TauRus

Disclaimer: I am not a sub maniac, a single Klipsch RSW-10 sub paired with my old Klipsch Reference setup (RF3IIx2, RC3x2, RB5IIx2) does the trick for me. I recently upgraded my old trusted Denon AVR-3803 with a Pio Elite VSX-92THX. With that came MCACC. I know the true audiophiles never use MCACC for audio Nirvana simulation, however this is just a family room setup, and with the family room being an absolute most horrible setting for a home theater setup, I figured I cannot do any more damage by using the MCACC. ...And I am not a true audiophile anyway .. So, the question is how would I need to prep the RSW-10 sub to run the MCACC auto-calibration? - what should be the sub volume setting (medium, high)? - should I toggle the low pass filter on or off? - If low pass filter is enabled, what low pass frequency should I set it to? (With my old receiver I normally kept the low pass filter at about 80Hz) Thank you for your input.

I made my choice back in November 2006 by purchasing a PS3 and never looked back. This is a fantastic piece of equipment. It performs exceptionally well as a blu-ray and sd dvd player. In fact it gives my Denon 2930ci run for the money in the upconversion department. With a larger studio support, more headroom in the maximum supported bandwidth, in my opinion Blu-Rayis the choice to make. However, as many correctly stated, the real format war is between Blu-ray and SD DVD. I think the sooner the industry will consolidate around the single high definitin format the more are the chances Blu-Ray will not repeat the fate of SACD/DVD-A.

I am very happy with the picture my Denon 2930ci produces, SD DVDs look pretty darn close to HD cable although of course not as good as true HD quality vieo like Blu-Ray discs. Btw, there is no such thing as an "upconverting dvd player", the correct term to use is "upscaling". Some receivers do upconversion, that is take a composite video signal and upconvert it to component or even HDMI. Upscaling DVD players scale the original 480P to 720P or 1080P.

Mike and Mark, Thank you guys for the responses. You basically confirmed what I guess was the correct answer: for the basement setup the subwoofer type would not be as important parameter compared to its overall performance. However for the family room setup I would probably need to get a front/side firing sub.

I am curious to know if there is any correlation between the type of floors and the sub type (front/rear firing vs down firing)? Sound dispersion will probably be dirrefent when you place your sub in a basement HT area (carpet above convrete floor) vs let's a family room (carpet floor in a frame house, above basement). Therefore, is a particular type of subwoofer design more optimal for particular type of floors?

This post is not too serious, and is perhaps remotely relevant to the subject, but for some reason as I was reading through the pages I constantly had this object in my mind as a potential shape for a DIY sub. http://www.biggreenegg.com/home.shtml Now just flip it upside down so that the wider portion is the bottom, ... and there you go - an egg sub

Btw, forgot to mention that prices on LCD displays are coming down significantly. Currently Crutchfield is taking pre-orders on a 37" 1920x1080!!! LCD panel at $1900. Or, if smaller screens are an option, I would advise to look at a 30" Sceptre LCD panel currently going at $899 at Costco online. I own one of those Sceptres and am very happy with the PQ, built quality and value of this display.

George, I am pretty much in the same boat and here's my $0.02 of opinion: I will chose LCD panel. I watched plasmas a lot and like their color rendition and good contrast ratio. However, I find ED plasmas almost unwatchable due to their low resolution. Place two similar sized displays - a 42" ED plasma and let's say a 37" LCD panel next to each other - and the difference in clarity is astonishing. I don't think I will ever get used to that screen door effect. LCDs have come a great way, and many of their traditional drawbacks have been greatly improved. Also, looking at your pro and con table I made a few comments (I will type in CAPS not to shout but to make my comments stand out a little from your original text): Advantages of Plasma: 1) The chromatic range of plasma screens is much broader than for CRT television sets. NOT SURE WHERE THIS COMES FROM. 2) The viewing angles are very wide, especially compared to LCD displays. FIRST OF ALL, THE WHOLE VIEWING ANGLE DEBATE IS SOMEWHAT OVERBLOWN - NO ONE WATCHES TVS AT EXTREME ANGLES. THE ONLY TYPE OF DISPLAY THAT EVER MADE ME CONSCIOUS OF VIEWING ANGLES WERE CRT RPTVS. MODERN LCD PANELS HAVE VIEWING ANGLES AT AROUND 170 DEGREES THAT MAKE THIS ISSUE IRRELEVANT. NO LONGER DO THEY LOSE BRIGHTNESS OR SHIFT COLORS WITHIN THOSE RANGES. 3) The contrast is equivalent to the best CRT TVs. ALMOST THERE, ALMOST. THAT IS ONLY ACHIEVABLE ON SOME PLASMAS LIKE PANASONICS. OTHERS STILL HAVE A CLEARLY NOTICABLE GLOW IN DARK AREAS. 4) Able to produce true Black. AGAIN, STRICTLY SPEAKING THIS IS INCORRECT. EVEN ON PANASONICS I SAW GLOW IN DARK SCENES, WHICH ALREADY MEANS LESS THAN TRUE BLACK COLOR RENDITION. HOWEVER, GIVEN THE HOGH CONTRAST OF MOST CURENT DISPLAYS MANY OF THEM CAN REPRODUCE "TRUE" BLACKS. USUALLY THE PROBLEM WITH DISPLAYS IS NOT IN FAILING TO SHOW A BLACK COLOR, BUT IN LOSING SHADOW INFORMATION. LIKE LITTLE FABRIC DETAILS ON A BLACK SUITE, OR DETAILS IN BLACK HAIR. PLASMAS HAVE TRADITIONALLY BEEN VERY STRONG IN THIS ARENA, BUT NOW LCDS AREN'T THAT FAR BEHIND. 5) Plamsa TV's use glass screens which are easy to clean and protect the plasma screen. MMM, NOT SURE HOW RELEVANT THIS POINT IS. I KNOW MANY PLASMA USERS WHO ARE STILL TRYNG TO FIGURE HOW TO CLEAN THEIR PLASMAS BEST WITHOUT LEAVING TRACES OR DAMAGING THE ANTI-GLARE COATING. THIS IS NOT REALLY A BIG PRO OR CON. 6) I WOULD ADD ACCURATE COLOR RENDITION - HER'S CLEARLY THE ARE WHERE PLASMAS ARE SUPERIOR. Disadvantages of Plasma: 1) The flickering can be a cause of discomfort if you're too close to the panel. PERSONALLY I HAVE NEVER SAW MUCH OF A FLICKERING ON PLASMAS. CANNOT COMMENT ON THAT. 2) Plasma pixels are also subject to burn-in. SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED RISK, BUT STILL SERIOUS ENOUGH TO MAKE SURE KIDS DON'T PLAY THEIR CONSOLE GAMES ON PLASMAS. 3) Scintillators do age, and there isn't much that can be done about it. NO COMMENT HERE. 4) I AM SURPRISED SDE IS NOT ON THE LIST, AT LEAST FOR THE ED PLASMAS. Advantages of LCD: 1) LCDs offer better brightness than CRT displays. BRIGHTNESS IS GOOD FOR SUN-LIT ROOMS, OTHERWISE ALL DISPLAYS HAVE TO BE PROPERLY CALIBRATED AND DOING THAT VERY OFTEN YOU NEED TO TURN BRIGHTNESS DOWN, AND THEREFORE ALL DISPLAYS HAVE SUFFICIENT BRIGHTNESS FOR NORMAL TV VIEWING. 2) LCD TVs have exceptional image stability, meaning you can sit close and not experience eye fatigue. I WOULD JUST CALL IT HIGH RESOLUTION. 3) The brightness is excellent and the image is perfectly sharp. YES, SHARPNESS IS GREAT. SOME LCDS HOWEVER ARTIFICIALLY SOFTEN THE IMAGE SLIGHTLY TO GIVE IT A MORE FILM-LIKE FEEL. Disadvantages of LCD: 1) Viewing angles are not yet able to match those of plasma displays, not to mention CRTs. NOT A RELEVANT ARGUMENT. SEE ABOVE. 2) Contrast performance remains below that of CRT and plasma. TRUE IN RELATION TO CRTS. DEPENDS WHEN IT COMES TOP PLASMAS. 3) Latency is also still a problem with LCD panels. NOT QUITE. ANOTHER OVERBLOWN DRAWBACK - WATCHED SPORTS AND ACTION MOVIES/GAMES ON LCDS AND HAVE NO COMPLAINT. MANY PEOPLE CONFUSE IMAGE COMPRESSION ARTIFACTS FOR LATENCY, BUT ONCE YOU ARE WATCHING A FAST ACTION MATERIAL ON BOTH DISPLAYS SIDE BY SIDE THE DIFFERENCE IF ANY IS TRULY NEGLIGIBLE. 4) Since the native resolution of LCDs is high, pixel interpolation has to be used with TV and video images. AGAIN, THIS DISADVANTAGE APPLIES TO BOTH PLASMAS AND LCDS, NOT SURE WHY YOU ONLY MENTION IT FOR LCDS. ANY FIXED PIXEL DISPLAY HAS TO DO THAT TO BE ABLE TO SHOW A LOW RESOLUTION MATERIAL ON HIGH RESOLUTION SCREEN. 5) No True Black. BLACK IS NOT A PROBLEM, CRUSHED GRADATIONS OF GRAYSCALE ARE. 6) Screens are easily damaged and are hard to clean. WHERE DID YOU GET THAT FROM? ANY SCREEN IS EASY TO DAMAGE ITH ENOUGH DETERMINATION 7) Defective pixels. AGAIN, FOR SOME REASON YOU ONLY PUT THIS CON ON LCD'S LIST BUT IT APPLIES TO PLASMAS AS MUCH AS TO LCD. IN FACT IN CASE OF LCDS WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT STUCK SUB-PIXELS (THREE R/G/B SUB-PIXELS PER PIXEL, THEY CAN BE STUCK ANY WHERE FROM FULL OFF TO FULL ON POSITION, CAN BE RECOVERED). ON PLASMAS THE PIXELS CAN BE EITHER GOOD OR DEAD WITH NO RECOVERY POTENTIAL. All of the points above I made based on my own observation, not on reviews in the magazines. I do have a 30" LCD panel in my secondary setup and am now leaning towards getting a larger LCD panel (but not an LCD RPTV) for my main setup after I parted with my CRT RPTV.

I mostly agree with Colter on this. If you need compact speakers then I would strongly advise trying RSX5s. I used to own Quintets, and RSXs are leaps and bounds better.

I have a Denon AVR3803 for sale. Looks and works like new. Bought it from 6AVE - authorised Denon dealer. Unit is made in Japan, excellent build quality, clean powerful sound, a host of rgeat features. Upsamples all redbook (regular CD) audio for better quality. It is a well known and well repected model. Have the original box, remote, accessories. If interested let me know by PM.

Many receivers offer 100 Mhz bandwidth for component switching - this is more than enough for HD (unless you need to send 1080P which does not exist as a standard yet). Also, do not confuse the so called "component upconversion" (which is basically video signal transcoding) with video upconversion to higher resolutions (e.g. 480p to 720p, etc).

Before discounting your AVR, just make sure your Center channel speaker is positioned correctly. It MUST point towards the main listening area at approximately ear level. Center channels speakers usually are very good in dispersing sound horizontally, but have a very narrow vertical dispersion angle. Therefore, if your center channel points above or below ear level at your main seating position, you most likely will keep playing that volume game no matter what receiver you have. On the other note, since I am not familiar with your center channel, I have no idea whether the speaker itself is adequate for your setup or not. Is it from the same Synergy series as your mains? Also, as others said get yourself a decent calibration disk like DVE or AVIA and set all your channels accordingly. This could be the cheapest yet the most effective way to boost the performance of your system.

Just stumbled upon this new SVS sub - PB10-ISD - on their web site. Looks like its brand new and has not shipped yet. Sounds like they made sure it will be a killer product in the respective price range. Which of the Klipsch subs could compete with this one in both sound quality and price? I know kind of early to ask this question since looks like no one heard them yet, but eventually someone here will, am I right Mr. TheEars?

iwillwalk, I have Denon AVR3803, not sure which model you got there. In my case, I have dedicated buttons on the remote for DD and DTS Neo. Do you have them as well?

Those larger LCD panels (that's how those "non-projection" LCDs are called) are still pretty expensive, especially those that are 45" and more. Some 40" panels sell for around $5000. Despite huge popularity, I would probably not rush to buying a Samsung LCD TV since they have subpar contrast/black levels, even for LCD panels. Besides, most of the current large size LCD panels around 40" still have 1280 x 768 WXGA resolution, which is HD, but does not give you native 1080p still. One of the second tier LCD brands, Syntax, is prepping a 37" LCD TV with a 1920x1080 resolution at below $3000 MSRP for a release later this year. At this point it is not known what PQ this display will provide. Hopefully it will be comparable to the first tier LCD products. Here's the link: http://www.syntaxgroups.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=40&products_id=122&osCsid=fa8e7bd283e9d068d9430b327d8fa21a

Scooterdog, I have a similar AV receiver, Denon AVR3803. For the sake of an argument I did an A/B comparison between direct connection to the TV vs running all my video inputs to the receiver, allowing it to do all the necessary signal upconversion/switching. No matter how hard I was looking at the screen I could not detect any added noise or signal loss or any other artifact when the component video signals were routed through the receiver. AVR3803 (and I hope that relates to 3801 as well) has an HD compatible 100 Mhz switching bandwidth which is more than enough for even switching HD signal, leaving aside SD/ED. Therefore I second those guys who advise to run the cables through the receiver. You will benefit by reducing cable clutter and easier operation since you would no longer need to change inputs on your PJ.

Brubru, ideally you will have to match your Front R/L RF3s with another pair of RF3s as surround channels. Other options for surround chnnels could be considered too, for example RB5II bookshelves because they have identical drivers/horns to RF3. For CC (center channel) you probably would be better off with RC3, although I know many folks would urge ou to go with the baddest biggest CC available, like RF7 . My opinon is that the drivers/horns n all speakers should be either identical or very similar for sonic synergy. So, in short, forget about Quintets. Not only you have to stay with Reference series, you need to pick the speakers with identical or very similar drivers as the ones used in your RF3s. This will help you achieve truly enveloping sound with very smooth transitions from channel to channel. I used to have Quintets a surrounds and center channel - they are from a completely different league and do not match RF3s in timbre. I went through the same decision process as you do now, so do not repeat my mistakes.

For pop ups, I use Norton Intenet Security. But I find it not as effective against adware/spyware - it misses quite a few of those trackers and keyloggers. So, to complement is, I have installed a few others - Adaware 6, SpywareBlaster and SpyBot Search and Rescue (excellent software btw). Each of them seems to find some of the spyware/adaware that others somehow missed, but together they keep my PC clean. Make sure to close all unused ports.

Hofy, I came across your post tonight. I have a Pioneer Elite VSX50 receiver. It looks exactly like that VSXC301 model you mentioned earlier. I have no clue whether they have the same or different guts though. It looks like VSX-C301 is a Euro model. VSX50 is for North America. I bought it bundled with a Pioneer Elite DV50A universal DVD player. Initially I bought this combo for my secondary setup, but now that I am preparing for a big move I scrapped the plans for building the secondary HT setup. This combo is only one month old. It is inperfect functional and visual condition. I am interested in selling either the combo or the receiver alone: - Pioneer Elite VSX50 receiver alone - $375 - Pioneer Elite DV50A Universal DVD/SACD/DVD-A player - $150 - both these units together - $475 (combo MSRP $850) If yo are interested, please let me know and I will provide a more detailed info on the inits, photos etc. Regards, TauRus ahundov@yahoo.com

Guys, this thread leads nowhere. It is completely pointless. All brands have great and not so great products. All brands have devoted fans and those who do not like those products. If someone likes Klipsch, it does not mean JBL is trash. Reverse is true as well. Be happy with whatever speakers you have -after all we do not listen to a brand - we listen to music.

And just for comparison, here's a similar frame played by my current Pio Elite DV50A via component video. In my particular setup with my display (Sceptre 30" LCD TV) I did not see any major advantages of upscaled DVI output compared to progressive component signal. DOes not mean you will not benefit from it on larger screens. Just FYI. I expected to see a totally noise-less DVI signal, but in terms of noise it was about the same as component. You will see slight coloration differences. THose are more attributed to the fact that Samsung does not have any video adjustments over DVI. Sceptre has limited (brightnesss, contrast) setting adjustments for DVI input. So I was less flexible in setting up a perfect picture via DVI than compared to the level of control I have with component source. Samsung hd841 is very light weight and has less than perfect build quality. My main gripe in this respect is that its connectors on rear panel are really flimsy and made me anxious not to push the interconnects to hard. Audio wise , this player is OK in all modes, but does not beat my DV50A, and is definitely less impressive audio wise than let's say Denon DVD2900 which I used to own as well. Btw, in the photos, you might see a green speckle on the dude's left cheek - disregard that - its something with my camera - not with the player or a display. If you have any more questions about my observation, please ask.

This is a shot of DVI 1280x720 resolution picture (almost the same frame from the movie.

RedTop, Speaking about Samsung players, HD841 and soon to be released hd941 replace hd931. I did get Samsung HD841 from BestBuy a couple of days ago just out of curiosity - I wanted to find out how much I will benefit from connecting an upscaling DVI equipped player versus my current Pio Elite DV50A. I will attache a couple photos with a snapshot of a dentist dude from Finding Nemo. The first one to come is the snapshot taken when Samsung was sending the video signal through its component video out.

I might, just a little later So far I am keeping the RB5IIs. I will PM you once I decide to sell them.