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-   -   The Home Theater Showcase Thread (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?t=11652)

Sedai 03-02-06 11:30 AM

The Home Theater Showcase Thread
 
This thread is for posting about the gear you use to watch films at home. Post lists or pictures of the sweet set-ups!


Like this!


Harman Kardon AVR 630
http://www.futurehome.co.uk/ProdImages/avr630.jpg


Sony DVPNS665 DVD Player
http://emarket.upsellusa.com/graphic..._dvpns665p.jpg


Sony Playstation II Slim
http://www.physorg.com/newman/gfx/news/sony-ps2-new.jpg


Sony Trinitron 27" Television (Soon to be replaced, I would think)
http://www.mercadolibre.cl/jm/img?s=...4_5288.jpg&v=P


Polk Audio TB 90 Front Mains - CsI3 Center Channel - FxI3 Dipole Surrounds
http://twtr.imageg.net/graphics/prod...1699147reg.jpg http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/sc/31248527-2-200-0.gif http://www.polkaudio.com/images/home...black/fxi3.jpg

Velodyne Vx-10 Subwoofer
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...dium/539813201

Motorolla Dual Drive/Dual Tuner DVR Cable Tuner
http://broadband.motorola.com/dvr/im..._bigview_1.jpg

ash_is_the_gal 03-02-06 12:35 PM

I would, but I'm not fancy enough to want to show it off. ;)

Yoda 03-02-06 01:02 PM

Great thread idea. :) Hope you don't mind me moving it to General Movie Discussion.

I'll weigh in with mine later, though it's a bit sad compared to what most of you have, I'm sure.

Sedai 03-02-06 01:34 PM

Cool Chris. For a second I thought I had spaced out and not hit post on my thread. I am in the middle of building mine, and the Fxi3's are actually on order, and not in place yet. Got the H/K just recently and let me just say, there is a major difference between the brick and mortar consumer gear found at Best Buy, Circuit City et al. and the stuff that companies like Harman Audio, Outlaw, NAD, and Pioneer Elite put out.

I am a thrifty chap, and the idea of spending $1000+ on a receiver sounded outright ludicrous to me, until I heard the difference. I had a chance to go back and forth between my Sony receiver (best buy, 199$) and the H/K I ended up getting, using the same speaker set-up and the same audio and video media. Both my girlfriend and I were completely blown away by the fidelity, clarity, range, and efficiency of the H/K. All of a sudden, Cold Play was sitting in our living room strumming acoustic guitars. All of a sudden, we were thrust down into the depths of Isenguard as the orcs toiled away at the decimation of the once noble tower fortress. I could actually hear the pick striking the strings of the acoustic guitar on the cold play stuff... WOW! The mid-high end receivers use DACS that sample the digital signal at almost twice the rate of the mass market stuff, the amp sections are massive, and use discrete technology, and the H/K weighs in at almost 50 lbs (!!) while the sony clocks in under 20 lbs. We went back to the Sony after using the H/K for a few hours, to compare some more, and my lady says:

"Man, it sounds like someone just closed a sliding glass door over the band"

We would also experience listener fatigue after only a few minutes with the Sony, and we can go for hours with the H/K immersed in the warm, rich sound field. It makes all the difference in the world, I now see.

Now, did we spend the 1000+ dollars getting this unit? Nope. We went the b-stock route, which is the reason we decided on the H/K over the other choices we were considering. H/K offers full, as-new 2 year (!!!) warranty on all B-stock items that they sell from their outlet. We got the receiver, with all accessories etc for $497. For just a bit more than what we would have paid for a much lesser unit new, we got a piece of amazing audio gear from a top company. I am soooo glad we did this, as we are constantly blown away by the quality of this thing. Anyway, enough plugs for H/K, but I wanted to let people know about the fantastic gear we got at a great price, with warranty coverage.

Caitlyn 03-02-06 02:26 PM

Right now, all I have is my pc to watch them on... but hopefully this thread will give me some ideas about what I need to get one day… :)

OG- 03-02-06 11:34 PM

I have a Panasonic SC-HT05 setup in my apartment living room:

http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbas...7/2/243572.jpg

Cheap system at under $200, but it cuts it fairly impressively at that price. A worthwhile 600 Watts total. The bass isn't as providing and responsive as it could be, but it still sounds great with DVDs et al.

I have a 27inch Sansui. A brand I had never heard of but was a great deal and is remarkably vivid for its sub $300 price tag. I love this TV:

http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/sc/31395734-2-200-0.gif

I have hooked up to it my cable, my Samsung DVD player and my computer is TV-outted to it from my bedroom.

And speaking of the bedroom I have my Klipsch 5.1 Promedias in there:

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/bobototo/enc...promedia51.jpg

These were the first thing I ever saved up for at my first job and at the epic $400 price tag (epic to a 16 year old) it was worth every single dime. I love these speakers. They punish top-line systems I've seen other places.

Not at all a bad set up for a college student. ;)

Sedai 03-03-06 10:35 AM

Originally Posted by OG-

These were the first thing I ever saved up for at my first job and at the epic $400 price tag (epic to a 16 year old) it was worth every single dime. I love these speakers. They punish top-line systems I've seen other places.

Not at all a bad set up for a college student. ;)
Klipsch make some great speakers. They were my other choice I was considering, and it was really just a coin flip between the two brands. Cool setup OG!

musicofsky 03-03-06 06:06 PM

I have a panasonic XR-55
Dell 2405FPW
Axiom M3Ti speakers

Not a bad HTPC setup. The screen could be bigger but from 5 feet away it's not bad. I'm waiting for 50-60" 1080p displays to come down in price.

Sedai 03-06-06 04:07 PM

How do you like that panny? I listened to the XR55 a couple of times, and I thought, for the money, that is had a really clear, clean signal. I eventually decided against it, as I couldn't get it sounding warm, but for the price, it seems like the best deal out there for a digital path box.

An Aside: Anyone wishing to test out the capability of their system, should pop in Lord of the Rings : Fellowship of the Ring. Rumored to be one of the best, and hottest surround sound mixes available, It will put your speakers and gear to the test. Tons of LFE, rich music, and plenty of front stage effects as well, it really goes the distance.

Some of the scenes that shook me on a molecular level:

Buckleberry Ferry/Knife in the Dark
Drums in the Deep
The Caverns of Isenguard
The Balrog chapter (the name eludes me right now)


Also Try:

Fight Club
Fifth Element
Signs

For some solid sound mixes...

Dazed&Confused 03-08-06 10:35 PM

My set-up, although some of it isn't really considered home theater:

Sharp LC26GA3 (LCD Screen)
Denon AVR 1906 (Surround Sound Receiver)
Mordaunt Short Premiere Plus (5 Speakers and a Sub)
Samsung HD-950 (High Definition DVD Player, DVD-A, SACD, DIVX)
Humax PVR-8000T (Freeview Receiver)
Pioneer CLD-S310S (Laserdisc player)
Technics SL-PG4 (CD Player)
Apple Mac Mini
Microsoft Xbox 360
Nintendo Gamecube
Sony Playstation 2
Sony PSP

I'm definitely going to add another centre channel to my set up so it's a 6.1 system. I'm thinking about adding a DAB radio and when it's available in blighty I will be subscribing to Sky's HD service.

Sound is a major part of movies and games these days and I agree totally with Sedai, listening to music or watching a movie with the proper equipment is a totally new experience.

Dazed&Confused 03-08-06 10:47 PM

Try any of the latest Star Wars movies as a demo disc for both sound (Dolby Digital Ex) and outstanding picture quality.

Also, you can't go far wrong with DTS as far as sound goes, especially DTS-ES Discrete.

Sedai 03-09-06 10:36 AM

Hi D&C :)

Thanks for responding to the thread! Hey, I have a couple of questions about your set-up, as you seem to have been into it for a while. Have you used the SACD funcions on your play at all? How do the discs sound? Our viewing room isn't set up to handle 6.1 or 7.1, so I can;t go that route as of yet, unfortunately.

Re: The Samsung 950HD - What do you gain from this box? All current DVDs are mastered at about 480p, even if they are mastered from a 1080p source, like say The T2 Extreme DVD. What do you gain with this player? Are you planning on getting an HD-DVD player when they hit later this year? If so, make sure yourt TV is compatible with the massive amopunt of security they are putting on the discs. Fromwhat I hear, the discs will have trouble on some TVs.

Down-conversion trouble...

Revenant 03-09-06 11:03 AM

Playstation 2
Bush 28inch Television
Pentium 4 Emachine computer

I need money and cool gear!

Dazed&Confused 03-09-06 12:29 PM

Originally Posted by Sedai
Hi D&C :)

Thanks for responding to the thread! Hey, I have a couple of questions about your set-up, as you seem to have been into it for a while. Have you used the SACD funcions on your play at all? How do the discs sound? Our viewing room isn't set up to handle 6.1 or 7.1, so I can;t go that route as of yet, unfortunately.

Re: The Samsung 950HD - What do you gain from this box? All current DVDs are mastered at about 480p, even if they are mastered from a 1080p source, like say The T2 Extreme DVD. What do you gain with this player? Are you planning on getting an HD-DVD player when they hit later this year? If so, make sure yourt TV is compatible with the massive amopunt of security they are putting on the discs. Fromwhat I hear, the discs will have trouble on some TVs.

Down-conversion trouble...
I personally like SACD and DVD-A but my system isn't high end enough to really tell the difference anyway. I think they both sound great and a lot of it comes down to how good the mixing is.

Opinion on SACD and DVD-A is divided, SACD is said to have a more natural, warmer sound and I think is preferred by audiophiles. My understanding is that DVD-A is technically superior but it doesn't have that analogue like sound that makes vinyl superior to CD's in many peoples eyes.

The Samsung HD-950 will upscale DVDs to 720p and while not true high definition it is considered to offer better picture quality.

As long as your DVI/HDMI connection on your displau is HDCP compliant you shouldn't have a problem with viewing hi-def satellite/cable services and HD-DVD/Blu Ray.

I'll probably get Toshiba's HD-DVD and Blu Ray compatible player...

Tacitus 03-11-06 05:38 AM

I've just bought one of these Goodmans jobs (not the TV though) and it's definately a lot more resonant than my last setup. Not bad for £100 either... ;)

http://www.argos.co.uk/wcsstore/argo...4UC197310X.jpg

Sedai 03-17-06 07:31 PM

Originally Posted by Dazed&Confused
Opinion on SACD and DVD-A is divided, SACD is said to have a more natural, warmer sound and I think is preferred by audiophiles. My understanding is that DVD-A is technically superior but it doesn't have that analogue like sound that makes vinyl superior to CD's in many peoples eyes.
I prefer vinyl, and own hundreds of records and two Technics SL1200 M3D decks. I didn't include them in the HT set-up, as they are in the office set up with a mixer and an Event Tria System. Basically a near-field studio monitor set up with a sub. It is a solid system for mixing, but alas, the near field characteristic of the speakers keeps them from filling any casual entertainment roles in the living room.

Good info on the upsampling DVD, alas, my television doesn't even have component inputs, let alone HDMI or DVI, so I shant worry about the new HD-DVD stuff until the dust settles a bit (and prices drop on displays ;)).

Dazed&Confused 03-19-06 07:22 PM

Originally Posted by Sedai
I prefer vinyl, and own hundreds of records and two Technics SL1200 M3D decks. I didn't include them in the HT set-up, as they are in the office set up with a mixer and an Event Tria System. Basically a near-field studio monitor set up with a sub. It is a solid system for mixing, but alas, the near field characteristic of the speakers keeps them from filling any casual entertainment roles in the living room.

Good info on the upsampling DVD, alas, my television doesn't even have component inputs, let alone HDMI or DVI, so I shant worry about the new HD-DVD stuff until the dust settles a bit (and prices drop on displays ;)).
I think you have the right idea with that set up, away from everything else so you can fully immerse yourself in that warm vinyl sound.

Maybe one day I will actually get around to collecting vinyl.

Zeiken 03-20-06 08:01 PM

For the next few months- All i have is my iBookg4. No extra speakers! :(
The sound is horribble, the picture could be better, the screen is kind of small.

The audio/visual library down the street has plasma tv's, though, and over 2000 dvd's. I'll be spending most of my time there. :)

thmilin 03-20-06 08:16 PM

when i move down to LA i'm gonna get a house or two bedroom townhouse to rent and pimp the sucker out. i want a humongo flatscreen but i want it cheaper. and a playstation 3. and floor speakers. raow.

right now, it's

- a panasonic 27" with 3 video outs for my various paraphernalia, including S-Video.
- sony playstation II, slim
- comcast Motorolla Dual Drive/Dual Tuner DVR Cable Tuner

Sacorian 03-21-06 03:18 AM

Either my 51cm and DVD player through the stereo
Or off the DVD-rom on my computer


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