endover

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It's time to start offloading... I am the original owner of a 2004(I think) Harman Kardon AVR7200 that I haven't substantially used in a year and a half so it's time to part with it. The 7200 is a 7.1 surround receiver with a true 100wpc of clean warm sounding power. Although I never used all of it's features because it has so many, everything I used works perfectly. I used it 90% for home theater and the rest for music. The only reason I'm getting rid of it is because it lacks HDMI. I have had it hooked up to some La Scala's in my drum room and I can't belive how nice the pair sounds together. I have the unit, the main remote which includes a built in SPL meter for setup, and the multiroom remote (and the manual). I have not used the SPL meter since I got it in 2004 so I assume it still works. Cosmetically, it's a 9.9 out of 10. There's a slight blemish on the top where I stacked some "standofff's" but you have to get the light just right to see it. Other than dust, the face is perfect. The main remote has a few minor scuffs as well and for some reason, Harman had a problem with the BOTTOMS of the main remotes getting "sticky" over time. I have since cleaned the sticky off with Goo Gone which left a slight hazing of the color. I'd like to get $200 for it and it's a 65 lb beast so local pickup would be preferred but will entertain shipping if necessary. I don't have original box but will ensure it's packaged safely. My guess is that shipping could be as high as $75+ depending on where it goes. I'm in Melbourne, Fl. I have taken good care of it so I'd like to see it go to a good home. ...and now...my first attempt ever at adding photo's so lets see how this goes....

I guess it's time to start watching for a black Academy for a good price to match my black Chorus'. Thanks for the input!

I'm looking to replace my RC-3II for my center channel and upgrade to something that matches my Chorus II's in the front. Academy's and the C7 seem to be the best match but I'm really trying to understand the difference. I didn't realize the C7 was such a large speaker at 27" wide (I expected that out off the Academy). The C7's are normally cheaper so that's where I want to go but...should I spend the extra $$ to get an Academy? Will I notice the difference?

I wanted to give things a few days to settle out before I wrote back. Apparently, I dissed the Onkyo too soon. Long story short is that Bright House upgraded the software in my HD DVR Cisco box but for some reason the Onkyo quit talking to the box. I would get sound but no video which is the exact symptom I got last year when I sent the entire unit back and they replaced my video card (a common problem in the 709's if you do a little research). I followed Onkyo's instructions exactly to update the firmware which was a little difficult since I had to use the LCD on the Onkyo (TV didn't work) and walah! Once the updated firmware loaded (about 60 minutes) everything worked! I like to use the pass thru because surprisingly enough, I can tell a difference in picture quality if the signal is passed thru the Onkyo. It literally cleans up the signal like it claims it does. I've got the bug to upgrade to separates though so I'm going to continue to investigate but since my 709 doesn't have a 12V trigger, it really makes it complicated for the rest of my family (and the baby sitter) to use the system if I add an external amp. That being said, I'm going to keep my eyes out for a great budget deal but it'll be hard to convince the wifey that I need to go to separates when to her, the Onkyo now works just fine. So I'm still open to input to file for later. Thanks Willand...I've had my eyes on B&K, Acurus, and Emotiva but I think I just need to learn right now instead of purchase. Ha...I guess in some small way, I was hoping the Onkyo would die and I would be forced to upgrade to separates!!!!! (did I just say that with my outside voice?)

I have really enjoyed the flexibility and ease of use of my Onkyo TX-NR709 over the last 2 years but I think the video card on it is failing for the 2nd time. It replaced a Harman Kardon AVR7200 beast because I needed to upgrade to an HDMI unit. First time was repaired under warranty but I don't know what's going to happen this time and I'm tired of this problem. so...If you had $1,200 and were going to purchase an amp and a processor to replace my Onkyo 709 that does everything (TV, DVD, PS3, etc) with HDMI what would you recommend? I talked to Willand a while back about his Acurus and an XPA-5 but I didn't have the cash then (and still don't really) but I've got to come up with a solution. My Onkyo 709 is able to support a separate amp but not if the video card is not working. I need to stay mainstream here. I have two young kids and babysitters that need to be able to use this stuff. 90% of the time its for TV and movies. My family really like the "pass thru" feature of the Onkyo so we could just watch TV without turning the whole system on. I don't need 500 watts of Spongebob or Dora The Explorer. I've tried the Harmony remote route and it just doesn't work as well with the wife and kids. Again...simple, mainstream and good quality. Geneal thoughts? If I bought an Emotiva XPA-5 when it goes on sale again for $770, what's the best mainstream receiver I could buy for $450ish that will hook up to it and let me have the simplicity I had before? Ideas????? Thanks!

Sometimes it's great to send out and Off Topic discussion and see where it goes. I never expected this one to take me to glowing driveways but that stuff looks great! We'll...the jury's still out about asphalt millings but I'm in no rush so I will continue to research and figure out what the best driveway is. I'm just not willing to put lots of $$$$ into a driveway that when I'm done...is nothing more than....a driveway. On the other hand though...I don't want to cheap-out and have to re-do something every 5 years. That would just be stupid.

I'm looking to elimnate my 70 foot long driveway of grass and pebbles and put something "real" in. Concrete will run me about $7K and pavers won't be much different which is way too much to spend. I can get asphalt millings for about $700 but we're concerned the "black" will get tracked into the house over time by us or my young kids. Does anyone have an asphalt millings driveway that can comment? I'm in Florida so I don't care about the driveway going thru freeze and thaw cycles. oh...asphalt millings is made from asphalt roads that are chewed up into a billion little pieces and then respread and flattened. From everything I read, with a little heat (which we have here in Florida), it will somewhat re-solidify and won't flake back apart.

I tried some out of the box thinking and it landed really well. I happen to be putting my flat screen over the top of a natural stone fireplace and didn't want to drill into the stone. I found a Peerless ceiling hanging kit and ended up drilling a 2" diameter hole in my ceiling. The "pipe" mounts up inside my attic to the cross beams. The Peerless kit came with a beauty ring to cover the hole and make it look like a professional installation. All of my wiring (HDMI, Component cables, etc.) goes from my AVR...up the wall thru one of those wall plates like you show from Monoprice and then it comes down inside the black "pipe" and directly into the back of my TV. It's crazy clean...no visible wires and on an 8 foot ceiling, all you see is about 10 inches of the black pipe above the TV which easily disappers into the background. If I ever sell the house, all I have is a 2" hole in the ceiling to cover up. I've already checked and it doesn't get hot enough above my fireplace so my TV's safe. Ceiling mount was cheap, cheap, cheap and looks awesome! I have electrical boxes in my attic for the TV to plug into so again...no visible wires. Probably not what you were looking for but maybe it will spur someone elses creative thinking....(since you have a catchy SUBJECT line and all....)

Typing with left hand for now. Surgery was yesterday so here we go with recovery! Right side is still totally numb from nerve blocker which is good. I wouldn't mind it if the nerve blocker held on for a few days 'till i get past the pain part....which there is currently none. Surgrery took all of 2 hours and 15 mins from the time I walked into the clinic until I was driven home. Pretty impressive... I start PT today where I'll get thefull scoop about my 3 month recovery plan.

I need some input here... I had a road bike wreck about 2 years ago. Standard MRI showed possible torn Labrum. Surgeon went in...not torn but "frayed" which was great. Recovery was fast and easy. Flash forward 2 years to this summer. I started swimming at the beginning of the summer and had significant shoulder pain. Doc put me in for "detailed" injection MRI. Turns out I had a torn Rotator Cuff but it was never seen by the surgeon (or the basic MRI). Long story short is that it's a small tear but needs repairing. I'm a young 40 years old and very active and in great health. I know the docs are gonig to tell me 6 weeks immobilized, 6 weeks motion and then 3 to 6 months before I'm even close to normal fitness. Can someone who's had this done give me a realistic recovery plan for my condition? What's the earliest I can get back on a road bike and then ultimately my mountain bike. I won't start swimming/surfing again until next Summer so I assume those things will be fine in 8 to 10 months. I have an off-road endurance bike race in late January that I would love to do but don't know what to expect. I can chose to hold surgery off 'till next summer but can't see where that really buy's me anything. I'm in Florida so there is no "down" season for sports.

Some good news to report.... We soldered in the new caps last night for both speakers. I had to use a shoehorn to fit them onto the board since the new caps are so big but a phone call to Mr. Crites and we were good to go! He's most helpful so thanks a bunch Bob! Anyway...yes...going in thru the passive worked great. It's all easy stuff from here. I'll reinstall the crossovers and reassemble the cabinets so I should be able to try them out over the next few days. I'll give a progress report when I get that far. It's tough to stay on schedule with young kids around!

I appreciate the info Jhoak but was also looking for a wide range of input from the group and preferably from someone who's done it before. Sorry for the bump so I'll throw it out there again. What's the best way to get into my Chorus II's to change out the crossovers?

From those who have been inside Chorus II's... What's the best way to get inside to pull out the crossovers? One recommendation I had was to remove the tweeter and mid to be able to gain access to the wiring before I pull the terminal cap off. Has anyone done a "procedure" I could follow? I'm pretty handy with tools, I've just never done this and want to do it right. I will take pics before I go tearing things apart and I will label but I need to know the best way to get in there.

Thanks DavidF, That's good input! My wife has allowed me to keep both setups in my family room for a few weeks so it's easy to continue to compare and there is definitely a difference. I'm committed to upgrade these caps at this point as I received them in the mail a couple of days ago. My dad is a solder guru so he's ready to go. I just need to take the time to remove the crossovers from the cabinets. I'll post results once I get done but it may take me a few weeks.

I've taken everyone's advice and got me some caps from Mr. Crites for my 1993 Chorus II's. It's going to take me a couple of weeks to open up some time in my schedule but I'll be updating my crossovers soon to breathe some new life back into these baby's! If anyone's replaced caps on Chorus' and have any recommendations, let me know before I start digging in. Sorry wtrmn but I've got a local sale pending on the La Scala's.

I'm still contemplating all this good stuff so let me ask this. IF, IF, IF I was to sell my La Scala's and use some of the money to add one of the aforementioned amps (Emotiva, B&K, Acurus, etc...) could I expect much change in the quality of the sound that coming out of my speakers since it's still being "directed" by my Onkyo 709? Also...I'm assuming that once I add the high horsepower amp that all I need to do later on (years later) is get rid of my Onkyo 709 and just purchase an updated pre-processor that wouldn't cost an arm and a leg? In other words, I will have purchased the high-horsepower engine now all I need to upgrade is the brain?

As you can see from my other posts, I've got a few irons in the fire (looking for external amp, fixing my Chorus II's, selling La Scalas, etc....) Basically, the money is not there to buy or fix or buy anything...yet.... That being said, the perfect scenario is one....for my wife to approve all of these transactions and then for me to sell the La Scala's and use the money to get an external amp and also pay for new capacitors to clean up my Chorus'. All of that depends on how much I get for the La Scala's. I'm in the Melboune area in east central FL.

Sorry gang...I have dug and dug and can't seem to find a "decoder" for the type of serial number I have on my La Scalas. I see that the question has been asked a million times so I guess I'll make it a million and 1. I have a couple of birch La Scala's that I'm thinking of selling and after digging around on Ebay and other places, I see huge swings in price. "IF" I'm going to do this, I want to ask a fair price so I'm educating myself as much as I can to make sure I don't have some unique combination of parts that makes these more valuabe. They are sequential SN's. The wood has minor surface water-type stains but otherwise are in good condition. Any help will be appreciated. LS BIR LAC 053493230 053493231

Okay tmassey! That is one distractingly nasty pic you've got there. Every time I read your stuff I get stuck looking at that thing. It's like watching a nasty car accident. You "should" turn away but for some reason, you can't!

Need some input here.... I've pulled my La Scala's out of the back room (not being used) and have set them up next to my Chorus II's in an effort to get them ready to sell...I think. My wife has "nixed" them(La Scala's) because she says they're just too ugly and after a while...I'm sure I've lost that battle and the war. I'm now sitting here doing a side-by-side and I notice that the La Scala's have higher "highs" than the Chorus II's. Yes..yes...I know the La Scala's are a much higher quality speaker but I can't help but thinking something is not quite right with my Chorus'. I am the original owner of the Chorus' and bought them back in 1993 and have taken excellent care of them. I am the 2nd owner of the La Scala's. If you were watching a sword fight on Pirates of the Caribbean, when the two swords meet, the La Scala's give that nice crisp "schwing" when the swords slide over each other and although the Chorus' sound good, they're not quite that crisp. Any thoughts or recommendations?