Home Audio System (Music/Movies)

Anyone else here into home audio systems?

I absolutely love audio! I'll happily answer any questions about products, setup, installation, etc. I've got a lot of history in A/V, but, I will never admit I know it all. If anyone else has experience with A/V, they'll back me up when I say, "Two heads are better than one!"

Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds Live at Radio City is a must! If you want a great musical experience.

Master and Commander is a great movie to enjoy in standard 5.1 surround sound.

Master Audio surround sound still has subwoofer issues, in my opinion. But, The Dark Knight Rises does really well with MA and picture. People could argue Avatar, which is great for 3D. The audio isn't too bad either. But, compared to The Dark Knight Rises, Bat Man beats the Na'vi every time!

Diana Krall would have to be my absolute favorite for live music. Superb, absolutely superb. Doesn't matter if you have a cheap audio setup, it still sounds good!

I've only got a decent mid-range setup myself ($5,850 NZD):

Samsung PS50C7000 (Full HD 3D Plasma Smart TV)
Onkyo TX-SR706 (AVR)
Sony BDP-S5200 (WiFi Blu-Ray/DVD Player)
KEF Cresta C (Center)
KEF Q-500 (Fronts)
KEF Cresta 2 (Surrounds)
Polk Audio RM-6750 (Satellite Surround Backs x2pr (9.1))
Sony SA-WM40 (12" Long Throw Sub)

I'm running the 2prs of Polk rears in parallel. They're an 8ohm speaker, but I'm running the Onkyo at 4ohm. 2 x 8ohm speakers on one channel = 4ohm. It's not "TRUE" 9.1, but, it still adds a great aspect to whatever I'm watching!

Everything except the KEF Cresta speakers are mine. The Cresta speakers actually belong to a very good friend of mine & are on permanent loan. Also on loan are a Polk Audio 8" sub & Harmon Kardon AVR (pre HDMI). I will be using those in the garage, "Man Cave", along with a Boston Acoustics center, Earthquake RCS-650 Fronts (homemade), Polk Audio rears, projector (TBD, my Sony 3LCD died), and a 100" screen.

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Oh, I also have the Asustor AS-202TE. An awesome product! A/V sync issues, but nothing you can't fix within the XBMC app. 1080p playback and HD audio via HDMI, can't complain!

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Logitech z5500 can't complain

jeez RTM lol, lemme know if you ever get some monitor speakers for mixing that u just get tired of looking at lolol , I'll be glad to take them off your hands :nana:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AOD_Sworn Assassin

jeez RTM lol, lemme know if you ever get some monitor speakers for mixing that u just get tired of looking at lolol , I'll be glad to take them off your hands :nana:

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If you want great monitor speakers for your music, look for Dynaudio deals.

For example:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dynaudio-BM5...item43da988694

If anyone does ever need questions answered, I'm more than happy to help!

Email is the easiest as it comes direct to me at work & on my phone.

[email protected]

Upgrade Time!

Just bought a "new" Integra DTR-80.2. It was an ex-showroom model used for display in a 5.1 hi-end cinema room. $5,000+ RRP....I got it for $735!!!!

Data sheet can be found here - http://redirect.onkyousa.com/redirec..._US_101119.pdf

I'm like foaming at the mouth to bi-amp my KEF Q500's man....this is gonna be SICK!!!!!!!!!!!


50lbs+/- (23kg) Of Pure AWESOME!!!


Front:
http://www.audioholics.com/av-receiv...-70.2-fl/image

Back:
http://www.hughsnews.ca/wp-content/u...R-802-Rear.jpg

Today is the day!!!

I'm off to go pick up a mate, then off to pick up our new dryer & dishwasher from the store. After that, we go back to my mates house to pick up our new TV cabinet to house this beast of an amplifier. Then...the fun of cabling & setup begins.......

That's awesome man! Yeah the wire part for me is the worst part personally, but I like to have them organized and neat, so I take longer than needed LOL.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AOD_Bandu

That's awesome man! Yeah the wire part for me is the worst part personally, but I like to have them organized and neat, so I take longer than needed LOL.

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I love the wiring! I'm pedantic though, lol...




It's like sex....better than sex......sex for the ears!!!!

http://youtu.be/bUe35UReX4E



Before:

Spoiler

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...ce&oe=5745D4B4

After:

Spoiler

http://i.imgur.com/CUNJPvoh.jpg

Wow that looks amazing, great job with the wiring, the first one I cringed a bit because of the cables. I bet that sounds amazing!

The only cable left showing is the FM antenna cable. Everything else is tidied up, brand new Kordz HDMI cables, a Gigabit Ethernet Switch installed, & the sound is like...the most beautiful thing on this earth (it would BE the most beautiful sound if I had Dynaudio speakers, but I have KEF)

muaha, muahahahah, muahahahhahahahaha

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AOD_RTMPro

The only cable left showing is the FM antenna cable. Everything else is tidied up, brand new Kordz HDMI cables, a Gigabit Ethernet Switch installed, & the sound is like...the most beautiful thing on this earth (it would BE the most beautiful sound if I had Dynaudio speakers, but I have KEF)

muaha, muahahahah, muahahahhahahahaha

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LOL, yeah there is nothing more satisfying. I recently bought,yet another, pair of headphones. Beyerdynamic 990 Pro 250ohm and bought a brand new headphone amp, and when I plugged those babies up for the first time, omg. That's all I can say lol


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See, I haven't been one for those "Pro" style headphones for quite some time....1992 if I remember correctly. I prefer reference style speakers vs. headphones. Although I will say, I did purchase a very nice set of Sennheiser CX-95 headphones in 2009. From memory, they were $499 or $599 RRP....doesn't matter, I managed to score them on clearance direct from the New Zealand importer for $180! Dear god....the quality that comes out of a pair of ear buds....just, WOW!

Update:

Everything, as you can see previously, is plugged in & working.



Here is my weekend review:

CONS
No Pandora buit-in (USA model only :( )
The Bi-Amp feature uses the Surround Back output. So I would have to choose, true 7.1, or 5.1 with bi-amped fronts
Upscaling to 1080p/24 seems to cause some A/V Sync issues. Could be some setup still needs tweaking
Using some of the DSP settings, for emulated 7.1, seems to cause some A/V Sync issues. Could be some setup still needs tweaking


PROS
vTuner is built-in & DLNA streaming is easy to use
The Integra App is cool for controlling via my phone & I can stream direct from my phone (only files, no Apps)
The amplifier output is more than double what my previous amp was. The sound quality & frequency range warrants no need for bi-amping
Runs a lot cooler than expected vs. my previous Onkyo




Still happy with this even though I have some small minor things to tweak. To be expected though. It's like building a new PC. Just gotta tweak the settings a bit to get it running smoothly. But I tell you what, the sound quality, the frequency range, & most of all, the CONTROL of this puppy...damn, she's tight & the bass hits hard! I literally feel like I'm right there in the mix of it. And after all, that's the whole point...isn't it?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AOD_RTMPro

then off to pick up our new dryer & dishwasher from the store.

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On a side note...my mate & I picked these up on Sat (2 days ago).

Today, during my lunch break, I grabbed Fridays newspaper...the day BEFORE Saturday.
The store my wife & I purchased said whiteware from were advertising that their clearance sale was now an additional 5-15% off!
I finished my pizza (yes, I LOVE PIZZA!) & went to visit their website on my work computer.
The dishwasher was now $65 cheaper & the dryer was now $165 cheaper than when we purchased them the previous weekend.
I printed out photos off their website, said to my boss, "I'm off to get my $300 back from Harvey Norman" & walked out the door straight to Harvey Norman (I actually drove, I'm lazy & prefer not to walk.)
After chatting with the same guy who sold us the goods, "Dude, I picked this stuff up on Saturday, & on Friday, the day BEFORE Saturday, you're advertising the same stuff cheaper! I expect the cheaper price!"
To his reply, "Uh, uh, yeah, uh, I'll have to, umm, check with my manager."
He walked about 5 paces the opposite direction & through an open door.
30 seconds later he walks out & says, "Yeah, no problem. We can do that for you."
To my reply, "I know you can."

Muahah, muahahahha, muahahahhahahahahahahah

The Pro wins again!!!!!

i love my life

I just realized that my math is incorrect...whatever I typed up there was a guestimate. The actual totals changed from $3,600 down to $3,300.