chrisinvermont

The Old 97's are one of my favorite bands of recent years. This past Monday was the first time I was able to see them live as they finally came to Vermont. I dragged my semi reluctant wife out to the show. All I can say was WOW did they ever rip it up and my wife had a blast! I was nervous that they would have lost their edge being 4 years since an album and rumored to be finished as a band. They sounded great and put on a very energetic show. I couldn't help comparing to one of the best concerts I ever saw - The Replacements. Anyways if you like straight out rock and roll with an alt-country twist check out the Old 97's live. Also what are your favorite "bar bands" both current and past? I always like live music in most any setting but there is something great about seeing a band in a little club while having a couple of drinks. Probably the best shows I have seen in small venues are the aforementioned Replacements, the Pixies, Lenny Kravitz, and Fishbone. As for current bands as I am over 40 I have slowed the bar crawls down quite a bit but still have seen a few good bands. I saw Back Door Slam at an outside concert this summer and they really ripped. If you don't know they are a blues band from the Isle of Mann. I will have to check them out again in a club. In the alt-country genre I have seen BR-549 and Southern Culture on the Skids and they both really can put on a good show. Let me know what bands I need to try and see if given the chance. It can be hard in Vermont unless you want to see Phish type jam bands. They are alright but I stopped taking the necessary substances to enjoy them several years ago! Chris

Wait.....there was food and drink in those photos??? I must have been looking at something else![:$]

You are very correct. The reason that I said with that if he is only streaming to one location to get the squeeze box is that unless you are running multiple zones there is no advantage to the Sonos. The squeeze box is much cheaper to setup both single zone and multiple zones. Where the arguements come in in the Sonos vs. Squeezebox seems to be in the multiple zone streaming and then you get into ease of setup, synchronization, and use of bandwidth. I am not saying Sonos is better than Squeezebox in these areas, just what I have seen for flamefests on the Sonos/Squeezebox arguements. I made my decision with Sonos and I have been very pleased. It is alot to invest. Others love the Squeezebox. If I was streaming to a single location and I didn't have the Denon 3808 (which streams on its own), then I would get the Squeezebox. Chris

Mike, I will chime in as I have had the Sonos since May and I love it. It looks like from your post you are only looking to stream music to one location. If that is the case, then the Sonos is probably overkill and the squeezebox will be fine. The beauty of the Sonos is the ability to easily add multiple zones and synchonize playback. My music (7,000 tracks) is on a NAS box and that is all that needs to be on for playback. In addition the Sonos can use Napster or Rhapsody. We have Napster for our mp3 players so we already had a subscription. Now using just the Sonos and an internet connection we can stream millions of songs from Napster. They are not audiphile quality but certainly fine for parties and working around the house with tunes blasting! I have 2 zones now and 3 more to go! Chris

Bill, I am with your little brother... Dyson. We went through a bunch of crappy vacs until we got the dyson when it hit the US. We have probalby had it 4-5 years and never a problem. My folks got one and they love it as well. The worst part is the first several times vacuuming when it is sucking dirt out of the carpets that you never knew you had. FWIW we have hardwood, tile and some area rugs. Pets are one dog and two cats. I have a very rare disease and it causes allergies and asthma. The dyson has been great keeping dust and pet hair under control. Chris

I have a 40" Sony XBR4 and I love it. It is a very bright room and it always looks good, even in the day with the sun pouring in. I know that some people have experienced dropouts from AVRs via HDMI. I have a Denon 3808ci and I have had no problems. It certainly pays to play with the multitude of settings options. At AVS Forum there is a very good compilation of user settings. I have tried a couple and the picture clarity and black levels improved considerably. Chris

I have spoken with the Radiant Floor Company a couple of times at trade shows. They are very nice and know their stuff. A colleague of mine is doing his house (retrofit) by himself with their product and he is please so far. I thought about doing it myself but one of the HVAC guys I know needed a house designed. We traded a house design and drawings for retrofit radiant in my house. Best heat ever! Make sure you get the insulation in between the edge of the slab and the frost walls. That is a giant area for heat loss if the heated slab directly contacts the unheated frost wall. Chris

Congrats on the shop! If you are interested in adding extra insulation using a combination of foam board and fiberglass I would just using the 5.5" fiberglass in the walls and putting 1/2" or 1" blue board on the exterior under the siding. Hardiplank can be installed over the insulation and you would just use longer nails. I don't know if you have worked with the Hardiplank before, but it is really good stuff! I have found that using a roofing nailer is the quickest way to install. Also you mention putting in a "secondary" vapor barrier. Be very careful with this. In the past few years the industry has moved from "vapor barrier" to "vapor retarder". They have to be carefully placed within the wall so that you don't create a dew point within the wall cavity which will result in mold growth. I have some details that cover the Indianapolis area at home. I will try and scan and email them to you tonight. Running the pex isn't too bad. For my oversized one car garage my contractor said about $1,000 to run the tubing. I decided to remove it because I don't need to heat the garage all of the time. Radiant is great if you are in there working all the time, especially on cars or other items where you are on the ground all of the time. The drawback is that it isn't really efficient to set the temperature back. It is great if you want to maintain a constant temperature but if you want to maintain a minimum temp and then boost the temp while you are working out there then radiant probably isn't the way to go. Good Luck, Chris

Alan, Wow, a thousand bucks more in Australia! I don't know about some of the new less expensive Denons that are just coming out. Maybe one of those would fit your needs. Of course if you want to fly me down I could pick you up a 3808 and lug in on the airplane! Chris

Al, I am not familiar with the Yamaha or the Pioneer but I can tell you that I have the Denon and I love it. I bought a Denon amp with my first set of Klipsch and I haven't looked back! The 3808 is a dream. One feature that I didn't know much about was the Audessey set-up. As I have learned more about it I like it. I have a very strange shaped listening room(s) and very hard materials. The Audessey room tuning did wonders by correcting the sound stage. While this setup isn't for everyone (it is electronics messing with the "pure" signal) it is certainly an easy way to get a really nice soundstage without alot of work or money. Chris

I use a KG2.2v and it sounds great. I have varied the setup as time goes on but the KG4s, KG1s, KG.5, and the KG2.2v all sound good together in any combination. If you have the space, try another 4 as other have suggested. Chris

I don't know much about the setup that you are considering but it seems good. One thing to bear in mind regarding putting together a heritage system is that the speakers mentioned KG-4, cornwalls, hereseys, etc, are all much bigger speakers than what you are looking at. Not sure what you design plan is or what level of WAF you need to adhere to but bear that in mind. My space is pretty limited and I started with the KG-4s and they ended up back upstairs as they took up too much real estate. I have Kg-1, Kg.5, and a KG2.2 all paired with an ultracube sub and it sounds great. The only point of contention with the wife is the 2.2 center channel. Someday I will post pictures, but I still have lots of finish trim in the room left to do! Chris

This would in fact make it private property. Stores, Malls and their associated parking lots are not like city parks. While publicly accessible - they are under no obligation which forces them to permit you access. By the letter of the law - they could have a guy standing at the entrance and deny all red cars on a Tuesday from parking there, and there could be another guy at the front door denying patronage for everyone wearing a blue shirt... and there is not a single thing you can do about it. I would bring that to the attention of the management company for the complex then - not the individual store owners which are customers of the complex management/ownership. You can still do it after the fact, and threaten a lawsuit if you want for damages and loss of access to your vehicle. Of course this is IF the portion of the lot that you parked in was not marked specifically for the attorney's office. If it was - well... then you have no recourse. But if I own a Burger King and you park there and walk into the Pizza Hut next door - you better believe I will have your car hooked before you even get your drink served. It is a private party/private property and civil issue, not a criminal one. The police did not tow your car, nor issue any citations or fines. Chances are your complaint didn't even make it onto paper or any type of report. You should seriously contact the property manager and hash it out with them. Your non-patronage of Radio Shack has absolutely nothing to do with the situation at hand, and accomplishes nothing, really. It isn't Radio Shack's fault that you were towed. Okay, you win. I will be at Radio Shack all weekend to make up for my years of neglect. I take full responsibility for there down turn in recent years. Nice to get such a well informed response from someone who hasn't seen the area, the signs, or the layout. You must have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Sorry to offend you or your fellow Radio Shack Employees.

It wasn't private property. This was a shopping complex where Radio Shack, the lawyers, and other offices were. Adult bookstore was in lot next door. Apparently the lawyers office did have a problem with people parking in front of their portion of space and going to the bookstore as there were at teh edge of the complex. They decided to tell a tow company to watch and take any cars where people parked and went into the bookstore. They did have signs up that the parking was only for businesses located in that complex. Radio Shack was in the complex, I was entitled to park there. The police said that I could either pay to get my car back, or file a complaint for improper seizure and try and get the car back that way. Needed the car and not the hassle so I paid and never went back to Radio Shack. I did file a complaint with the police and let the lawyers know that their tow truck contractor was a little over zealous. They apologized and said that if I had waited until they were opened again on the Monday after (the incident took place on a Saturday) then they would have called the company and had them release the car. They weren't willing to pay me back however. Guess I should have been clearer in my orgininal explanation.

That is nice! I don't know if I could pull it off though. I stopped shopping at Radio Shack almost 20 years ago just because having to leave my name cost me an extra $80 on a $2 head phone adapter. I was in college at Syracuse and stopped at Radio Shack to run in a get the part. The lot in front was full so I parked at the building next door, it was all interconnected parking lots. I grab the part in 30 seconds and then spend 5 minutes surviving the interogation just to pay. I come out and my car is gone! Apparently I parked in front of a lawyers office. They are between the Radio Shack and an adult bookstore. They don't like the adult bookstore people parking in their lot so they had a tow truck standing by to tow instantly. It took $80 out of the beer fund to get the car back, not fun! Chris

Nice setup! Also nice avatar. How do the Misfits sound through that system? Chris

That would have to be one heck of a climbing area for me to go across that to get there! I am pretty scared of hieghts, but I love to rock climb. So far no drug has come close to that feeling when you are scared of hieghts and you are 300 feet up! The buzz lasts a couple of days. If the climbing at the end of that route is worth it, I believe I could do the trek over, but I would clip the cables as I went. Chris

Hello Studiorat. Glad to see Blue Jeans on a Klipsch board. It is a good mix in my book. I, like many others, could not be more pleased with my cables from your company. Excellent quality, good price and a much faster delivery than I had hoped for! It is nice to see a small company owner stand up to the big guys. Pass along my best wishes, and just like Chuck D and Flava Flav said... Fight the Power! Don't back down from the empty threats. Chris

The only real experience I have had with Corky's is the Memphis area. I did also try one in Knoxville and it was alright. I haven't been to a Corky's in probably 3+ years and Famous Dave's was about 2 months ago. At least in Memphis you could get the dry ribs at Corky's but I don't remember if they were on the menu or not. The Rendevous is great in Memphis, it is where I learned to really love the dry rub. Great location in the alley as well. I would actually stoop to staying in the Holiday Inn because the Rendevous is right there! I also liked the wet ribs in a place that I think was called the Blues City Cafe on Beale. I spent most of my time in Memphis in the Beale street area. The restaurants/ clubs in the area are all pretty good. Nothing like a rack of ribs, a glass of Maker's Mark and some live blues!

I found a Famous Dave's in Denver while there on business. As you said they are pretty good for a chain, the only other chain that is I found that is decent is Corky's. I just found this thread and I will have to keep my eye on it. I travel quite a bit for work and always look for good bbq. I had a job going for a couple of years in Memphis and really fell for the dry rub ribs. I currently have jobs going in Raleigh/Durham, Greer SC, Denver, and Long Island. I usually try and find a decent place, but I am always looking for suggestions! Chris

Count me as another satified Blue Jeans Cable customer! 2 custom length HDMI cable, an optical audio cable, coax audio cable, and over 100 feet of 12 guage speaker wire. Ordered over a weekend and at the house on Thursday, can't ask for more! Chris

I am not familiar with your amp, but I believe that you can get an HDMI cable out that would provide DVI into the amp. That could be a quick and cheap solution. I don't know enough about Brighhouse to know about not getting 5.1 over optical. I just set a new system up and since my local provider doesn't provide HD yet I have an over the air antennea. It goes directly to the TV. I then run an optical cable from the TV to the Denon and the Denon is able to decode the dolby signals. Good Luck! Chris

Depending on your room you have to play around with how far off the walls they are. The passive woofers in the back can provide incredible bass if placed just right in a corner. If they are too close to a wall they can really mess up the sound. I just set up a home theatre with the KG-4's and added a subwoofer. With the crossovers set right I find that the placement of the KG-4s isn't as much of an issue. The room is filling up, so hopefully the 4's can stay. If not it may be the KG-1s and the 4s go back upstairs!

Michael, Thanks for the information on Subs along with a great DIY design! I know that I am going to have to compromise, and since I am giving up box size I will need to find something with good efficient power and low distortion.

Yes I adjusted volume levels from the receiver - it's a Denon 3808ci. I could change and improve the sound greatly based upon a combination of room placement, receiver levels, and sub levels. The problem was that once I found the optimum arrangement it was lacking. I was expecting better, and that is the main problem, my expectations were higher than the sub could produce. I know that I was getting the bottom of the line. After 5 days the sub was acting up by not shutting off via the auto shutoff so I returned it. So now to help get something that is closer to my desires I have upped the price to the $1,000 range. I looked at SVS, their cube will fit. I am not into the cylindrical look, even though they have a small footprint, they stand 32" tall. I design houses on the side and I use my house for meeting with potential clients. So far from the guys working on the renovations I got work from the electrician and the tile guy, so the overall design is working well! I want a show case without a big ugly sub. I am already pushing it with the KG-4s, KG-.5's and the KG 2.2v, both from a design standpoint, and from the wife's standpoint! If I could get something that is 14" square or less I can incorporate it into the room. The problem is that there are no dealers nearby to test things out in person! My list so far is as follows, any feedback on these or other comprable subs would be greatly appreciated. I know that bigger is better and I will need to compromise, but I am hopeful that something will work! Velodyne - DD-10 Velodyne - SPL series, 8 or 10 inch. Paradigm Ultracube SVS Cube