strutter

can't you order it through the store and recieve your reduced price? if not , sounds like your gonna have to wait until they get it instock in order to use that employee discount. my local BB has the entire f-3 system in stock. wont help you way up in washington though.

MY CC is under the set. the shelf is adjusted lower in the back so the CC is tilted up towards my ears.

I agree Kev - I saw Widespread Panic twice over the past year and there was no shortage of lighters. (as well as other smoldering items) there was some "other smoldering items" floating around. not as much as i expected for an outdoor event. good to hear not everyone is doing the cell phone thing. but i wonder if this is an indication of a coming trend. last show i was at was ozzfest and before that the kiss reunion tour. there was no shortage of bic flicking there either.

with the adjustable feet set at 1" my stand is 20" high. it needed to be 18" for optimum viewing but my calculations told me that wasnt going to give me enough inside room for components. so i made it 19" high. close enough i think. for optimum viewing you need to have the center of the TV eye level when you are at your usual sitting position. BTW my set is a 60" sony XBR2 someone suggested that if you put a back on it to make sure it comes off easily. i fully support this notion. it's the thing i most wish i had done with mine. and when i get the time i'm going to do it. my back is held on by wing nuts. easy to remove but the back is one solid peice which makes it more difficult. i'm going to remove it and cut it into 3 sections then reinstall with the wing nuts. i also wish i had put a drawer under the center speaker.

i went to a concert last night. the first one I've been to in about 5 years. the first time for both my teenagers.i highly recommend anyone who has them to go and share a concert experience with your kids.(make sure it's music you all like though). it was nickelback, puddle of mudd and finger eleven. i don't know if its a thing with the newer bands or just a sign of the times but instead of flicking their bic everyone waived their lit up cell phones in the air. the bands have changed their request from "let me see your lighters" to "show me your phone" perhaps it's because everyone has a cell phone these days. perhaps its a sign that smoking has been reduced so much than no one carries a lighter any more. an amphitheater full of cell phone lights just doesn't have the visual impact that a sea of flames does. any way i just wanted to post that observation here, not for any particular reason other than to document yet another instance where i have realized i am getting old. BTW, i did waive my phone, don't have a lighter.

and everything in place.

and the surround shelves

nice build. heres my DIY.

does this mean the TV has to be on to negotiate a handshake even if youre not using the TV. such as if you want to listen to a CD the TV has to be on also?

are you utilizing the HDMI switching? any handshake issues? have you got the network connected? please report back after listening to CD. thanks.

reply to oldbuckster I'm considering either the onkyo905 or the Denon 4308ci. based on these being the newest units available right now, product features, specs and price. and they aren't $5000. if i wanted to spend that much there would be lots of better options. and i absolutely agree with your last sentence. but there are lots of things to consider besides sound. although sound is extremely important to me.(i do love 2 channel) sound is only the 'A' part of AVR. the 'V' part needs to be considered too. the total home theater experience involves more than a good amp. i'm looking to get the bells and whistles, the best video processing, and the best sound available in one package at an afordable price. these two fit my price ,around 2 not 5.

yep, i noticed that the product page was up to date. the comparison page that i posted was made before all specs were released on the Denon. i didn't make the comparison page that i posted someone else did and and i found out later that the person was Onkyo fan. but nevertheless the specs that don't have ? are correct to the best of my knowledge. below is the link to comparison pages that person made for the 875 and 3808, the 805,875,905 as well as the 905,4308. one glitch that i found in his pages is that if you click the link for the reon chip. it actually links to a PDF for the realta chip which is a better chip than the reon. http://www.theosfiles.com/zzz/receiver_compare_875_vs_3808CI.html http://www.theosfiles.com/zzz/receiver_compare_onkyo.html http://www.theosfiles.com/zzz/receiver_compare_905_vs_4308CI.html I'm sort of partial to Denon myself although the 905 is making it hard to continue to be. i welcome any conversation concerning any of the new onkyos and denons. """Maybe one of you can point out something more than I am seeing.""" well i see that the 4308 has 4 HDMI in and 2 out, whereas the 3808 has 4 in and 1 out. the 4308 has HD radio and the 3808 doesn't. and the part numbers for the faroudja vid chips are different. there may be more. weather or not these things are worth $900 or not is totally up to the purchaser to decide the value he places on those features.

you make some good points. i believe the place where the reon processing would help my video is the deinterlacing of 1080 cable. my xbr2 is said to not do a very good job with the conversion. i've been told the reon would do a better job overall than the processing in the set. it doesnt look bad to my eyes but if it can be better why not try. the faroudja processing in oppo looks good too. so if denon implemented the faroudja corectly in the 4308 it should be just as good as the oppo at least. when i get an HD player the AVR would simply do passthrough. for some reason i find myself leaning towards the onkyo but my gut feeling is to stay with denon. BTW the calibrator who is going to do my set just just did one for a guy who has the 4308ci. the user review is that it's awesome now compaired to before he calibrated the audio. the calibrator comented that he doesnt like the audyssey system in the recievers and suggest to turn that function off.

of course the 905 cant compare with the 5308ci. but then it is $5000.

yes i am well aware of that thread.