endover

All I can say is that you guys aren't doing anything healthy for my marriage! Somehow I went from a $400 addition to salavating over a 200 wpc amp. Sooooo...I need to do some thinking this weekend. I actually have a pair of La Scala's I'm thinking about offloading becuase my wife says they look hideous. Maybe it's time I think harder about getting rid of those and using the cash to to invest in one of these nice amps. If I did look at the higher wattage amp (Emotiva or Acuru), I totally understand how it will drive my Chorus II's but will it overdrive the rest of my center/surrounds (see my equipment list). Also..my sub goes into "standby" mode if no signal is being sent to it which is a feature I really like. Do these higher quality amps have a similar feature or do I need to manually get up and power up the amp every time I want to watch a movie? My Onkyo is not "switched"...I should have bought the next model up to have gotten that feature. By the way...thank you guys for the offers on the amps....depending on the outcome, I may be interested if they're still around. I'm in no rush here so I want to make the best decision and I don't have a ton of money to play with.

Okay Willand...so...based on your input there...and the fact that the TX-NR709 DOES have pre-outs, what amp do you recommend in that price range(new) or do you have one I could keep an eye out for on Craigslist that's of good quality that's also in that price range. This is great! I'm getting quite the education here. Of course it's only "really" great if I end up improving my sound quality. (Keeping in mind that it doesn't suck now...it's just not what I remember it from my HK) I'm not sure that Emotiva trick listed above will give me much of a difference but I do like the possibility of being able to try it and return it if it doesn't work like I want.

So I'm a bit corn-fused.... (which isn't that unusual) so can you help me out. Whats the difference in an "external" amp and a "pre" amp. I have never done anything but purchased a good quality A/V unit and plugged everything into it and let-er rip. This thing where you hook different amps up isn't familiar. Also...that UPA-500 is only 80 watts? The Onkyo is already 110. Even if it's a "ture" 80, why should that sound better than the 110 (which may not be a true 110) from my Onkyo.

HDMI is a must-have at this point otherwise, I'd have stayed with the HK. The HDMI is just to convenient when you have other family members using the system (as well as babysitters, etc). The 709 is very simple to use and has great features. I was hoping there was a preamp out there that would let me bump up the sound quality by bumping up the power and still stay in that $400 range (for 5.1). I'm about an hour East of Orlando.

I just fishing around here...which usually gets me in trouble with my wife later on but... Last year I decided to permanently unplug my HK7200 which was purchased for about $1300 back in 2004 and (technology) upgrade to an Onkyo TX-NR709 for my home theatre system. I took a huge step up in technology and HDMI "ease of use" which my family loves however...sound-wise, there is no comparison to the fullness and power of my HK7200 thru my Chorus II's. The money wasn't in the budget at the time to stay at the same quality level. All that being said, IF, IF, IF I was to add a really good quality pre-amp to my Onkyo, what recommendations would you guys have? Budget-wise, I was hoping I could get back to that "fullness" sound if I spent "around" $400. I'm okay with used or new as long as it's of good quality. I'm only running 5.1 and realistically, will never go higher than that. What should I be looking for on Craigslist or Ebay? Also...I've never used a preamp before like this (or ever for that matter), what happens to the amps inside the Onkyo once I plug the pream pin? Do they still power up and generate heat? Do they get used along with the preamp? Does the circuitry see that a preamp has been plugged in and then shut themselves down to save power (and heat generation)? Is there any way to use the amp from my HK7200 and get that plugged into my Onkyo (which would save me lots of money and make my wife very happy? Thanks for the help.

Well...I did the deed.... My 709 is supposed to show up tomorrow evening on the UPS truck. I probably won't get to play with it 'till the weekend but I'm really looking forward to it!

Ya know Jacksonbart...In all my years of being on this forum, I think this is one of the first time's I've ever seen you give a "serious" reply....too funny! Actually, I think I worded it poorly. I've had two computers in 15 years which means I spend about $1,500 to $2K for a computer that'll last me 7 to 8 years. I get to be at the cutting edge of technology for about a year or so and then it catches up and I'm eventually behind.

Thanks for the input guys. I dropped it off with a friend at work to dig into it. He's very inexpensive and knows it's old. If I can get it back running and get my data off the drive for $50 or less, I can let my kids have it and then I don't mind if something gets messed up. In the mean time, I'm eyeing a Dell XPS17 with the I7 processor. I don't buy computers very often so I try to buy the latest and greatest and not look back for about 7 or 8 years... It's worked well for me for the last 15 years or so. I'd rather not have to spend the money but a good computer at the house is now a requirement instead of a luxury. Thanks for the suggestions and offers!

That's great info and makes total sense concerning my room. We sit approx 12 feet from the TV. So...let me redirect my own thread a bit then... The Onkyo TX-NR709 that I'm look at is THX Select 2 certified (which means I can't really afford the next level up). I know that doesn't mean the sound will suck but what does that mean if I use that receiver in a room that's my size. My Chorus II's fill the room very well with my HK7200 right now which is 2004 vintage and is NOT THX certifiied.

This morning I got the infamous blue screen of death on my older Dell laptop (Inspiron 9300). I'm going to try a couple of fixes but I'm not very good with computer repairs and just don't expect it to go very well. I've never had to take a computer in for repairs so I'm a little leary that they would steal all my home banking info, passwords, etc.... What's the recommended safe practice to protect your personal info when taking a coputer to a fixit shop?

Hey Gang, I keep reading stuff on "large" room and "small" rooms and such for things like the THX certification. What actually defines room sizes? My family room (where music and HT happen) is 20 x 22 with an 8 ft ceiling (3,520 cu ft)...is that considered small or large (is there such a thing as a "medium" sized room)?

My biggest struggle is that since I've been in the Klipsch world, I've never paid less than a grand for a receiver but now budget is talking and I'm not used to buying a receiver with so few plug options in the back. It makes me quite nervous because I want good quality sound and I really like the new network options on the TX-NRX09 series. It will be a loooong time before I could ever spend $$$ to add a separate amp so I can't justify going for pre-outs. Do I wait quite a few months if not a year for the 709 to come down another $150 (I could probably justify $600) or just get the 609 for the $490. Will I be disappointed? Thanks for the review links. I'm hoping there will be more as time marches on.

Bouncing back and forth on this one and looking for recommendations. Harman Kardon AVR 7200 from 2004 has to go since there's no HDMI. Wife gave me approval for $500 budget which means there's a little leeway (man I really told her!). I've been eying the Onkyo TX-NR708's for a while but now the 609's and 709's are out which have a cleaner way to receive wireless signal. Most likely I'll never need to use the pre-outs which the 709 has and the 609 doesn't. The only thing I find significantly different between the 609 and 709 is the Audessy type (609 is less sophisticated but apparently still great) and 10 watts per channel which in the end, won't make much of a difference with my Chorus II's. I do about 80% home theatre and 20% music. 609's running around $490 and 709's running around $780 but prices are slowly coming down. Thoughts recommendations???

Bump.... Come on now....There's got to be a bazillion folks out there recording on hi-def cameras. There just too popular and too cheap and too nice nowadays... ...and "Endover" comes from a looooong mountain bike history.

I bought a Canon HF-11 hi-def camcorder last year and absolutely love it for "filming" the kids and vacations, etc. I keep dumping the files to my computer though and now I need to move my files off my computer and put them on something more reliable. Are you guys using Blu-ray writers and putting them on Blu-ray discs???? If so, what hardware are you using and if not, what else are you doing with them? The video quality is awesome and I want to maintain it. Dell now sells a laptop with a Blu-ray writer but I don't know if I want to spend that much money. My computer is about 7 years old though so I do need to upgrade. Thoughts???

Sorry 'bout a double-ish post but this didn't get a lot of responses in the Technical Questions section so I'm trying it over here... I'm looking at replacing/upgrading my 8 year old HK7200 A/V receiver to a newer HDMI model and the Onkyo tx-nr708 has really caught my eye. I told the wifey that I'd keep it to the $500 price range and this one is really close (and may drop to that price soon). What I can't tell from the specs is whether or not I can stream radio or web content (i.e. Pandora) wirelessly to the 708 or if I have to now run ethernet cable down my walls which would be a real bummer. I am soooo over running any more wires down my walls! Anyone have any input? on the 708 in general? ..and will this thing sound good with my Chorus II's for home theater?

Are there any devices to attach to it to make it wireless? Otherwise, I'll consider either doing without the wireless radio or wait 'till next year when the next better model becomes available at the $500 price range. It's not that the wireless is a make or break deal because 90% of the time, the receiver will be doing Home Theatre stuff. I'm looking for general input here...

I'm looking at replacing/upgrading my 8 year old HK7200 A/V receiver to a newer HDMI model and the Onkyo tx-nr708 has really caught my eye. I told the wifey that I'd keep it to the $500 price range and this one is really close (and may drop to that price soon). What I can't tell from the specs is whether or not I can stream radio or web content (i.e. Pandora) wirelessly to the 708 or if I have to now run ethernet cable down my walls which would be a real bummer. I am soooo over running anymore wires down my walls! Anyone have any input? ..and will this thing sound good with my Chorus II's for home theater?

My original equipment Harman Kardon remote control has that sticky material on the backside that allows it to stay on coffee tables and end tables and not slide around. It works great however, over the years, dirt, dust, dog-hair, etc. has pretty much covered the thing and I need to clean it off. Does anyone know what I can use to clean it? It's some type of super-soft plastic or sticky-like urethane????

As much as I wanted to brush the recommendations aside and do the triathlon anyway...the MRI (that took forever to get results on) shows I shouldn't. My doctor says I have a bruised bone and bad case of tendonitis from the accident and I should take 8 weeks off from any swimming. That pretty much seals the deal. I guess I restart my swimming in November and see how things go. Thanks for the advice!!!

Too all you triathletes out there... I signed up for my first tri a couple of months ago and have 1 month left of training. It's a sprint (.25swim, 16mi bike, 3.1mi run). I'm new at this and will participate in the FAT TIRE category. I've got the bike and run in pretty good shape but I've been working on my swimming for only 2 months (having never swam competitively before). I have taken 2 private lessons to get my stroke form improved and it's working well. Long story short is that I went over my handlebars (and thus my sign-on name) about 3 weeks ago on the road and I have slightly separated my right sholder/collarbone. I stopped swimming to let it heal but at some point, I've got to get back to training or I won't be able to swim the required distance. I don't plan on winning anything. My goal is just to finish. I'm in my 40's and in pretty good health but things don't heal like I was 18 anymore. I'm doing rotater cuff exercises and icing while in recovery mode but don't know how to get back to swimming laps for training without making my situation worse. I know that swimming loads the shoulders up tremendously and mine now kind of thumps and pops around my collarbone while going thru the motions. Recommendations since I only have 1 month left?

I'm just guessing here but.... That "gold trim" that you see may actually be where the black laminate has receeded from the wood beneath it. In other words, it may not go all the way to the edge/corners. It just looks gold but it's really revealed wood. Again...I'm just guessing so you might want to follow up with the seller...

Thanks for the input! I'll give it a try.

I've recently acquired a couple of La Scala's that my wife won't let me use with my Chorus II's in my home theater area so my plan is to put castors on the bottom of them and be able to roll them out to my back porch for the pool/party area. That way, my wife will still love me and I can easily get them back inside after we're done for the day. That being said, I plan on making a couple of castor'd dollys and then sitting the La Scala's on the dollys (I don't want to drill directly into the speaker cabinets). My question is since I will most likley never take them off the dollys, will it change the sound quality very much by having them a few inches off the ground and on a somewhat flexible dolly? From time to time, I may get away with setting them up in the home theater area and I don't want them sounding bad.

Getting back tot he fan problem...and correct me if I'm wrong but.... Don't decent projectors these days have some type of offsetting process that allows you to set up your projector at an off-angle (instead of the middle of the room)? I thought I had a friend with a similar problem and he was able to put the projecter off to the side of the ceiling fan and then adjust it's projector angle so it came out nice when projected onto the wall. I don't have any "personal" info on this but think it would be worth checking out. My $0.02.