MatrixDweller

Most come in a packages and the subwoofer a lot of the time outputs amplified signals to the satellites. You could easily connect up a regular subwoofer to a computer with a Phono to RCA adapter hooked into the analog input of the sub. Typically there aren't 5.1 discrete outputs on a sound card so you would be using the front speaker output on the computer and using the sub's frequency filters. You could then use the sub's high level outs (if it has them) the pass the signal on to the fronts.

How about the RSW-10d. Supposedly this sub is more accurate than the RW12d or there's the RT10d which is more accurate and louder than both.

The RC62 is quite an impressive speaker but it is big, and like you said, space is an issue. The RC52 will sound pretty nice under/ontop of your 27" TV. When you finally get the time to enjoy them, and are making to money when you graduate law school and finish articling. You will probably be making enough to upgrade your whole system. The RB61's will move nicely to the rear and you'll probably end up getting something equivalent to RF82, RF63 or RF83 with a RC62 or RC64 center.

To diagnose the problem you need to identify when "exactly" the sound cuts out. 1) At the same point on a given disc every time? a) Problem with player - Try a different player, check for firmware updates. Problem with disc - Try another copy of the same movie, try a different movie, check for firmware updates. 2) Only during the very loud portions of the movie (ie: explosions, shouting, gunfire, etc). a) Problem with Receiver - Check connections, try a different receiver Problem with player - Try a different player, check for firmware updates. 3) During a layer change over a) I had issues with a DVD player that skipped the chapter right after a layer change. There could be issues with your Hybrid not picking up the audio track once or during the layer change. Check for firmware updates. 3) Completely Random a) Check all hardware and connections, swap out and test if possible and check for firmware updates for your hybrid. My bet is that there are issues with the hybrid BD/HD unit. I would first try updating the firmware as it is possible Samsung could have released a 95% working model with the hopes up patching any problems through firware releases. If it's not the player...does the sound cut out on any other source like CD, Radio, etc?

I know the B&W Nautilus series is supposed to sound great...but yuck

It will be nice when sources and content become available. I guess the HD-XA1 supports Deep Color but there isn't any content yet. Unfortunatly the HD DVD and Bluray standard is 8-bit, so having a player that supports Deep Color is pretty pointless. Of course they could change the HDDVD and/or Bluray standard and record for 10, 12 or 16 bit color but then all of the older players will be garbage or we'll have discs that will only play on future units with Deep Color. Even if they could put the higher bit depth onto BD or HDDVD and make it backward compatible the movie would suddenly take up the whole disc due to it's increased size and leave no room for any extras or multiple audio tracks (lossless or not). The point is you're not going to have Deep Color content unless it's from some not yet invented hardware, a PC or a game console (but not from BD or HDDVD). So in the short term Deep Color isn't something you have to have in a TV. Five years from now it might be, so if you're planning on buying an $8000 TV, I'd wait. If you're buying a sub $2000 TV then you'll probably buy something new in 5 years to replace it that has Deep Color support when content finally arrives.

Non parallel walls are a definite plus. Most professional recording studios do not have square or rectangular rooms. The work is half the fun. I'm still in the construction phase of mine. I'll be posting pics in a month hopefully.

I bought a 25ft 24awg HDMI cable for $23 and it works flawlessly. I also bought some binding post wall plates and a couple HDMI wall plates. Home depot sells the binding post wall plates but they are...over 5 times the price. I bought an 8 post plate for around $6, home depot price $35. The HDMI wall plate was $8.50. Next closest price I could find was over $40. I'd recommend Monoprice to anyone.

That's quite the unique sloped ceiling. I take it that it is in the attic or over top the garage. A dark ceiling is a must for a HT but the awkward ceiling height is going to be a challenge. You could make that room real nice and cozy when you're done with it. Please repost pics when done. Are you planning on adding and treatments?

The big feature that HDMI 1.3 gives to video is Deep Color. The expanded bit depth of color (10+ as opposed to 8) will have a good impact on large screens especially. Of course not too many TVs support the enhanced bit depth and there aren't any normal sources (ie: HDDVD or Bluray) that are passing the higher color bit depth yet. PC's and game consoles do however. In the next few years you can be sure that there will be more sources but the content will still need to catch up. Many viewers might not even be able to tell between 8-bit and 10-bit or higher color. You would also be paying a large premium for a LCD that has HDMI 1.3 in it too. So for all intents and purposes the only real benefit that HDMI 1.3 has right now is passing lossless audio. I wouldn't worry about the video part of it.

Why hardwire anything? If you run a 1 1/2" or 2" conduit you can fish it all through the conduit without a problem. Then down the road when you decide to upgrade cables you can easily remove the old ones, and possibly sell them, rather than having to leave them in the wall.

I have a HD-A2 and a Denon 3805. Thus no HDMI PCM. What I've noticed is that when I select the DD+ or Dolby TrueHD soundtrack the volume is muted a good 5-10dB on the reciever (eg: the same sound level obtained on regular DD being -50dB, I have to turn it up to -40dB to get the same sound level with DD+ DTrueHD). My ears can't tell much of a difference between the downsampled DD+ DTureHD 1.5mbps DTS bitstream and normal DTS or DD other than the volume change. Both Dolby Digital and the new HD formats are down/re-sampled to DTS, so are the new HD formats just recorded lower to give more dynamic range?

I bet the concrete block wall plays havoc with the room acoustics. Is that a shared wall? That rusty orange color is really nice. Looks really warm and inviting with the lighting and is a good contrast to the black front wall and green in the room. Very nice! How does it sound?

You know of course that using three prong adapters is really only advised for diagnostic purposes. Hopefully your friend never has a short on those components. The ground is there for safety reasons. It doesn't have to be a physical wire inside the case touching the chassis, it could be a blown component sending it's current to ground instead. Another thing to consider is that your friend's wife, or your friend if it killed his wife or kid(s) instead, could sue you because you put the 3 prong adapters in place. I doubt you would face a manslaughter charge because you're not a certified electrician, but you could be in deep doo-doo if they knew you read our posts and didn't heed our advice.

It could be a ground loop causing the buzz on the amps. Does he have a sub too? Cable TV can be bad for ground loops so I would try unplugging the coax cable first. After doing some proper cable management I'd try plugging in only one amp first to see if the ground loop is coming from the amps. You shouldn't use 2 prong plug adapters for other than testing purposes. If there ever was a short in a component the case (and possibly metal rack) might become 'Live' or 'Hot' and you may be visiting your friend in the morgue. Erland is right about the rubber matting you mentioned. The shelf shouldn't have any impact on the wires. I have heard that placing rubber under components, to stop vibration, helps with sound quality but it shouldn't be causing that kind of hum unless it's shaking the tubes considerably. I've heard that a solid piece of granite or marble or something else very heavy under an amp can help stop them from moving (vibrating). You could also use spikes for feet. The AC would be split on the breaker to provide 230V just like the stove and dryer circuits. The breaker might not be as compact as, or looks different than, the others because it was added in after the house was built by a different electrician. Here is a good article on Hum and Buzz: Audioholics - Eliminating System Hum and Buzz

I used a single line into the left at first then tried a splitter and noticed a bit of a difference. See this post for more info http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/thread/922899.aspx

Don't plan on staying on this forum long?????? he is pretty much right....... Nice... I do agree that the hefty price tag of the Denon BD player is way too much to spend but I wouldn't say that the $500 players are just as good. As for bashing Denon...have you ever compared the PQ of a $50 up-converting DVD player vs that of a Denon 2930 (or better) on a 100" screen? Do the same with the Denon BD player and the Sony. You will see a remarkable difference when upconverting, showing BD movies, and playing regular CDs. Denon players are all-in-one units that do everything well. Remember too if you don't have an HDMI 1.3 receiver you will be passing audio over HDMI 1.2 cable as PCM or through the analog outputs. Also the new $500 Sony BDPS300 player has only a DD/DD+ decoder, not all decoders like the Denon. I have a friend that works for an AV store and he told me that their first shipment of Sony BDPS300 were all defective and had to be sent back. As for cables: Ever try to send a 1080p signal over 50 ft of generic 28 AWG HDMI cable? It doesn't work very well. Smaller 3 to 20ft runs may be fine but anything longer needs a good thick cable or a repeater to transmit the signal perfectly. Even though HDMI is digital there can still be signal degradation in the form of packet loss.

I have mine above on a shelf. Below wasn't practical. I've heard that it's best to have the tweeters of the fronts and the center close to the same height and ideally that height should be your ear level.

14 gauge should be ok. Is the feedback coming out of just one speaker? If so possible defect in the crossover... If money wasn't an issue I'd say get a new receiver. Or first borrow one and see if it goes away. A lot of the big box stores have a 30 day no-questions-asked return policy. You could borrow one for a week so-to-speak and if the problem goes away it's the receiver.

What gauge speaker wire are you using? Too thin and it can be influenced by RFI. Could this be a ground loop of some kind? Try unplugging any other amps, like your sub. Run an extension cord to your Yammy from an outlet on another circuit.

You could use the 2802 as a pre processor using the 6-channel ext out to a good amp. If you spent $2500 you'd probably be able get a good 5 channel amp with 160W+ and a THD of .03% or better. Of course you'd want to save up for a matching prepro because the 2802 is lacking in a few areas and won't look as impressive aesthetically. The 4308 is no slouch though and I think it will fulfill most of your needs. Yo don't need lots of power to drive your speakers, but clean power is a must. The 4308 would fit nicely as the hub of your AV center and give you HDMI 1.3 support plus a lot of other goodies that the 2802 doesn't have. I'd highly suggest you demo a system with a 4308ci and a system with separates using RF83's. I'm sure the dealer you bought from might entertain the idea seeing that he/she might make a sale.

I thought generally "B-Stock" meant that it was damaged or not working right after production and then brought back to spec in the factory. An example would be a unit that fell off the assembly line and needed repair, or say a unit that didn't appear to output any sound in QA and need to be fixed. I thought "refurbished" was a customer return that has been fixed up to factory spec. I'm probably wrong. You're right about Ebay though...you really never know what you're getting. It could even be a clever knock-off, although the complexity of an item usually makes it harder to forge.

So then if "the kids" spill a glass of orange pop on them it won't stain them right?

Guilford of Maine ( http://www.guilfordofmaine.com/ ) will send you out some free samples. They're fairly expensive and not all of their fabric is acoustically transparent.

Why didn't Klipsch make a RC-82 or RC-84 to pair with RB-81, RF-82 or RF-83? Don't get me wrong...I like my RC-62 but I would have bought one with 8" woofers if it was available.