-05 which has D-class amps, and for any volume levels I could reasonably reach in my condo, separates wouldn't give me anything extra.

Any higher end receiver these days with a good amp section will suit you just fine. Pioneer Elite, Denon, Onkyo, NAD, Anthem, Sherwood Newcastle, etc. Always find out what the power is with all channels driven, some manufactures rate their power with 2 channels, and then it drops off substantially when you're running 5 or 7.1. Yamaha is famous for that. Pioneer always rates their power all channels driven.

For speakers I use Paradigm Studio V5's. Hard to beat them for bang for the buck, and they are just as good for music as they are for HT (not every speaker is like that). I have a Paradigm SUB12 as well and it is ridiculous overkill for my condo haha. Calibrating it made a world of difference though - it removed all nulls, boomy spots, as well as all resonant frequencies that rattled stuff outside of my HT room. I haven't had a noise complaint in 3 years. I watch more movies/TV than I listen to music.

[msommers]

Awesome! I knew I would get a lengthy and informative response from you. This gives me a lot to look into and figure out how much I want to spend. The sub I was interested in but I too am in an apartment and kind of worry about noise complaints. What did you spend roughly overall? Kind of seems in the 3K-ish range?

I'm leaning towards spending over half of the budget on speakers as that is where I feel the biggest difference in sound will lie. Is sound of music still the better store in town? All I remember is to avoid K&W lol.

[SOAB]

i've been using the Harmony 1 remote to control everything in my HT setup. it works just fine for what i need it to do and is capable of much more when i need it.

i would have been fine using 3-5 different remotes but the wife could never remember what inputs and settings to use for the tv, receiver, etc. and said "FIX IT!!" haha.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by msommers
Awesome! I knew I would get a lengthy and informative response from you. This gives me a lot to look into and figure out how much I want to spend. The sub I was interested in but I too am in an apartment and kind of worry about noise complaints. What did you spend roughly overall? Kind of seems in the 3K-ish range?

About $3800 for the speakers & sub. The sub was $1600 of that though. Got all my cables through monoprice, and my receiver for half price at the annual Soundsaround Sale (It was a last year's model when I bought it).

So, roughly $4800 for speakers, sub, cables, and receiver. I feel as though I bought at the maximum point of diminishing return, which is where the highest bang for the buck is. Especially in the home theater world, you can spend way more money and not get anything more, so it's important to not spend a penny unless YOU can hear a difference in a BLIND test, REPEATEDLY and with different source tracks. If you can't pick out which is which at any given price level easily and repeatedly in the blind tests, you are wasting your money IMO. Otherwise IMO it's not worth it, and your money will be better spent on a more powerful sub, bigger TV, etc. which you will notice immediately.




Originally posted by msommers
I'm leaning towards spending over half of the budget on speakers as that is where I feel the biggest difference in sound will lie. Is sound of music still the better store in town? All I remember is to avoid K&W lol.


Just don't skimp on the sub, unless you never plan on moving it to a larger environment and will just be using it in your condo. The gain on your sub should never be set to more than about half, so that you have plenty of headroom. Lots of people have tiny subs in huge rooms and just max the gain lol - that is not the way to do it.

Sound of Music doesn't sell Paradigm anymore because it was stealing too much of their B&W sales. When you could spend $2k on Paradigms that sound the same or better than $4k B&W's, they weren't making as much money. They are still a very good store though, and worth a look if you like anything they carry.

General Audio will sell you Paradigm, Focal, etc. however they are a small shop with high margins and I'd be surprised if you get more than 15% off.

I've heard there is a store in Edmonton that will give you 30+% off Paradigm, but I have never verified that for myself. I bought all my speakers at Sounds of Music before they stopped carrying Paradigm.

If you do go Paradigm, I own the PBK-1 and can calibrate your sub for you. Make sure you listen to lots of speakers though and buy what sounds best to you, regardless of what me or anyone else suggests. The Audio Room has some interesting stuff too.

[ganesh]

My Recommendation is to look at Audio Room.

[msommers]

Well after much consideration and research, I found a used Anthem MRX500 for a good price so I picked it up. It'll work excellent as a pre/pro when that time comes and for my current space will be able to power speakers adequate for the size - likely bookshelves + sub. Still need to pick out some speakers/sub but I'll likely be demoing a bunch before I decide on something. Wish it had one or two more HDMI inputs but for my current setup, it'll work just fine.

[Mitsu3000gt]

That's an awesome receiver, and ARC room correction is the best available. Nice choice.

[msommers]

Originally posted by r3ccOs
my stereo setup had varied, but now I'm down to:
GF A-88 KT88 tube amp - it sounded nicer than my Cary SLI-80
Jolida JD100A modded tube CDP/Rega Planet origional (very vinyl sounding)
Totem Arro's
Athena PS-400 subwoofer
Tara Labs RSC-Prime 1000 speaker cables
Nordost valhalla ICs
various tubes I've rolled from Sylvania chrome dome 6sn7's to NOS golden Lions KT-88's/6550s
GF PC-1 Power cables
Richard Grey Power Conditioner

I used to have Coincident bookshelves, Paradigm Studio 100 V1s, PSB Stratus gold, Totem Hawks, Theil 3.1, and a few more and componants ranging from Marantz vintage 2225, Luxman LV-103s, Musical Fidelity A3, Bryston 3bst, Macallister audio, etc...


PM'd you earlier, not sure if you got it.

I'm looking at the Arro right now but haven't had a chance to listen to it yet. What made you settle on it after trying so many other speakers, bookshelves and floorstanders? What sound character do you look for in a speaker? Overall space? Thx.

[eiysa101]

Figured I'd post my question here.

I'm looking to hang our tv above our fireplace(is not used) but there is no recessed area above the mantle so I would have to hang it. Now we understand to use a tilting tv mount due to the height but what about power supply and Shaw box/DVD player? It is a exterior wall, would I just run my wires through a hole I cut into my drywall and out another hole close to the cable outlet and power source?

Should I get a electrician and hardwire a powersource closer to the tv instead of running a extension cord?

How do I run the source cables through the studs? Excuse my novice construction mind but whenever I did hang a tv my source cables just went from up to down.

[r3ccOs]

Originally posted by msommers


PM'd you earlier, not sure if you got it.

I'm looking at the Arro right now but haven't had a chance to listen to it yet. What made you settle on it after trying so many other speakers, bookshelves and floorstanders? What sound character do you look for in a speaker? Overall space? Thx.

got it...

Totem's signature sound, imaging, tonality and their synergy to work with tube amplification

They are "far" from effecient, but with a good tube amp, there is enough control or grip to utalize the totem's effeciently

I found KT88 designed amps to drive the Arro's as well as any Brio, 840A, or Creek intergrated, but I still prefer the sound of tube

for my Mirage OM-10 setup 5.1 setup, I recently acquired a Marantz 7007 and it rocks... boy that amp has alot of grip as well and its DAC is quite good, especially when streaming FLAC through a squeezebox

[msommers]

Thanks! What kind of room dimensions do you have them in? Interesting you're using the squeezebox and I think you mentioned the WDTV as well?

I'm trying to figure out exactly how to stream my music. My computer isn't that far away from my Telus router so I have it wired via ethernet and the router is right beside the receiver so I'll do the same there. I shouldn't have any problems just using the router or do I need a network switch as well? I have an additional ethernet port on my computer that could go directly to the receiver but I'm not sure if that's redundant.

I was thinking of wireless streaming with the WDTV Live but I'm not sure if that uses the dac on the wdtv or I can make it so I use exclusively the dac in the receiver which is quite a bit better.

[eblend]

Noticed this thread is short on pics. For people like myself who isn't crazy about home theatre components, a lot of it is just words haha. Here is my setup in pictures:

Entrance to my theatre room:

http://www.eblend.ca/Dima/House/i-vxRf7LL/1/M/P1000952-M.jpg

My couch with 4 rear built in speakers (monoprice):

http://www.eblend.ca/Dima/House/i-m6XKJVh/0/M/P1000953-M.jpg

The 131" EliteScreen with 3 front speakers (monoprice). Also visible my "bar" + the couch looking thing in the front is to cover a flip open thread mill, slides out when needed. The screen automatically goes down when the projector is powered on, and just above the center speaker is my Kinect:

http://www.eblend.ca/Dima/House/i-kvFGwq3/0/M/P1000955-M.jpg

Bar area, used to have a small TV up there but needed money so sold it. Will get one later. Also visible my AV rack

http://www.eblend.ca/Dima/House/i-zB89gLH/0/M/P1000956-M.jpg

My games collection and various other items (I don't drink):

http://www.eblend.ca/Dima/House/i-Pcrb3kQ/0/M/P1000957-M.jpg

More of the AV rack. Components are behind an glass door and drive the basement + the living room as I have nothing in the livingroom but the TV. Harmony RF remote is used to control this. Also can see a boston acoustic sub :

http://www.eblend.ca/Dima/House/i-QvXWbzF/1/M/P1000958-M.jpg

Closeup of the AV rack. Lots of free space in there still. There are fans and a light at the top that auto activate whenever the receiver is powered on. The receiver is a Pioneer 7.1 something something, don't know the model number. The back of the AV rack opens up from within my server room for easy access to all the cabling:

http://www.eblend.ca/Dima/House/i-XZKgw4K/1/M/P1000962-M.jpg

One of 8 camera's throughout the house to keep an eye out on the basement as there is a window and a door that leads to the mudroom in the theatre room as well, which has a walkout:

http://www.eblend.ca/Dima/House/i-8thQfRg/0/M/P1000959-M.jpg

Optima HD 1080p projector:

http://www.eblend.ca/Dima/House/i-K6NCmPh/0/M/P1000963-M.jpg

Rear of the AV cabinet as seen from my server room. This cabinet is also where all of the AV components tie in the whole room via a panel somewhat seen at the bottom. All plug-in based:
http://www.eblend.ca/Dima/House/i-MFkWtSG/0/M/P1000965-M.jpg

http://www.eblend.ca/Dima/House/i-RxBzNSM/1/M/P1000966-M.jpg

[cet]

Looks good eblend.

If anyone's interested here's a link to the theater I'm building. I'm about 1/2 way through at this point.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1237214/an-aspen-woods-theater

[mushi_mushi]

^^^
Very nice home theatre set up eblend. That home theatre set up looks like its coming along nicely cet, looking forward to reading your avs thread and seeing the completed project.

[WhippWhapp]

Originally posted by mushi_mushi
^^^
Very nice home theatre set up eblend. That home theatre set up looks like its coming along nicely cet, looking forward to reading your avs thread and seeing the completed project.

:werd:

[eblend]

Originally posted by cet
Looks good eblend.

If anyone's interested here's a link to the theater I'm building. I'm about 1/2 way through at this point.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1237214/an-aspen-woods-theater

Nice just finished going through all 4 pages just looking at pics mainly, pretty hardcore....and no doubt expensive haha

[r3ccOs]

I am thinking of a runco/bryston/danley soundlabs setup as I finish my basement this winter... still using the marantz as the pre-amp (the DAC is really nice)

I can more or less build a highly compentant home theatre for fraction of going with a McIntosh/B&W setup

[Mar]

Originally posted by eblend
One of 8 camera's throughout the house to keep an eye out on the basement as there is a window and a door that leads to the mudroom in the theatre room as well, which has a walkout:

http://www.eblend.ca/Dima/House/i-8thQfRg/0/M/P1000959-M.jpg Why are there purple lights around it?

[D'z Nutz]

I'm guessing that's IR for the camera's night vision and the digital camera is just picking it up that way. It's probably not even visible to human vision.

[msommers]

Got around to trying out some speakers and my budget is getting out of control :banghead: :rofl: Buy once...right?!

[firebane]

EBlend,

Where did you get that shelving from? I've been looking for something like that.

[eblend]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
I'm guessing that's IR for the camera's night vision and the digital camera is just picking it up that way. It's probably not even visible to human vision.

Exactly, its like taking a picture of a flat top stove, it comes out blue or whatever other color. On the camera its actually red.

[eblend]

Originally posted by firebane
EBlend,

Where did you get that shelving from? I've been looking for something like that.

Okotoks Home Hardware. I couldn't find what I wanted in Calgary, but found it on their site and they ordered it in for me, 3 days later I got a call to come pick it up. Calgary seems to only carry white and very light brown, needed something much darker and home hardware there had it.

[msommers]

Has anyone used the sonos wireless system at home? I used it at a couple places and was sold on it pretty quickly! Expensive but so convenient

[ganesh]

Originally posted by msommers
Has anyone used the sonos wireless system at home? I used it at a couple places and was sold on it pretty quickly! Expensive but so convenient
I have it at home. I like it. IMO it is not the best sound quality. I am looking to add the sub to Sonos 5.

[msommers]

You have the connect and bridge?

[ganesh]

Yep I have Connect, Bridge and a Play 5. I was going to get a Connect AMP but after hearing the sound quality on Play 5 I am not sure whether that is the correct path or not.
Over all it is not a bad product but it is not my cup of tea.

[chibwack]

Originally posted by msommers
Does anyone use a Harmony remote for their system (if so which model)?

I've got the 650i, it was I think $70 last summer. I personally love it, though it takes some getting used too. For example, when I hit "watch tv", it has to turn on the tv and the cable box both, one after the other. You can't just point it and push the button then toss the remote, you actually have to point it unobstructed until it can beam both devices, which takes a couple seconds. It sounds annoying, but it's not that bad. I don't know if the higher end models are faster, but I'd spend the extra money if they were.

I just found out last night that you can program your favorite channels so that they appear right on the remotes screen (can even use icons), so now if I want to watch cnbc I just hit that button and bam! cnbc. (already have to be in watch tv mode though).

I love it because I hate clutter (like multiple remotes), but also because I use an apple tv2 to run xbmc. The ATV2 remote is pretty useless for anything more than navigating, but the harmony works seemlessly with XBMC so that I've got a full functioning movie remote w/ skip, ffwd, pause, menu, exit, page up/down, etc.

There's apparently a Harmony Touch now, which is pricey ($250 I think), but its awful purty...

Basically I'd say harmony's come down to do you want:
a) 3-4 remotes kicking around your living room/couch, switching between each as needed?
b) 1 remote that completely replaces those 3-4, but takes a bit of getting used to, and involves a little more button pressing to do certain things (navigating to the favorite channels menu for example)?

If you ask me, by the time you've dropped the tv remote and grabbed the cable remote you've already spent as much time as the harmony takes, but to each their own.

(not to mention, it just feels nice in the hand)

[msommers]

Originally posted by ganesh
Yep I have Connect, Bridge and a Play 5. I was going to get a Connect AMP but after hearing the sound quality on Play 5 I am not sure whether that is the correct path or not.
Over all it is not a bad product but it is not my cup of tea.

Ohhh that explains the sound quality. I thought you were not impressed when using on your main system. I'd be wanting to use just the connect and bridge, and use my phone as a remote. The remote they offer is pretty snazzy if you don't have an android/iPhone to use but definitely not worth the $400 the salesman mentioned. The connect is pricey enough as it is! Still, it's awesome and a way better interface and speed than the WDTV Live I have.

Thanks for the input on the Harmony remote. I got a chance to try a couple different styles out, I think they were all the high end IR ones where line-of-sight is not required which is nice but those remotes are getting pretty expensive.

[cet]

Originally posted by chibwack


I've got the 650i, it was I think $70 last summer. I personally love it, though it takes some getting used too. For example, when I hit "watch tv", it has to turn on the tv and the cable box both, one after the other. You can't just point it and push the button then toss the remote, you actually have to point it unobstructed until it can beam both devices, which takes a couple seconds. It sounds annoying, but it's not that bad. I don't know if the higher end models are faster, but I'd spend the extra money if they were.

I just found out last night that you can program your favorite channels so that they appear right on the remotes screen (can even use icons), so now if I want to watch cnbc I just hit that button and bam! cnbc. (already have to be in watch tv mode though).

I love it because I hate clutter (like multiple remotes), but also because I use an apple tv2 to run xbmc. The ATV2 remote is pretty useless for anything more than navigating, but the harmony works seemlessly with XBMC so that I've got a full functioning movie remote w/ skip, ffwd, pause, menu, exit, page up/down, etc.

There's apparently a Harmony Touch now, which is pricey ($250 I think), but its awful purty...

Basically I'd say harmony's come down to do you want:
a) 3-4 remotes kicking around your living room/couch, switching between each as needed?
b) 1 remote that completely replaces those 3-4, but takes a bit of getting used to, and involves a little more button pressing to do certain things (navigating to the favorite channels menu for example)?

If you ask me, by the time you've dropped the tv remote and grabbed the cable remote you've already spent as much time as the harmony takes, but to each their own.

(not to mention, it just feels nice in the hand)

I have the Harmony 1100 - I just don't have anything to control at the moment. lol

[wtf im nameless]

Hard to beat Control4 for most of that stuff. They have one of the best remote controls, great sounding amplifiers, works with flac files as well as mp3's and internet radio. I know it's not for everyone due to pricing but I love the stuff, but it's what I do for a living, lol, so I may be a little biased.

[msommers]

I think I tried one of those at General Audio. Pretty nice, kept skipping tracks poorly on their CD player though lol.

Do those Sonos units ever go onsale?

[ganesh]

Originally posted by msommers
I think I tried one of those at General Audio. Pretty nice, kept skipping tracks poorly on their CD player though lol.

Do those Sonos units ever go onsale?

From time to time they will build a bundle and then you will get a break in price.
They are currently available at Visions and Futureshop. At Visions you can bargain a little bit. However there is not much of a mark up on those.

[kenny]

Originally posted by chibwack
For example, when I hit "watch tv", it has to turn on the tv and the cable box both, one after the other. You can't just point it and push the button then toss the remote, you actually have to point it unobstructed until it can beam both devices, which takes a couple seconds. It sounds annoying, but it's not that bad. I don't know if the higher end models are faster, but I'd spend the extra money if they were.


Have you tried reducing the default delay settings in the advanced settings? I kept lowering mine until some things stopped working and then bumped it back up.

Theres a few settings you can change like power-up delay, delays between commands, etc.

[codetrap]

The harmony is so simple, my 4 year old daughter can use it.

[jdmakkord]

Originally posted by ganesh
Bonus Room
Display – Pioneer PDP4300
Receiver – Marantz Reference series SR 19EX
Center – Boston Acoustics VR920
Front – Boston Acoustics VR 975
Rear – Boston Acoustics VR 940

Dedicated HT Room
Projector – Panasonic PT-AE-4000
Screen – Grandview 120” Fixed screen
Processor - Rotel RSP-1570
Power Amp – Rotel RSP-1565
Center : Monitor Audio GSLCR
Front : Monitor Audio GS 60
Rear : Monitor Audio In wall CPW GS
Sub : Velodyne (It is going to be replaced by a REL sub pretty soon)
Bluray – Oppo BDP 83

All the Interconnects are Ultralink.

Dedicated 2 Channel
Power Amp – Bryston 4 B SST
Pre Amp – Bryston BP 26
Speakers are PMC TB2i Signature series – Limited edition
Speaker Stands – Target HiFi HR60
Source : Marantz CD player (Going to be replaced by a Audiolab 8200 CD)
Pro-Ject Debut turntable and Pro-Ject Phono Box.
All the interconnects are Quad and Rega.


Review : For the most part I am happy with my HT setup. It needs to fine tuned and most likely I am going to add another Power Amp to add a little bit more power to the front two channels.
I love my 2 Ch set up. In my humble opnion Bryston and PMC are a match made in heaven.

Future Upgrades/Consideration :
1) Will replace the Monitor audio with PMC.
2) In the next house I will most likely get a Runco projector screen

Holy crap, I still remember your Boston/Bryston setup in your living room back in the day.

[msommers]

r3cco, what made you bump down from the Totem Hawk to the Arro? I really enjoyed listening to the arro but for some reason the vocals seemed to be slightly recessed. Tried the forest and it's great but something didn't quite catch me about it. The imaging on these Totems are unreal though, tough to find it in anything else I've listened to so far.

[rage2]

As I mentioned on the first page, I've been on a mission to simplify my setups, and focus on uncluttering the A/V setup throughout the house. Here's phase 1 of my living room.

http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc475/rage2amg/IMG_5678.jpg

Sharp LC80LE632
Sony DA5300ES receiver
Crappy speakers up front
In wall mounted rear speakers
Windows Media Center PC
Xbox 360
Gefen Matrix switcher
APC UPS (good for ~30 minute uptime)

All of my AV sources are hidden in the basement (Bell, DirecTV, AppleTV, PS3), and distributed over HDMI through the house.

Phase 2, I'll be replacing the receiver with a Marantz NR1403 to reduce the receiver footprint, then get a new cabinet where I can hide absolutely everything including the front and center speakers. I'm using a Harmony 900, so I can RF all the hidden gear. The 3 shitty front speakers will be replaced with something that sounds better.

So this might be a good question here, my Media Center PC uses Media Center + MyMovies for all my HD rips I've downloaded off my PVR over the years, are there any Boxee type boxes that can organize all the titles so it shows the box art etc, and play HD MPG files?

Second question, anyone know if there are cabinets like this:

http://www.surroundsolutions.com/Salamander-Designs-Chameleon-Berlin-236

This one only houses the center speakers, looking for something that can house both center and front speakers. I haven't been able to find anything.

[msommers]

Has anyone heard Salk speakers before? They're an internet-direct company with fabulous reviews. For the cost and apparent performance it sounds like they're pretty hard to beat. Given the price though, it seems like quite a risk without being able to listen to them first!

Also, how much wiggle room do more Hifi places have on price? Most places when I've asked have given me a number that works out to about 8-9% off. I kinda thought there was more room there.

[kenny]

Originally posted by rage2
Second question, anyone know if there are cabinets like this:

http://www.surroundsolutions.com/Salamander-Designs-Chameleon-Berlin-236

This one only houses the center speakers, looking for something that can house both center and front speakers. I haven't been able to find anything.

If you're gonna put all your speakers so close together, ever consider using a soundbar instead? Can mount it right below tv or place on top of the stand.