Islander

Why not wait until you move before deciding whether you need to change your sound system? Picking new speakers before seeing where you'll be listening to them may not be the best way to go. As well, you're making big changes in your life. It's a good idea to minimize the unnecessary changes, since you've already got lots on your plate. Having something familiar to look at and listen to will help in the transition. Best of luck with your fresh start in the coming year!

For a sub, I'm using a Paradigm PW-2100 with my La Scala mains and Heresy II center and surrounds. It has a 10" driver and 400W RMS/1500W peak amplifier. The current model is rated at 500W. The low-frequency cut-off is 23Hz. More info here: http://www.paradigm.com/en/paradigm/subwoofer_only-specification-6-4-5-11.paradigm The PW-2100 keeps up easily with the La Scalas (even though they're being driven with a 500Wpc amp), with its level set at the 10 o'clock position (the level control has no numbers, but it would be around 3 on a 1-10 scale), and it goes as deep as any of my music or movies call for. Bass instruments sound natural and explosions have plenty of kick, so that meets my needs just fine. I chose the 2100 over the 2200 (which has a 12" driver) because the smaller driver was reputed to be "faster", making it better suited to music. In some reviews I found, it was also described as more reliable, at least among folks who turn everything all the way up most of the time. For a center, when I got the Heresy II, the timbre match with the La Scalas was immediately noticeable. The sound is not as big, of course, but it does sound right. I lucked out and found a pair at a good price, made within 3 years of my Heresy II surrounds. That means I've got a Heresy II for backup, in case any of the other three ever have a problem. Although the center is not magnetically shielded, I found that with careful positioning I could almost eliminate any colour issues with the JVC 35" CRT TV. I know, it's old tech, but I'm happy with it and I'm waiting until the current technology battles settle down and choose a clear winner.

That seems a little odd. Why not ask your dealer about it? Glad to hear it sounds good, since that's the most important thing. PCM means Pulse Code Modulated, the system used on DVDs.

Also interesting is the letter "J" in all their names, other than Kurt Cobain. Janis Joplin, Jimi H, Jim M, Brian Jones. There was a story that Johnny Winter was in bad shape at that time. Not sure about that, but he did later release an album called Still Alive and Well.

There ya go! Try to be lucky every day. Don't you deserve one LP or CD's worth of time to yourself? If you work your *** off every day, what are you going to sit on?

If you can co-ordinate that setup to sound good (as opposed to looking good) and not give you a headache, my hat's off to you! []

Don't get me wrong, we all have lots to do, but at the end of the day it's good to put all that behind you and enjoy some tunes. It's the putting it all behind you that's becoming lost as a concept.

If you're getting a custom home built, having a larger room made would likely not be much more expensive, but would increase the value of the home noticeably, as well as possibly improving the sound in the room. As for dimensions, there are some members here who could help you calculate some optimum proportions that would minimize standing waves and other issues. Another thing to consider: if you're spending the money for a custom home with a dedicated music/HT room, what's a few dollars extra for some serious speakers? Don't do half a job. I'm thinking Heritage, or Jubilee/Heritage combo...

Sounds like you need to get out of the multi-tasking mindset. If you're trying to focus on several things, you're "focussing" on nothing. If the music is music you really like, it should hold your full attention. I have music on all day, but my real listening is usually late in the evening, after the TV is turned off. Then I have nothing else on my mind and can focus on what the musicians were trying to do. Dimming the lights helps, too. It's easy to get wrapped up in the hardware and forget that music is about moods and feelings. To really absorb what's in the recordings, you have to be in a receptive state of mind, with mental and physical distractions put out of the way. This is not just important for listening to music, it's important for your mental health. Whether to listen to music, or just to enjoy the silence, sometimes the hamster really needs to get out of the wheel.

I don't think it should matter. My priority is music, but movies sound great on the system, too. Clean and accurate sound should be what's needed for any source. Clear lyrics, clear dialogue, the same gear can do both. Kick drum, big boom, whatever, a full-range system won't have a problem. However, some systems may be optimized for small-scale music, like acoustic soloists, for instance. They might sound really fine with that sort of material, but not so good with explosions, or big orchestras for that matter. For a significant number of listeners, movies (especially blockbusters) may be completely irrelevant, so they don't need to spend their money on a system suited for that, preferring to go for a really sweet low-powered outfit. That's my take on it.

This is a DVD of a concert in Wembley Stadium to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster (1954-2004). I'd never heard of the concert or DVD until I got it for Christmas, but I'm really glad I got it! Every musician does at least one full song and some do several. Some of the Stratocaster fans playing are: Joe Walsh, David Gilmour, Brian May, Paul Rodgers, Ronnie Wood, Phil Manzanera, plus quite a few more. The whole concert runs 155 minutes, but I've only viewed about half of it so far. It's in Dolby Digital 5.1 and sounds really good. There's a real range of players, including Hank Marvin, one of the earliest stars. I hadn't heard of him, but he played with the Shadows back in the day and has a sort of Ventures style. It's not 100% guitars, since Amy Winehouse and Jamie Cullum do guest spots. None of these musicians seem to be past it. Even Ronnie Wood sounds alright. They're all in good form and the 80,000 or so fans in attendance are having a great time. Highly recommended!

If you have your DVD player's digital output hooked up with a digital coax cable to the "DVD in" connection on your receiver, you've got the first part right. Next, you'll need some 5.1 programming. Even if the DVD in the player says it has 5.1 sound, you may still need to select it in the main menu, since the first choice on the disc may be Dolby 2.0, which will give you only 2 channels. As well, the intro on many movie DVDs is in stereo, not 5.1, so you may have to wait until the feature starts. You don't need to delve into various settings on the receiver. If you just select "Straight" with the Straight/Effect button on the remote or the front panel, a 5.1 program should come out as 5.1 and light up the L, R, C, SL, SR and LFE indicators. Many members on this forum are very happy with their Yamaha receivers and I'm sure you soon will be, too.

B-Tech BT77 speaker mounts are pretty strong, being rated for 55 lbs, but only open up enough to hold speakers 11 inches wide. If you got some longer screws, you could open them up wide enough to hold Heresies. I used them with my Paradigm Atoms and they were way beyond earthquake proof. With speakers as heavy as Heresies, you'd definitely want to make sure they were attached to the wall studs, of course. The build quality of the BT77s is all you could ask. They're quite well made. They look like this: http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Photos/Default.aspx?i=121BT77B&g=15830 From the front: http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product_Id=17529&JRSource=googlebase.datafeed.BTH+BT77 Here are some comments on the BT77 from another forum: http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-10133.html However, if you're planning to tilt the Heresies more than a minimal amount, you should plan on some sort of cradle setup. Either that, or you'll need to drill into the enclosures to secure them to whatever bracket you're using, something I wouldn't do if the cabinets are in good shape.

Not surprising... like most things jb posts about - it is nothing more than a figment of his imagination. Hence my "facilitative" comment. We're not all professors here and this is not a research institute, it's a bunch of hobbyists sharing knowledge and fun. I certainly don't mind the odd interjection and non sequitur, I often enjoy them. Some of them are definitely odd, but so what? There's a joker or two in every pack, but that doesn't mean they need to be dealt with.

Room size is one factor, but where you sit is another. If you sit fairly close to the back wall, say within 3 feet or less, 5.1 would be the better choice because you won't be able to position all 4 surround speakers effectively. If you're at least 5 or 6 feet from the back wall, then there would be room to have the surrounds placed to the sides and a little behind you, with the rear surrounds actually behind you, so 7.1 would be better in that case. Most available surround music and video sources at this time are encoded in 5.1. For 7.1, the two rear surround channels are matrixed from the side surround channels by your pre-amp/receiver.

Shortly after I moved into this place (before I had a sound system in the living room), I put sheets of white Cor-Plas in one of the windows to darken the room for doing photography with studio flash units. A year or two later, after I'd started building up the stereo, I got tired of the gloom and removed the Cor-Plas. The difference in increased echo was very noticeable, even though the window wasn't all that big. I've done other treatments around the room to compensate, but that plastic sure helped when I had it up. I'm using it in other spots now, leaning against the wall in some corners.If you're not familiar with Cor-Plas, it's that plastic material that looks just like corrugated cardboard and is often used by sign shops. It comes in a number of colours and is available at Home Depot. I thought black would look odd in my window, so I used a double layer of white, which dimmed the room enough for my purposes. I cut it so it was a snug fit in the windowframe and had to flex it a little to put it in. It's inexpensive and easily removable if you don't like it.

If looks are important and price is not an issue, La Scala IIs would be better looking and better sounding than original La Scalas. As for a sub going down to "only" 27Hz, that may not be very important, depending on what you listen to. A four-string bass guitar's lowest note is around 40Hz, while a five-string bass guitar will go as low as 30Hz. Other than some rap and electronica, or certain organ music, like some pieces written by Saint-Saens, there's not a lot of music in the 20Hz range. Even explosions don't have all that much really low bass content. If you have room for a KPT-884, you might be happy with it, unless you really prefer the looks of the of the RT-12d. Cherry wood could be very pretty. How low a sub can go depends, to a great deal, on your room and where the sub is in the room. The lowest point where my sub produces useful output can vary by 5-8Hz, depending on its location in the room. Lowest doesn't always mean smoothest, either. It's all a compromise. Using an equalizer with the sub can help smooth out some peaks and dips, many of which are caused by the room.Finally, setting a sub's crossover point based on published speaker frequency response claims is really shooting in the dark. Listening and testing with at least an SPL meter will give you much better odds of getting a smooth bass response where the speaker and sub overlap. La Scalas can sound good with the sub crossed over as high as 120 or even 150Hz. At that point, of course, you'll want to set them at "Large", with the LFE set at "both", so the Scalas don't lose what low bass they have. This is just what works for me. Experiment and see what works best for you.

Well, your speakers (or more likely your system, from source to room) let good CDs sound good and show bad CDs for what they are. Isn't that exactly what a good system is supposed to do? Let you clearly hear the recording, "warts and all"? If it all CDs sound the same, your system is imposing its flavour on them. That's one description of an inferior system, no matter how much it cost. Another similar problem is systems that make all music or all instruments sound the same size, from a solo instrument to a full orchestra. If they all sound big or all sound small, that's not right. Now that your system is doing what it should, you may want to look for better CDs and let the bad ones sit on the back of the shelf.

Do you listen to quad LPs? I understand that they had a serious wear issue, in the the 45kHz signal that's used for quad encoding wears away within a few plays, which was part of the reason that early quad technology went into decline.

Other than price, what's the attraction of a vintage receiver? I've had a number of receivers, all Yamahas (1975 CR-600, 1978 CR-1020, 1998 RX-V392, 2005 RX-V750, still using the 392 and 750) and believe me, the newer they were, the better they sounded. The improvements in clarity and reductions in distortion were quite noticeable. Are you just looking for a sound you're familiar and comfortable with?

Well done! A merry Christmas to you and yours!

Human nature? Given a choice of doing good or evil, there will always be a few people who will choose evil, usually some sort of selfishness. That's no reason to claim all humans are flawed and little can be expected from them. Society has evolved from subsistence struggling and is getting better all the time, in quality of life and in quality of ethics, but the sinners hit the news more often than the saints. That's a good thing; it means the sinners are the exceptions. The future looks good to me, but as William Gibson said, "The future is already here. It's just not widely distributed yet."

The amplifier steps up the voltage of the signal going into its inputs by a factor that varies with the position of the volume knob. However, if that signal is low, like from a turntable cartridge, the amp has less power to work with and its output will be lower. CD players put out more power than cartridges, so the amp can produce a louder sound at the same volume setting when it's receiving a signal from a CD player. To produce the power specifications of amps, a signal of standard power is supplied to the amp. If your input sources supply more or less than the "standard" amount of power to the amp, the amp will put out more or less power in proportion. As well, the power will go up and down with the level of the music that's being played, as you have probably seen on VU meters on tape decks. The impedance of the speakers connected to the amp also affects its power output, plus it can vary at different frequencies, so it's not like power ratings are a really hard and fast measurement, like weight or temperature.

What, you don't get Teletoon and The Weather Channel? [8-)] Seriously, though, there's some good old films on Turner Classic Movies, stuff I'd long heard of, but never had a chance to see, plus those old films don't need any kind of hi-res monitor to see at their best, as best was back then.

Although record and music stores are closing in lots of cities (Sam the Record Man closed in Toronto this year, to everyone's dismay. It was a downtown landmark for 70 years), we have quite a few places here in Victoria. The Turntable, naturally enough, is mostly about LPs, Lyle's Place has mostly CDs and DVDs, plus a small selection of LPs and 45s, but Ditch Records has lots of CDs and LPs, new and used, with lots of current music, of every kind. The shop is usually full of young people looking for the latest as well as the classics, which I take to be a sign of good health in the music business. What really makes it for me is that those three shops are all downtown, within five blocks of my front door, so I often hit all three in an afternoon. Lyle's even has an outdoor rack that I like to check when I pass by, so I was able to pick up 3 LPs yesterday on the way back from the post office.